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Free Homepage Grader
Grade your homepage based on the 16-point Homepage Audit
Step 1 of 18
5%
This self-audit will take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
You should open your website in a new tab, so you can review your homepage to answer the 48 questions on the following pages.
Homepage URL
*
This is the website we are going to audit today.
1 - Logo
Is your logo professionally designed?
Did someone with proven graphic design skills make your logo?
Yes
No
Does your logo display at the exact same size as the image file?
If your logo image is being dynamically resized by the browser, it slows down your sitespeed and can make your logo look fuzzy. Ctrl+Click on your logo and click on ‘Open Image In New Tab.’ Is it the same size?
Yes
No
Does your logo have alt text with your brand name or a specific keyword set?
Hover over your logo with your cursor. Does a little yellow box show up displaying text?
Yes
No
2 - Hero Shot
Is there a high quality photo clearly visible above the fold?
This photo can be of you, or your service, or people using your service, or a professional illustration.
Yes
No
Does your imagery visually convey the experience your customers hope to have?
Can your customer see themselves attaining what is in this photo?
Yes
No
Does the imagery visually showcase who you are and what you do?
A picture is worth a thousand words. Does this picture tell your story?
Yes
No
3 - CTA above the fold
What is the single most important action for a user to take on your website?
If they do this one action, the visit to your website is a success.
Is there an easy way for them to take this action?
Can they take this action directly upon landing on your homepage, without scrolling?
Yes
No
Is there a clear, simple description of the benefit for taking this action?
If this was your first time visiting the website, would you be able to tell right away what the benefit of taking this action would be?
Yes
No
4 - Branding and Colors
Do you have more than 2 fonts, or more than 3 brand colors, visible on your homepage?
Having the same fonts and colors in your logo and your website gives branding cohesion.
Yes
No
Does your brand have one primary, main color?
Is there a color in your logo that is used widely throughout your website?
Yes
No
Are your headings or element backgrounds using this color?
Is this color used in backgrounds, section fills, heading text, or icons?
Yes
No
5 - Navigation Bar
Is your navigation bar organized with single-word top-level headings?
Are users given a limited number of simple options to choose from in selecting pages to visit?
Yes
No
If you have dropdown navigation, has it been designed to match your branding and layout?
Is the dropdown navigation menu the default style of the theme, or has it been customized?
Yes
No
Does the design of your nav bar complement your homepage design?
Does the navigation blend into the design, instead of standing out awkwardly?
Yes
No
6 - Sitespeed
Does your website take more than 5 seconds to load?
Use GTMetrix to run a sitespeed test: https://gtmetrix.com/
Yes
No
Is your pagesize over 1MB?
A lower page size can decrease the load time. Optimising images is usually the first thing to fix here. Try this tool: https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/
Yes
No
Does your homepage take more than 10 seconds to load on a slow connection speed?
Keep in mind, some visitors will not be on a desktop with fast broadband; some users will be on a phone with slow 3G. Use this tool to test: https://www.webpagetest.org/easy.php
Yes
No
7 - Search Engine Optimization
Do you have Google Analytics set up on your website?
This is basic website monitoring. If you don’t have it set up, stop this audit and do it now. https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/1008080?hl=en
Yes
No
Do you have Google Webmaster Tools set up on your website?
This gives you critical monitoring data about your website, and also provides details left out by Google Analytics, such as backlinks and searches people use to find you.
Yes
No
Does your homepage rank on page 1 of Google for a search of your brand name?
Ideally, you should rank in position 1 of page 1.
Yes
No
8 - Mobile Responsiveness
Does your website look good on mobile?
Pull one edge of your browser window to the side, to make it narrow. Does this look like a decent website?
Yes
No
Do mobile users only have to scroll vertically to see all your website content?
Horizontal scrolling is not easy or fun on mobile.
Yes
No
Does your mobile website load faster than your desktop version?
Yes
No
9 - Facebook Open Graph
Have you tested for how your homepage looks when shared on Facebook?
Use this to test: https://developers.facebook.com/tools/debug/
Yes
No
Does your homepage have a featured image optimised for Open Graph?
Your Open Graph featured image should be 1200x630.
Yes
No
Does your headline and description encourage people to click?
Yes
No
10 - Social Media Account Links
Have you tested for how your homepage looks when shared on Facebook?
Are users (and Google's spiders) able to click directly to your social profiles from the homepage?
Yes
No
Do you have links to your homepage on your social media account profile descriptions?
On your Twitter page, Facebook page, etc. do you have links coming back to your homepage?
Yes
No
Do you have sharing buttons for your articles and blog posts?
