Customer journey website checklist: 20 checks

Key takeaways

This customer journey website checklist has 20 checks, four for each stage of the GBL Journey Fit Scorecard: find, orient, compare, commit and return. Work through it on a phone with GA4 and your inbox open. A site passing 16 or more is in good shape; 12 to 15 has clear gaps at one or two stages; under 12 needs journey mapping before any redesign.

• 20 checks: 4 each for find, orient, compare, commit and return.
• Work on a phone, with GA4 and your inbox open.
• 16 or more: good shape. 12 to 15: fix the weakest stage.
• Under 12: map the journey before redesigning.

Find: can buyers reach the right page?

The find stage checks whether buyers searching, scrolling or asking for recommendations reach a page that matches their need. Answer yes or no to each of the four checks.

• 1. Each main service has its own page, named in customers' words.
• 2. Your Google Business Profile is complete and matches the website.
• 3. Your top ten landing pages in GA4 match what visitors searched or clicked.
• 4. Articles answering common questions link to the matching service.

• How to design a website around your customer journey
• Entry points: design for visitors who skip your homepage

Orient: do visitors know where they are?

The orient stage checks whether a newcomer landing on any key page can tell what you do, for whom, where and what to do next, quickly and on a phone.

• 5. Each top landing page says what, who for and where in two phone screens.
• 6. Menu labels use customers' words, not internal names.
• 7. A piece of proof appears near the top of key pages.
• 8. Each page has one clear next step that fits its stage.

• Information scent: why visitors lose the trail on your site
• Website dead ends: pages that leave visitors nowhere to go

Compare: can buyers choose you without leaving?

The compare stage checks whether buyers can find the answers they would otherwise get from a competitor: price, proof, process and difference.

• 9. Each main service page gives price guidance.
• 10. Each shows proof from customers like the visitor.
• 11. Each explains the process and realistic timescales.
• 12. Each says specifically why to choose you.

• Consideration stage: help buyers compare without leaving
• Should you show prices on your website?

Commit: is getting in touch easy and safe?

The commit stage checks whether a buyer ready to act can do so quickly, in the way they prefer, knowing what happens next.

• 13. Phone, form and WhatsApp or booking are visible on key pages.
• 14. Forms ask only what you need to reply.
• 15. A 'what happens next' sequence with timings sits by the button.
• 16. Form submissions and phone clicks are tracked in GA4.

• Decision stage pages: remove the last reasons to wait
• Contact form best practices for more enquiries

Return: does the journey continue after contact?

The return stage checks the steps after the form and after the sale: confirmation, reply, aftercare, re-ordering and referral.

• 17. The confirmation page says who will reply, when and what next.
• 18. Enquiries get a personal reply within the time the site promises.
• 19. Existing customers have help, aftercare and rebooking pages.
• 20. You ask every buyer how they found you, and record it.

• After the enquiry: designing the journey to the first call
• Post-purchase website experience: the journey after the sale

How should you score and act on the checklist?

Count the yes answers. Sixteen or more means the journey is in good shape and further gains come from testing. Twelve to fifteen means one or two stages have clear gaps; fix the stage with the most noes first. Under twelve means the site is organised around the business rather than buyers; map the journey before spending on a redesign. These cut-offs are GBL working rules.

• The customer journey scorecard: score your website in an hour
• Customer journey mapping for small businesses in one day

When is a checklist not enough?

A checklist shows what is missing, not how buyers behave. Combine it with GA4 path and funnel explorations, session recordings at the biggest drop and a few customer conversations. A site can pass every check and still lose buyers to something specific, such as a broken field on one phone.

• GA4 funnel exploration: find the step where buyers drop

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see when owners run this checklist: find and commit score well, compare scores two or three out of four, and return scores one. The fixes are not glamorous, price guidance, proof, a confirmation page and a reply rule, but they sit exactly where buyers drop.

Working through the noes stage by stage gives a plan without a redesign. Across our client work we have seen a 2.4x enquiry rate from conversion changes of this kind. Global Bridge Labs (GBL) uses these checks at the start of every website project.

• See client work
• Website Design & Development for UK businesses

Next step

Twenty checks take about an hour, and the noes become your plan. We can run the checklist with you and turn it into a prioritised list of changes.