5 Things I Check in the First 60 Seconds of Every Website Audit

Before I open a single tool or write a single note, I already know whether a website has problems. Here's what I'm looking at in that first minute — and what I usually find.

When someone asks me to audit their website, the formal process involves tools, spreadsheets, and a proper written report. But honestly? I've already formed an opinion before any of that starts. Within the first 60 seconds of landing on a site, I can tell you roughly how the rest of the audit is going to go.

That's not arrogance. It's pattern recognition from looking at hundreds of small business websites. The same problems come up again and again, and they're all visible within the first minute if you know where to look.

Here are the five things I check first, in the order I check them.

1. Does HTTPS work? Is the padlock there?

This is literally the first thing I see. Before I've even looked at your homepage design, my eyes go to the address bar. I'm looking for the padlock icon and the "https://" prefix.

What I'm checking: Is the SSL certificate installed and valid? Does the site redirect from http:// to https:// automatically? Are there mixed content warnings — meaning the page is secure but some images or scripts are loading over an insecure connection?

Why it matters: If your site doesn't have HTTPS, browsers will show a "Not Secure" warning next to your URL. That's the first thing your customers see too. It doesn't matter how good your product is — if Chrome is telling people your site isn't safe, a good chunk of them will leave immediately. Google also uses HTTPS as a ranking factor, so you're hurting your search visibility on top of scaring people off.

What I typically find: Most sites have HTTPS now, which is good. But a surprising number have it half-configured. The certificate is installed but the site doesn't redirect from http:// to https://, so people can still land on the insecure version. Or there are mixed content issues where images are loaded over http, which triggers a warning on an otherwise secure page. It's like locking your front door but leaving a window wide open.

2. Mobile responsiveness — does it actually work on a phone?

I pull out my phone and load the site. Not in Chrome DevTools simulating a phone. On an actual phone. There's a difference.

What I'm checking: Can I read the text without zooming in? Are the buttons big enough to tap with a thumb? Does the navigation work? Is the content in a sensible order? Can I fill in a contact form without wanting to throw my phone across the room?

Why it matters: Over half of all web traffic in the UK is mobile. For local businesses — the kind I typically work with in Suffolk and the surrounding area — it's often higher than that. Someone's searching "plumber near me" on their phone, they tap your site, and if they have to pinch and zoom to read your phone number, they're going to the next result instead.

What I typically find: The site technically resizes, but nobody tested it properly. Text overlaps. Buttons are too small or too close together. The navigation menu doesn't work or takes up the entire screen. Images stretch or get cropped weirdly. The desktop site might look professional, but the mobile version tells me nobody actually tried to use it on a real device.

3. Page load speed — can I feel the delay?

I don't need a tool for this first check. I just pay attention to how long the page takes to appear. If I'm sitting there watching a blank screen for more than a couple of seconds, there's a problem.

What I'm checking: Does the page load quickly enough that it feels instant? Or is there a noticeable pause where I'm staring at nothing? Does content jump around as things load in (that's called layout shift, and it's incredibly annoying)?

Why it matters: People are impatient. If your site takes more than 3 seconds to load on mobile, you're losing roughly half your visitors before they've seen a single word. That's not an exaggeration — Google's own research backs that up. And it compounds: a slow site gets fewer visitors, fewer enquiries, fewer customers, and worse search rankings because Google measures page speed too.

What I typically find: This is where most small business sites fall down the hardest. The usual culprits: images uploaded straight from a camera at 4000x3000 pixels when they're displayed at 400x300, no caching set up, ten different fonts loading, a WordPress site with 30 plugins all adding their own scripts. I've seen 5MB homepage images on sites for local businesses. That's like trying to push a sofa through a letterbox.

4. Can I tell what the business does within 3 seconds?

I look at the homepage with fresh eyes and ask myself: if I knew nothing about this company, would I know what they do, where they are, and who they're for?

What I'm checking: Is there a clear headline that says what the business does? Not a clever slogan. Not "Welcome to our website." An actual statement of what you offer. Can I see the location? Can I tell who this is aimed at?

Why it matters: You've got about 3 seconds before someone decides whether to stay or hit the back button. If your homepage opens with a full-screen stock photo of a handshake and the words "Innovative Solutions for Tomorrow's Challenges," I still don't know what you actually do. Your visitor doesn't have the patience to scroll down and figure it out. They'll go back to Google and click the next result — the one that says "Emergency Plumber in Ipswich, Available 24/7."

What I typically find: This is the second most common failure I see. Business owners are too close to their own company to realise their website doesn't explain it clearly to a stranger. I see hero sections with vague taglines, rotating carousels that say nothing, and homepages where you have to scroll past three sections of waffle before finding out what the business actually sells. The best-performing small business websites I've seen all do the same thing: they put a plain-English description of what they do, where, and for whom, right at the top.

5. Is there a way to contact them that actually works?

I try to find a phone number, email address, or contact form. Then I check whether they work.

What I'm checking: Can I find contact details without hunting for them? Is the phone number clickable on mobile? Does the contact form actually submit? Does the email address go somewhere a human checks? Is there a physical address if the business has a location?

Why it matters: The entire point of most small business websites is to get people to make contact. If someone has decided they want to call you and they can't find your number, or the contact form throws an error, you've lost that customer at the finish line. That's the most expensive kind of failure — someone who was ready to buy and couldn't.

What I typically find: Phone numbers that aren't clickable on mobile, so people have to memorise the number, switch apps, and dial it manually (they won't). Contact forms that haven't been tested in months and silently fail. Email addresses hidden on a separate "Contact" page that's three clicks deep. "Contact us" pages that only have a form and no direct email or phone number at all. And a personal favourite: the contact form that sends submissions to an email account nobody checks.

What happens after the first 60 seconds

After these quick checks, I move on to the proper tools — PageSpeed Insights, security header scanners, SEO crawlers, accessibility checkers. That's where the detailed findings come from. But these first five things set the tone. If a site fails three or four of them, I already know the full audit is going to be a long document.

The good news is that every single one of these is fixable. HTTPS is usually a hosting setting. Mobile responsiveness might need a theme change or some CSS work. Speed is almost always about images and plugins. Messaging is about rewriting a headline. Contact details just need to be moved somewhere visible.

None of it is expensive or complicated. It just needs someone to actually look at the site the way a customer would, rather than the way the person who built it does.