Happy New Year. Before you dive into 2026, let's do a quick health check on your website. Not the technical stuff that makes your eyes glaze over—the practical stuff that actually affects whether customers call you or click away.
This checklist takes about 15 minutes. Grab your coffee, pull up your site, and let's make sure you're starting the year on solid ground. For a faster version, try our 15-Minute Website Health Checkup.
Why This Matters More Than Ever
Here's the reality: 70-80% of people research a company online before visiting or buying. Your website is often the first—and sometimes only—impression potential customers get.
And first impressions happen fast. Users form an opinion about your website in about 50 milliseconds. That's faster than a blink. In that split second, they're deciding whether to stay or bounce.
75% of consumers judge a company's credibility based on website design. Fair or not, that's how people think. If your site looks dated, slow, or hard to use, customers assume your business is too.
Let's make sure that's not happening to you.
1. The Speed Test (Most Important)
What to check: Open your site on your phone. Count how long it takes to fully load.
If it's more than three seconds, you have a problem. 53% of mobile users leave if a site takes over three seconds to load. That's more than half your potential customers, gone before they see your work.
Bounce rates increase by 32% when load time reaches three seconds. And every second beyond that makes it worse.
Quick fix: Run your site through Google's PageSpeed Insights (just search for it—it's free). It'll tell you what's slowing things down. Usually it's oversized images that could be compressed.
When to call for help: If your score is below 50 and you don't know what "optimize images" or "eliminate render-blocking resources" means, you might need professional help. Read more: 5 Signs Your Website Is Hurting Your Google Rankings.
2. The Mobile Check
What to check: Actually use your site on your phone. Not "it looks okay in desktop preview"—actually navigate it on a real phone.
About 60% of all website traffic now comes from mobile devices. If your site is hard to use on a phone, you're annoying most of your visitors.
Try these tests:
- Can you read all the text without pinching to zoom?
- Are the buttons big enough to tap with your thumb?
- Does the menu work? Can you actually navigate?
- Can you easily find your phone number and tap to call?
Red flag: If you have to turn your phone sideways or squint, customers won't bother. They'll just find someone else.
3. The Security Check (The Lock Icon)
What to check: Look at your browser's address bar. Do you see a lock icon? Does your URL start with "https" (not just "http")?
This isn't optional anymore. 82% of users abandon a website that doesn't have a security certificate. When people see "Not Secure" in their browser, they leave.
If your site doesn't have the lock icon, get an SSL certificate installed. Most hosting providers offer them free now, but you need to actually set it up.
Why it matters beyond trust: Google also uses HTTPS as a ranking factor. No lock, worse search rankings. Simple as that.
4. The "Can They Find You?" Check
What to check: How many clicks does it take to find your phone number? Your address? Your hours?
87% of consumers use Google to find local businesses. But once they land on your site, they need to quickly find what they're looking for—or they'll bounce back to search results and try your competitor instead.
Your contact info should be:
- Visible on every page (footer at minimum, header is better)
- Tap-to-call enabled for phone numbers
- Current (outdated hours are a sure way to frustrate customers)
If someone has to hunt through menus to find how to reach you, you're losing calls.
5. The Freshness Check
What to check: Look at your copyright year in the footer. Look at your "latest news" or blog. Look at any dates on your site.
31.7% of websites haven't updated their copyright year. When visitors see "© 2023" in January 2026, they assume the business is abandoned or nobody's paying attention.
Quick freshness fixes:
- Update that copyright year to 2026
- Remove any "coming soon" sections that never came
- Delete outdated promotions or seasonal content
- If you have a blog you haven't touched in years, either update it or remove the dates
An outdated website signals an outdated business. Fair? Maybe not. But it's how people think. We've written about this: The Real Reason Small Business Websites Are Never Updated.
6. The Broken Link Check
What to check: Click through your menu. Click a few internal links. Try any buttons that say "Learn More" or "Contact Us."
71% of visitors say broken links reduce their trust in a website. One "404 Page Not Found" and suddenly you look unprofessional.
