The free 10-point check any owner can do in 15 minutes

You don't need to be technical to check your own website. You need fifteen minutes, your phone and this list.

Do it once now, then again every few months. Each check tells you why it matters, how to test it yourself with free tools, and what "good" looks like.

1. Open it on your phone

Why it matters: most visitors find you on a phone, not a laptop. If the page is slow or the text is tiny, they leave before they read a word.

How to check: open your site on your own phone, on mobile data, not wifi. Time how long it takes to feel usable. Try reading the text without pinching to zoom.

Good looks like: the page feels ready in a couple of seconds. You can read it at arm's length without zooming in.

2. Padlock, no security warnings

Why it matters: a padlock means the connection is encrypted. Without it, browsers show a "Not secure" warning that scares visitors off before they read anything.

How to check: look for the padlock icon next to your web address. Click it — it should say the connection is secure. If your browser shows a red warning page, stop and fix that first.

Good looks like: a padlock, no warning page, and your address starts with https://, not http://.

3. Phone, email, address correct — tap-to-call works

Why it matters: wrong details lose you the call. A phone number that isn't tappable makes a mobile visitor type it out by hand, and most won't bother.

How to check: on your phone, tap your listed phone number. It should open the dialler with the number already filled in. Check the email address and street address against what's actually true today.

Good looks like: one tap opens the dialler with the right number, and every detail on the page matches reality.

4. Your contact form actually arrives

Why it matters: a form that silently fails is worse than no form. You lose the enquiry and never know it happened.

How to check: fill in your own contact form right now, using a personal email address, and send it. Check your business inbox — including spam — within a few minutes.

Good looks like: you get the message, it has all the fields, and it didn't land in spam.

5. Opening hours and prices current

Why it matters: a customer who turns up on the wrong day, or hears a stale price, doesn't come back.

How to check: read your hours and prices on the site. Compare them to what you'd actually tell someone on the phone today.

Good looks like: hours and prices match reality, including holiday changes.

6. No broken images or dead links on main pages

Why it matters: a broken image or a dead link makes a site look abandoned. That's true even if the business behind it is thriving.

How to check: click through your home page and your two or three most important pages. Click every link and menu item. A missing image usually shows as a broken icon or blank box.

Good looks like: every image loads, and every link on your main pages goes somewhere real.

7. Domain and certificate renewal — and auto-renew

Why it matters: miss a renewal and your site can disappear, or show a security warning, until it's fixed. Both can happen with no warning to visitors — only to you, by email, if you're watching for it.

How to check: log in to wherever you bought your domain and check the expiry date and the auto-renew setting. Your certificate is usually issued and renewed automatically by your host — check with them if you're not sure. Note: certificates now typically renew far more often than domains, since industry rules are shortening how long one certificate lasts.

Good looks like: you know both dates. Auto-renew is switched on for your domain, with a payment method that's actually valid.

8. Your Google profile matches the website

Why it matters: most people check your business on Google before they ever open your website. A mismatch — wrong hours, old phone number — costs you the visit.

How to check: search your business name on Google. Compare the hours, phone number and address shown there with your site.

Good looks like: the two agree, right down to bank holiday hours.

9. Privacy notice and cookie notice present

Why it matters: in the EU and UK, this is a legal requirement, not a nice-to-have. A site using cookies beyond the basics must ask first and explain what it collects.

How to check: look for a privacy notice link, usually in the footer. Reload your site in a private browser window and see if a cookie banner appears before anything else loads.

Good looks like: a privacy notice you can find in one click. A cookie banner that lets people say no as easily as yes.

10. A backup exists and someone knows how to restore it

Why it matters: sites get hacked, deleted by mistake, or hit by a host's bad day. A backup is the difference between an afternoon of hassle and losing your front door.

How to check: ask your host or web person three things. Where's the backup? How old is the newest one? Has anyone actually restored from it before?

Good looks like: a recent backup exists somewhere other than the live server. A named person knows the restore steps.

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Sitecomb can run several of these checks for you automatically, in one report, for €9.99. That covers security, broken links, privacy notices, and domain and certificate dates.