The framework

Sixteen categories, one honest score

Each category is scored out of 100 and weighted to produce a single AuditScore. The framework is applied consistently to every website so results are comparable.

Strategic Purpose

Whether the site has a clear purpose and audience, and communicates them immediately.

User Experience

How intuitive, clear and effective the site feels to real visitors.

Visual Design

Consistency, hierarchy, typography, spacing and overall brand presentation.

Navigation & IA

Menu clarity, discoverability of key pages, cross-linking and mobile menu behaviour.

Content Quality

Clarity, tone, relevance, structure and alignment with audience needs.

Conversion Effectiveness

Whether the site actually helps visitors take the intended action.

SEO

Technical, structural and intent-based signals — well beyond a checklist.

Accessibility

Practical WCAG-aligned signals: contrast, labels, focus states, keyboard navigation.

Performance

Core Web Vitals, weight, caching, third-party impact and mobile speed.

Mobile Experience

How the experience holds up on real handset sizes and interaction models.

Trust & Credibility

Policies, contact details, evidence, testimonials and reassurance signals.

Technical Health

Broken links, mixed content, HTTPS, redirects and structured data integrity.

Innovation

Features that genuinely help visitors, not novelty for its own sake.

Competitor Position

How the site compares to relevant, publicly accessible peers.

Growth Potential

Opportunities that could meaningfully improve results in the next 90 days.

Consistency

How consistent branding, messaging and structure are across the site.