Website review for freelancers & small agencies

Find what’s hurting your website. Know what to fix first.

We’re building a website review that checks usability, conversion, content, trust, SEO, accessibility and technical basics, then turns what it finds into a fix-first plan you can act on or hand straight to a client.

In development · free waitlist open · $9 Founding Access open

Phase 01 · Scan: Scanning website… Analyzing page structure & layout
Auto-demonstration playing · Click any step to pause & inspect

01 — The problem

A website review usually means five tabs and no plan.

Each tool is good at what it measures. But the findings live in different places, use different scales, and rarely answer the question a client actually asks: what should we fix first?

  1. Findings are scattered across separate tools, each with its own score.
  2. Warnings rarely say why they matter to a real visitor, or to the client paying for the site.
  3. Messaging, trust and calls to action often fall outside what technical checkers look at.
  4. Nobody puts it in order. Deciding what to fix first is left to you, every time.

02 — What it reviews

Seven angles on one page, honestly labelled.

Nothing is live yet. Below is what the first version (the MVP) is being built to check, and what we’ve planned for later. We’ll say so if that changes.

Available in MVP part of the first version  ·  Planned for later not in the first version

  1. Example finding

    Two equally styled primary buttons compete for the visitor’s first action above the fold.

    Observed evidence

    Hero renders “Get started” and “Book a demo” with identical solid fill, sizing, and elevation side-by-side.

    Recommended fix

    Keep “Get started” as the only solid button; convert “Book a demo” to an outline button or text link.

    MVP check scope: CTA visual hierarchy, duplicate action goals, mobile tap targets, above-the-fold friction.

  2. Example finding

    Main headline uses abstract phrasing without naming the service or intended audience.

    Observed evidence

    H1 reads “Reimagine your financial future” with no nouns indicating software, bookkeeping, or design studios.

    Recommended fix

    Lead with a direct statement: “Bookkeeping and financial planning software built for creative studios.”

    MVP check scope: Headline clarity, value proposition positioning, audience clarity, buzzword density.

  3. Example finding

    Unattributed social proof placed directly above the footer with no customer names.

    Observed evidence

    “Trusted by thousands of teams” accompanied solely by placeholder abstract icons with no client names.

    Recommended fix

    Feature 2 real, attributed customer quotes with names and company roles near the primary call to action.

    MVP check scope: Transparent proof attribution, company identification, policy visibility, terms clarity.

  4. Example finding

    Page lacks a meta description tag, allowing search engines to generate random snippets.

    Observed evidence

    <meta name="description"> is missing from document <head>.

    Recommended fix

    Write a concise 140–160 character description summarizing the page for prospective search visitors.

    MVP check scope: Title uniqueness, meta description, H1–H3 hierarchy, canonical presence, image alt tags, indexability.

  5. Example finding

    Supporting text falls below the 4.5 : 1 contrast guideline for regular body text.

    Observed evidence

    Light grey on cream measures 2.8 : 1 contrast ratio, failing automated accessibility guidelines.

    Recommended fix

    Darken text to #5D6661 to exceed 4.5 : 1 contrast and ensure readability on mobile screens.

    MVP check scope: Color contrast ratios, form input labels, aria-labels on icon buttons, keyboard focus outlines.

  6. Example finding

    Feature headings use the same size as body copy, hindering fast visual scanning.

    Observed evidence

    Feature block headings share identical 15px font size and regular weight with paragraph descriptions.

    Recommended fix

    Increase feature title weight to 600 and adjust scale to 18px to allow effortless scannability.

    MVP check scope: Single-page layout structure, visual rhythm, scannable spacing, touch targets. (Multi-page flows planned later).

  7. Planned check

    Core Web Vitals & asset payload: Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), Interaction to Next Paint (INP), Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS).

    Planned evidence

    Lab timings and real-world payload sizes, identifying exact render-blocking scripts and uncompressed assets.

    Roadmap note

    In architecture planning. Will only report verified measurements from real network audits, never estimated scores.

    Planned scope: Real LCP timings, image WebP/AVIF formatting, font loading layout shift, script deferral.

03 — How it works

From a link to a fix-first plan.

Intended workflow This is how the first version is designed to work. It isn’t live yet.

  1. 1 Input

    Enter a URL

    Any public page: your own, a client’s, or a prospect’s. Nothing to install.

    https://client-site.com
  2. 2 Automated review

    Analyse what it can see

    The page is loaded and checked across the categories available in the MVP.

    6 MVP categories
  3. 3 Evidence

    Review the evidence

    Each finding points to where it happens on the page, with what was observed or measured.

    Visual & DOM proof
  4. 4 Clarity

    Understand why it matters

    In plain words a client can follow, with how confident the finding is.

