For small-business owners · plain English · no jargon

Is my website any good?

It is almost impossible to judge your own website fairly — you know what it does, so you fill in the gaps a stranger never could. Here is a plain-English self-check across the handful of things that actually decide whether a visitor becomes a customer. Answer honestly, count your yeses, and you will know roughly where you stand — and whether it is worth getting an outside eye.

The short answer

A good small-business website does five things well: it says what you do within five seconds, gives one obvious next step, looks trustworthy, works fast and easily on a phone, and makes contacting or buying you effortless. Score yourself on the checklist below. Four or five strong areas means a solid site; two or three means you are quietly leaking customers; zero or one means it is actively costing you money. The catch: owners almost always over-rate their own site, because they cannot un-know what it does — so an outside check usually finds two to four issues the owner genuinely could not see.

The 5-minute self-check

Go through these eight questions honestly — ideally with your own site open on your phone, not your laptop. Give yourself a point for each clear "yes".

1. Clarity

Within five seconds of landing, can a stranger tell exactly what you do, who it is for, and where?

A "yes" looks like: A plain sentence at the very top — "Wedding catering for 20–200 guests in and around Amsterdam" — not a slogan like "Excellence, delivered".

2. Next step

Is there one obvious thing you want a visitor to do, as a single clear button repeated down the page?

A "yes" looks like: One bright "Book a call" / "Get a quote" / "Order now" that stands out — not ten competing links, and not nothing.

3. Trust

Would a careful first-time buyer believe you are real and good — reviews, real photos, address, phone, a proper "about"?

A "yes" looks like: 3–5 genuine reviews, real (not stock) photos, a visible phone number and address, and an "about" with a face.

4. Mobile

On your own phone, is it fast, easy to read, and easy to tap — and can you contact yourself in a couple of taps?

A "yes" looks like: Loads in a few seconds, readable without zooming, thumb-sized buttons, contact reachable in one or two taps.

5. Speed

Does the first screen appear almost instantly, rather than after a noticeable wait?

A "yes" looks like: No multi-second blank screen or slow-loading hero image — visitors rarely wait more than a few seconds.

6. Findability

When you search Google for what you offer in your area, do you actually show up?

A "yes" looks like: A Google Business Profile, your town and service in your page titles ("Plumber in Utrecht"), clear headings.

7. Offer clarity

Can a visitor tell what it costs (or roughly), what they get, and what happens next — without guessing?

A "yes" looks like: A clear offer: what is included, a price or "from €X" / "free quote", and the first step spelled out.

8. Contact path

Does your contact form / booking / checkout actually work, on a phone, and reach your inbox?

A "yes" looks like: You tested it today: it submits, the booking loads, and the message lands. No errors, no dead ends.

What your score means

And remember the catch: most owners score themselves two or three points too high, because they cannot see their own site the way a first-time visitor does.

Want the objective answer?

A self-check gets you close, but the things quietly costing you customers are usually the ones you cannot see. A GrowthFriction audit is that outside eye: it goes through your site across 10 areas — clarity, trust, mobile, speed, the path to contacting you, being found on Google, and more — and hands you a plain-English, prioritised list of exactly what to fix. €197, delivered in 48 hours as a PDF plus a short video walkthrough. See a real sample first, then decide.

Start your audit · €197Run the free audit first

Or see a sample €197 audit to know exactly what you get.

Prefer to call or text? +31 6 1514 7952 (Paulo · NL · WhatsApp available · weekdays).

Frequently asked questions

How can I objectively tell if my website is good?

Stop trying to judge it from memory and test it as a stranger would: open it on your phone, give yourself five seconds to work out what you do, then try to contact or buy from yourself. Better still, ask three people who do not know your business to do the same and tell you what confused them. The gap between what you assume is obvious and what they actually understand is where customers are lost.

What makes a small-business website good?

Not how modern or expensive it looks — but how well it turns visitors into customers. The five things that matter most: a clear first screen, one obvious next step, trust signals, a fast and easy phone experience, and a working contact or checkout path. A plain site that nails these beats a beautiful one that does not.

My website looks nice — does that mean it is good?

Not necessarily. Looking good earns you a few seconds of attention; it does not, on its own, turn visitors into customers. Plenty of beautiful sites quietly lose business because the message is vague, the next step is unclear, or the contact form is buried. Looks are the start, not the finish.

What do website owners most often miss about their own site?

The first-screen clarity (they already know what they do, so the vague slogan reads fine to them), the mobile experience (they built it on a laptop), and broken or buried contact paths (they never try to contact themselves). These are exactly the things an outside check catches in minutes.

Related, in plain English

Cite this guide: GrowthFriction. (2026). Is my website any good? https://growthfriction.com/is-my-website-good/. Published 2026-06-18 · By Paulo de Vries · GrowthFriction.