High-converting website checklist

Key takeaways

This high-converting website checklist has 30 checks grouped under the five tests of the GBL Conversion Gap Scorecard: Clarity, Proof, Friction, Action and Follow-up. Work through it on your top five landing pages, on a phone. Most good websites fail between 8 and 15 checks, and fixing the Follow-up group first usually gives the fastest return.

• 30 checks across clarity, proof, friction, action and follow-up.
• Run it on your top five landing pages, on a phone.
• Most good websites fail 8 to 15 checks the first time.
• Fix follow-up and tracking first, then clarity and proof.

How should you use this checklist?

Open your top five landing pages from Google Analytics 4 on a phone. Go through each group and mark each check pass or fail. Count the fails by group. The group with the most fails is where to start, except that tracking and follow-up failures always come first, because without them you cannot measure any other fix.

• The difference between a good website and a high-converting website
• The website conversion scorecard: good or high-converting?

Clarity: does the page say what it needs to?

Clarity checks confirm a first-time visitor understands the offer within seconds.

• The headline states what you do, for whom and where.
• The first screen on mobile shows the offer and a next step.
• Service names use the buyer's words, not internal jargon.
• Each service has its own page.
• Areas served are stated.
• Copy uses specific facts, not adjectives.

• What belongs above the fold on a business website
• Why specific claims convert better than adjectives

Proof: does the page earn trust?

Proof checks confirm evidence sits where decisions are made.

• Specific proof sits beside each main claim.
• A short review sits next to every main call to action.
• Case studies include numbers, places or timescales.
• Photos show real work and real people.
• Accreditations and ratings are visible near the top.
• Reviews are genuine and presented fairly.

• Where to place social proof so it lifts enquiries

Friction: is acting easy?

Friction checks confirm nothing slows or blocks the next step.

• Key pages pass Core Web Vitals on mobile.
• The enquiry form asks only what is needed to reply.
• Phone numbers and emails are tappable.
• Errors keep the visitor's entered data.
• No pop-up blocks the page on arrival.
• Costs and terms are clear before the last step.

• Website friction: the small obstacles that stop enquiries

Action: is the next step obvious?

Action checks confirm every page leads somewhere.

• Each key page has one dominant call to action.
• Button text describes what happens next.
• The call to action repeats after each major section.
• Price guidance appears on service pages.
• Visitors not ready to enquire have a softer option.
• No page is a dead end.

• Design the path from first visit to enquiry
• Website call to action examples that get clicked

Follow-up: is every enquiry captured and answered?

Follow-up checks confirm the website's work is not wasted after the form is sent.

• Forms, calls, WhatsApp and bookings are tracked as key events.
• Enquiry notifications reach a monitored inbox.
• A thank-you page says what happens next and when.
• Enquiries are answered within one working hour.
• Each enquiry's source is recorded.
• Outcomes (won or lost) are recorded.

• Track every website enquiry to its source
• The thank-you page: the most ignored page on your site

When is a checklist not enough?

A checklist catches the common gaps. It cannot tell you what your particular buyers need, which is where on-site surveys, user testing and sales team knowledge come in. If the site passes most checks and still converts poorly, the issue is likely traffic quality or an offer that does not fit the market.

• Ask visitors why they did not enquire: on-site surveys

What does this look like in practice?

A UK mortgage broker ran the checklist and failed 13 checks, 5 of them in Follow-up. Calls were not tracked, the form notifications went to a shared inbox checked once a day and there was no thank-you page. Fixing those first showed the website was producing more enquiries than anyone realised, and the faster replies lifted completed applications.

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

Next step

Run the checklist this week on your top five pages. If you fail more than ten checks, the gap between a good website and a high-converting one is costing you enquiries every month.