    Client-ready rationale
  5. 5 Priority

    Follow the Fix First plan

    Findings ordered by likely impact and effort, with a concrete next action for each.

    Impact vs effort order

04 — Report preview & live engine

A report that reads like advice, not a scan log.

Explore the illustrative sample below, or test our live audit engine on any public website right now.

fernwood.co / homepage Illustrative sample · Fictional client data

Fix first

  1. 1Make one button the obvious next step Small fix
  2. 2Say what Fernwood does in the headline Small fix
  3. 3Add a meta description Small fix

All findings, in priority order

Ordered by likely impact, effort and confidence

  1. Evidence · hero, above the fold

    Both buttons share one colour, size and weight.

    Why it matters

    Visitors who are ready to act have to stop and work out which one is meant for them.

    Recommended action

    Keep “Get started” as the only filled button; make “Book a demo” a text link.

    Priority 1Effort · SmallConfidence · Observed

  2. Evidence · main headline

    “Reimagine your financial future.”

    No product, service or audience is named above the fold.

    Why it matters

    New visitors decide quickly whether they’re in the right place.

    Recommended action

    Say what it is and who it’s for, e.g. “Bookkeeping for creative studios.”

    Priority 2Effort · SmallConfidence · Judgment call

  3. Evidence · page <head>

    <meta name="description"> not found

    Why it matters

    Search engines then pick their own snippet, which may not describe the business well. This is not a ranking prediction.

    Recommended action

    Write one or two sentences describing the page for people seeing it in search results.

    Priority 3Effort · SmallConfidence · Measured

  4. Evidence · text under the headline

    Light grey on cream measures below the 4.5 : 1 contrast guideline for body text.

    Why it matters

    It’s hard to read on bright screens and for anyone with low vision.

    Recommended action

    Darken the text until it meets the contrast guideline.

    Priority 4Effort · SmallConfidence · Measured

  5. Evidence · section after features

    “Trusted by thousands of teams”

    No names, quotes or logos a visitor could recognise.

    Why it matters

    Unattributed claims are easy to ignore when someone is deciding. Whether it matters depends on the site’s audience.

    Recommended action

    If you have permission, move two attributed client quotes up beside the main button.

    Priority 5Effort · MediumConfidence · Judgment call

7 checks passed, including page title, form labels, image alt text and a single H1.

05 — Who it’s for

Built first for people who review websites for a living.

Freelance designers & developers

Turn “I had a look at your site” into a clear, ordered plan.

  • Show a prospect what’s holding their site back, with evidence they can see.
  • Check your own build before launch for what you might have missed.
  • Explain recommendations in plain words instead of rewriting notes for every client.

Small web agencies

The same structured first review for every client.

  • One consistent format across the team, from pitch to handover.
  • Findings tagged by category, so the right person (designer, developer or copywriter) picks them up.
  • Quick wins identified up front, useful for proposals and retainers.

Also useful for founders & site owners

See what’s getting in your visitors’ way in plain language, and know where your next hour is best spent, without hiring anyone first.

06 — Early access

Get in early. Free, or as a founding member.

We’re building the first version now. Join the free waitlist to hear when it opens, or back the product today with $9 Founding Access for priority access and direct roadmap input.

Free waitlistOpen now · Free forever

We’ll only email you about Website Audit early access. See the privacy notice.

07 — Questions

Plain answers.

What will Website Audit review?

A single web page, across seven angles: conversion and CTA clarity, content and messaging, trust and credibility, basic SEO, accessibility basics, UX and usability, and (later) performance and technical checks. Each finding comes with evidence, why it matters, a recommended action and a priority. See what it reviews for what’s in the first version.

Is it available yet?

No. It’s in development and isn’t reviewing websites yet. The report on this page is an illustrative sample for a fictional site.

What does early access cost?

Joining the waitlist is free. Separately, there is an optional $9 Founding Access purchase for backers who want priority access and direct input on roadmap features.

What would the $9 cover, and is it recurring?

It’s a single, one-time payment of $9, not a recurring subscription. It includes priority access the day v1 launches, direct input on roadmap checks, and is 100% refundable on request before access opens.

Will every category be available at launch?

No. Six categories are planned for the first version (with UX limited to single-page checks). Performance and technical checks, and multi-page journeys, are planned for later.

How will I hear about access?

By email, to the address you join with. We’ll only write about Website Audit early access, and occasionally ask for feedback.

Can I get a refund?

Yes. Founding Access is 100% refundable on request before you receive access, and refunded in full if we cannot deliver. Joining the free waitlist costs nothing.

What do you do with my email?

We store it to contact you about early access, plus your optional role and whether you asked about Founding Access. No names, no tracking cookies. Details are in the privacy notice.