You do not need to decide on a complete redesign before you can describe what feels wrong with your website. A useful first review gives you observations: what a visitor can understand, which path they can follow, and where something stops working.
When I review a brand or a Squarespace website, I want to separate those observations from the proposed solution. “The service is hard to find on my phone” is something we can investigate. “I need a new website” is a possible project, but it is not yet a diagnosis.
This guide helps you collect that starting evidence. Keep useful existing branding, note what is already working, and bring specific examples to a designer if you need help. A quick review will not identify every technical or accessibility issue, and it cannot tell you how every visitor experiences the site.
Choose a Visitor Task Before You Start
Pick a real task, such as understanding a service and sending an inquiry. Begin on a page a visitor could actually reach, not necessarily the homepage. A referral may land on a service page, an article, or a project example.
Review the public version while logged out of the editor. A private window can help you see that version without your editor session; it does not remove your familiarity with the business or simulate every visitor's device and preferences.
If possible, ask someone unfamiliar with the site to explain what they think the business offers and how they would take the next step. Listen before explaining what you intended. A short first-impression exercise is a prompt for discussion, not a universal five-second deadline.
Keep the page URL and a screenshot with each observation. Note the device and browser when a problem appears. That makes it easier to show someone else what happened.
The image below is an illustrative scene from my generated image collection, not a photograph of a client website review.
Check Whether the Offer Is Understandable
Look for the information a prospective client needs before they can judge fit. Can they tell what you do, who it is for, where you work if location matters, and what happens after they inquire?
Use Specific Wording Before Bigger Promises
A headline such as “A five-page Squarespace website for a local service business” describes a possible deliverable. A promise that the website will automatically bring clients claims an outcome that design alone cannot guarantee. Explain the scope and the useful purpose without inventing a result.
Read an important paragraph aloud. Replace wording that is vague or unlike the way you explain your work. Keep qualifications, experience, and process details when they help someone make a decision; writing about the client does not require removing every fact about you.
Make the Next Step Clear
Identify the main action for this page and check that its wording describes what happens. “Send an inquiry” and “Download the guide” create different expectations.
Other actions can still be available. A service page may need a contact route, pricing context, and a link to relevant work. Give the most useful next step a clear priority instead of treating every additional link as a mistake.
For more on recognizable language with an appropriate tone, see my brand voice guide.
Follow the Navigation and Inquiry Path
Try to find the information a visitor needs for your chosen task. Check the labels, destination pages, and the route back if someone takes a wrong turn. There is no universal maximum of five navigation items; the structure should reflect the site's content and the visitor's tasks.
Open important buttons and links. Do they lead where the wording suggests? Is a resource still available? Does a booking link open the intended service rather than an unrelated appointment?
For a form, read the instructions and required fields before entering anything. When you test your own submission route, use clearly identified test details and confirm receipt as well as the on-screen confirmation. Avoid creating a paid booking or committing to terms just to see whether a button works. Record which parts of the journey you actually tested.
A contact form can look correct while the notification goes to an old address. A useful note might be: “Submission confirmation appeared on the contact page, but the expected inbox did not receive the test.” That is more actionable than “the form feels broken.”
Review the Visual System Without Requiring Everything to Match
Compare a few important pages. Are type roles, spacing, colors, buttons, and links recognizable and readable? Do the images help explain the work, or are they competing with the information?
Consistency does not require identical layouts or one kind of photograph. A portrait and a candid process image can work together when their purpose and treatment fit the identity. Use approved font fallbacks where a platform needs them, and distinguish a real readability problem from a stylistic preference.
Try actual content. A short placeholder headline can hide awkward wrapping, and a decorative photo can conceal whether the page has enough information. My visual identity system guide explains how to connect practical choices across materials.
Keep usable elements. If the logo and palette work, a clearer text hierarchy or a better image crop may be the issue to address.
Check the Experience on a Phone and With a Keyboard
Use your own phone to follow the same task. Can you read the text without awkward zooming, open the menu, reach the main action, and complete the fields? Check whether a sticky header, popup, or image hides information. This is evidence from one device, not proof that every screen works the same way.
On a computer, try navigating links and controls with the keyboard. Can you see which item has focus? Can you reach the menu and form fields? Are instructions and labels understandable? Note where you get stuck rather than assuming an automated score will find the same issue.
W3C's Easy Checks provides a starting review of headings, contrast, text resizing, keyboard access, form labels, and other accessibility topics. Passing a few initial checks does not establish comprehensive accessibility. Use the findings to identify what needs a closer assessment.
Use Performance Reports as Evidence, Not a Verdict
Google's PageSpeed Insights documentation explains the difference between controlled lab diagnostics and available real-user data. A smaller or newer page may not have enough real-user data for a report at that level.
Save the URL, date, device category, and specific finding. Compare the report with what you observe on the actual page. Do not reduce the decision to a single score or a blanket three-second rule, and do not assume a high score proves the inquiry journey works.
If a report points to unfamiliar technical work, bring the evidence to the person responsible for the website. A content edit, a heavy image, a third-party feature, and a broader platform limitation can require different responses.
Turn the Review Into a Useful Brief
For each issue, record the page, intended task, expected behavior, observed behavior, and a screenshot where useful. Keep a separate note for things you simply prefer to change.
Here is a fictional example for a garden-maintenance business:
Task: Find out whether seasonal visits are available and send an inquiry.
Observation: The service page describes maintenance generally, but does not explain frequency or the next step.
Question for the designer: Can we clarify the service information and inquiry route using the existing branding?
Still untested: Whether the inquiry notification reaches the correct inbox.
This is an invented review note, not a client result. It describes the missing information without prescribing a new logo or a complete redesign.
Bring the notes, current brand files, and any relevant analytics you are comfortable sharing. Ask what can be corrected within the existing site, what needs more investigation, and what a proposed project would include. The number of issues alone does not determine whether a redesign is appropriate.
Add an Automated Homepage Check If It Helps
My Free Website Audit can add a limited automated report on homepage SEO basics, security checks, and available mobile speed results to your own observations. It is a different resource from the Free Brand Quiz, which is a self-assessment based on answers.
The automated report is a starting point. It does not replace your manual review of the inquiry journey, a complete accessibility assessment, or my personal feedback. A homepage check also cannot describe every page and interaction on the website.
Name and email are required for the report. Fridays with Faye is selected on the form and can be unchecked. You can continue using the manual review steps above if you prefer not to provide those details.
Open the Free Website Audit directly if you prefer to use it outside the embedded version.
When You Want My Personal Review
My $350 Personal Brand & Website Audit includes a written roadmap and a 60-minute review. Implementation is quoted separately. A separate $250 credit applies toward a project booked within 30 days.
See what the personal audit includes. Whether you bring the notes to me or use them on your own, start with what visitors need to understand and do. That gives the next conversation something concrete to work from.
