The Free Website Audit: What We Actually Check (and What We Don’t)
The Blind Spots Most Small Business Websites Have
Most business owners have never had anyone but themselves look closely at their website — not for accessibility, not for how it’s structured, not for whether it actually works the way visitors expect. Problems like these usually stay invisible until a customer complains, a compliance letter shows up, or search rankings quietly slip.
That’s why we offer a free website audit. Send us your URL, and we will review it as an anonymous visitor — the same way your customers and search engines see it — and send back honest, specific findings. No obligation, no sales pitch required to see the results, and no charge.
Why an Outside Look Matters
When you built (or hired someone to build) your site, decisions got made under time pressure: a navigation structure that made sense at the time, an image without alt text, a form that’s a little hard to tab through with a keyboard. None of that shows up unless someone goes looking for it specifically.
- Accessibility barriers that make your site hard or impossible to use for visitors with disabilities
- Site architecture that buries important pages or confuses how customers move through your funnel
- Missing or incomplete alt text, heading structure, and other on-page accessibility basics
- Slow-loading pages or a layout that breaks down on mobile devices
- Broken links, orphaned pages, or navigation dead ends
- Basic on-page SEO gaps that make it harder for search engines to understand your site
What Our Free Audit Actually Checks
This is an outside-in review — we’re looking at what’s publicly visible on your website, not logging into your hosting account or admin dashboard. Here’s specifically what’s included:
- Accessibility against WCAG guidelines (alt text, color contrast, keyboard navigation, heading structure)
- Site architecture and navigation — whether visitors and search engines can find what matters
- Page speed and mobile responsiveness under real-world conditions
- Broken links, redirect issues, and basic technical SEO signals
- Whether your SSL certificate is valid and properly configured
- General recommendations on structure, content organization, and user experience
What it doesn’t include: anything that requires access to your hosting account, admin login, or backend — things like backup verification, server-level firewall configuration, or malware scanning. That level of work only happens within an actual engagement, once you’ve decided to work with us. When we build or maintain a site ourselves, security is baked into our development process from day one — it’s just not something a free, anonymous audit can verify on someone else’s site from the outside.
What You Might Assume vs. What We Actually Verify
It’s easy to assume everything is fine until someone actually checks. Here’s where assumptions and reality often diverge:
| What You Might Assume | What Our Audit Verifies | |
| Accessibility | “It looks fine to me” | Checked against WCAG guidelines for real assistive technology use |
| Site Navigation | “Customers can find what they need” | Reviewed against best-practice architecture and UX patterns |
| Mobile Experience | “The theme says it’s responsive” | Tested across real screen sizes and devices |
| Page Speed | “It loads fine on my computer” | Measured under real mobile and desktop network conditions |
| SSL Certificate | “The padlock means I’m covered” | Verified the certificate is valid and properly configured |
Any one of these gaps can be closed once you know it’s there. The audit’s job is simply to make sure you know.
How the Free Audit Works — No Strings Attached
We built this process to be genuinely low-pressure. You don’t need a sales call to find out what’s going on with your site.
- Share your website URL through our audit request form
- We review it as an anonymous visitor, the same way a customer or search engine would
- You receive a written report in plain English, with recommendations ranked by priority — no call required to see it
- If you’d like help fixing anything we find, we’re glad to talk, but there’s no obligation either way
Rooted in Northern Kentucky, Built to Serve Businesses Anywhere in the U.S.
Marvelous Developments is based in Northern Kentucky, and we know the Cincinnati metro well — from Covington and Florence to Erlanger, Union, and Burlington. Many of our clients are local business owners we can meet face to face.
But hosting and development work isn’t tied to geography. Our infrastructure and remote process let us support small businesses anywhere in the United States with the same hands-on attention we give our neighbors down the street.
Bottom Line
A website blind spot doesn’t announce itself until it’s already costing you customers, compliance risk, or search visibility. A free audit costs you nothing but a few minutes, and it puts the facts about your site in your hands — no strings attached.
If you’re ready to see what’s really going on with your site, send us your URL. We’ll do the review and hand you the results, no commitment required.