Can people easily click a button to share your content?
Yes
No
11 - Webmaster Tools
Have you submitted an .xml sitemap to Google?
This gives Google a list of your website’s pages and links. Check at Webmaster Tools -> Crawl -> Sitemaps.
Yes
No
Do you have 404 errors that need to be fixed?
Check here: http://www.brokenlinkcheck.com/ or go to Webmaster Tools -> Crawl -> Crawl Errors.
Yes
No
Do you have a robots.txt file in place?
Go to Webmaster Tools -> Crawl -> robots.txt tester
Yes
No
12 - Traffic Review
Do you have a defined set of keywords you want to improve your ranking for?
Have you worked with an SEO professional to determine what keywords you should be targeting this year?
Yes
No
Do you know what your highest traffic pages are?
Other than your homepage, where do people land the most on your website?
Yes
No
Do you have Goals set up in Analytics?
Goals give a defined outcome to an action, allowing you to track Conversions.
Yes
No
13 - Contact Info & Schema Markup
Do you have contact info - phone number and address - in your footer?
Or in another place on your homepage?
Yes
No
Is your contact info written as structured data with schema markup?
Using microdata enhances your search visibility: http://schema.org/docs/gs.html
Yes
No
Do you have Google My Business set up?
Having this enhances your search positions, especially for local search. https://www.google.com/business/
Yes
No
14 - UX Testing for Subscription and Purchase Actions
Have you tested the progression through your sales funnel as a new website visitor?
Or, have you watched silently while someone else does it?
Yes
No
Are all steps along the pathway consistent with your visual branding?
Email confirmation pages, shopping cart checkout pages, or thank you pages - do they all share the same visual look and feel as your homepage?
Yes
No
Are there transitions that have technical glitches?
Are there known issues in your subscription or purchase pathways?
Yes
No
15 - Is the content of your homepage targeted to your Customer Avatar?
Is there a simple and clear statement on your homepage that describes the problem you solve, and who you solve it for?
Does the right person get to your website and say, “Yes, this is just what I need!” or do they need to dig deeper in your website to find out?
Yes
No
Have you done competitive research to review what others are saying on their website?
Can you list 5 competitors? Do you review their homepages regularly?
Yes
No
Are the headlines the result of multiple revisions?
Did you write your headline once, and publish your first draft? Or did you write 10+ versions of the headline to find a good one?
Yes
No
16 - Do you have any dynamic content on your homepage?
Is your homepage static?
Does it only change when you manually edit it?
Yes
No
Is there a blog feed or section on your homepage that is updated whenever you publish a new post?
Is there some section of your homepage that updates whenever a new piece of content is added to your website?
Yes
No
Does Google get automatically notified when your homepage changes?
Dynamic homepages rank higher in search engines.
Yes
No
Congratulations! You've made it through the 16-point Homepage Audit.
Three final questions:
Would you like to receive an email copy of your answers?
Yes
No
Would you like to receive a PDF of your audit?
Yes
No
Would you like to subscribe to the Stellar Platforms newsletter?
Yes
No
Name
First
Last
Email
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Website Survey
Step 1 of 8
12%
What's your #1 single biggest challenge with your website right now?
*
If you could solve this one thing, your life would be easier, sexier, and more fun:
Which of the following best describes you?
I’m just starting out and haven’t made my website yet.
I've got a website, but I don’t have much of an email list.
I have a website and a list, but I need to grow my business.
My website, list, and business are large and successful.
What platform do you use for your website?
WordPress
Squarespace
Custom HTML
Other
How is your website built?
Where do you get the most valuable, actionable information about websites and blogging?
Blog and website articles
Email newsletters
Facebook groups
Online courses
In-person events
Other
Please describe:
Roughly, what's the overall size of your business sales in annual gross revenue?
$0 - $15,000
$15,000 - $50,000
$50,000 - $100,000
$100,000 - $300,000
$300,000 - $1,000,000
$1,000,000 +
Who is your customer or demographic?
What are the key trigger words that let you know someone is the right match for your business?
What do you LIKE the most about having a website?
What do you DISLIKE the most about having a website?
Where are you struggling with right now?
Logo Design
Brand Design
Web Design
eCommerce
Content Creation
Blogging
Social Media
Online Course Creation
Membership Site Setup
List Building
Productivity
Sales Pages
Other
Please describe:
Finally, I may want to follow up with a few people personally to learn about your situation. If you'd be open to chatting for a few minutes on the condition that I promise not to sell you anything - please leave your name and phone number below.
Name
First
Last
Email
Phone
Subscribe to the Stellar Platforms newsletter?
Yes, please!
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