Checklist
The website checklist is boring. That is why it works.
Most small-business websites fail on the first five seconds, not on the font. No lock icon. No tap-to-call. A form that 404s. Hours from 2019. A share that is a blank square. This is the list. Run it before you buy a redesign, a ranking package, or another builder plan.
The free check scores ten of these on a public homepage. Paste the URL. If contact, title, or HTTPS fail, that is the work — not a slogan. Why sites fail.
The list
| Check | Pass looks like | Fail looks like |
|---|---|---|
| HTTPS | Lock in the address bar | “Not secure.” The lock |
| Title tag | Your name and what you do | “Home” or the builder’s name |
| Phone | Digits that are a real tel: link | A picture of a number |
| Form or booking | A test message arrives | 404, spam folder, nobody watches it |
| Hours | This week’s hours | Last year’s holiday. Wrong hours |
| Photos | The actual work, from a phone is fine | Stock skyline. Phone photos |
| Mobile | Readable with a thumb | Pinch-zoom a three-column table |
| Open Graph | Share shows a real image | Blank square |
| Domain you own | Name in your email at the registrar | Someone else’s subdomain. Files |
| No fake ranking claim | Honest copy | “#1 in the city” you did not earn |
What you can skip on day one
- A blog. Usually no.
- A chat widget. Chat vs a form.
- A logo if you do not have one. Typed name is a mark.
- Ten service pages with the same paragraph.
- A cart for two T-shirts. Shopify vs a brochure.
If the list fails, you do not have a branding problem. You have a “this is not a website yet” problem. Rebuild vs patch: rebuild or patch · it looks old.
How this shop uses the list
Most standard jobs under 72 hours when the brief is clear. Pay on /sale/. We do not promise #1 Google. We do not bundle a ranking retainer.
$49/month hosted website at /hosting/ if you only need hours and a phone. Phone (813) 328-6079. Forms notify tampasbestdj@gmail.com. Hire: /hire/. Live work: /work/. Worldwide, 24/7. Bill is in Tampa / Zephyrhills. No public storefront. What to send: the brief.
Free next step: run the ten checks.