88% of users are less likely to return after a bad experience. Broken links are exactly the kind of frustration that sends people away forever.
Free fix: Google "broken link checker free" and run your site through one. They'll find problems you didn't know existed.
7. The Google Business Profile Check
What to check: Google your business name. What comes up? Is your Google Business Profile complete and accurate?
75% of businesses in the top 3 search positions have completed their Google Business Profile descriptions. Incomplete profiles rank lower. It's that simple.
Make sure you have:
- Correct business hours (including holiday hours)
- Current phone number and address
- A complete description of what you do
- Recent photos (within the last year)
- Your website link
- Primary and secondary categories that accurately describe your business
85% of consumers use Google to find local business reviews. Your profile is often the first thing they see—make sure it's working for you.
8. The Review Check
What to check: When was your last Google review? What do your reviews say? Have you responded to them?
89% of customers read online reviews before making a purchase. If your last review is from 2023, people wonder if you're still in business.
Review action items:
- Respond to every review—positive and negative
- Thank positive reviewers specifically (mention what they praised)
- Address negative reviews professionally and offer to make it right
- Ask happy customers to leave reviews (but never offer incentives—that violates Google's rules)
A steady stream of recent reviews builds trust. A handful of old reviews raises questions.
9. The "Does It Actually Work?" Check
What to check: Fill out your own contact form. Does the message actually arrive? Try your online booking if you have one.
You'd be surprised how many contact forms are broken and the business owner has no idea. Customers are trying to reach you, getting nothing, and moving on to someone else.
Also check:
- All email links (do they open a compose window?)
- Phone links (do they trigger the dialer on mobile?)
- Any embedded maps (is the pin in the right location?)
- Social media links (do they go to the right profiles?)
If your site promises something and doesn't deliver, every second of frustration costs you—a one-second delay alone cuts conversions by 7%. A totally broken form? You're not just losing one conversion. You're losing every potential customer who tried to reach you.
10. The "What Do I Actually Do?" Check
What to check: Have a friend visit your homepage for 10 seconds, then look away. Ask them: What does this business do? Who is it for?
If they can't answer clearly, your messaging isn't working.
Your homepage should instantly communicate:
- What you do
- Who you do it for
- Where you're located (for local businesses)
- Why someone should choose you
- What to do next (call, book, get a quote)
Clear beats clever. If someone has to think about what you're offering, they'll just find a competitor whose message is obvious.
Your 2026 Website Scorecard
Count how many items you can honestly check off:
- □ Loads in under 3 seconds on mobile
- □ Works well on phones (no squinting or pinching)
- □ Has the HTTPS lock icon
- □ Contact info visible on every page
- □ Copyright year is 2026
- □ No broken links
- □ Google Business Profile is complete and current
- □ Has recent reviews (and you've responded)
- □ Contact form actually works
- □ Clear message about what you do
8-10 checks: You're in great shape. Just maintain what you have.
5-7 checks: Room for improvement. Pick the highest-impact items first (speed and mobile are usually the biggest wins).
0-4 checks: Your website might be hurting your business more than helping. Time for some serious attention—or a fresh start.
What YouGrow Does Differently
If your checklist has more problems than you want to fix yourself, that's where we come in.
At YouGrow, we build and manage websites for local businesses. $79/month covers everything:
- A professional, fast-loading website (we handle all the speed optimization)
- Mobile-responsive design that actually works on phones
- Built accessible to welcome every customer (not just "ADA compliant" checkbox)
- SSL security included (the lock icon—handled)
- Unlimited updates via email or phone (copyright year? we update it automatically)
- Hosting, backups, and security—all managed
- A complimentary design refresh every 3 years so you never look dated
Month-to-month, no contracts. No setup fee for our first 100 founding members. If we're not delivering, you can cancel anytime.
Start 2026 with a website that works for you instead of against you. Let's talk or call me directly at 805-439-6288. I'm right here in Arroyo Grande, and I actually answer my phone.