Homepage conversion checklist: 20 checks

Key takeaways

This homepage conversion checklist has 20 yes or no checks in five groups of four, one group for each rung of the GBL Homepage Ladder: arrive, understand, believe, choose and act. Score one point per yes. 16 or more is sound; 12 to 15 means fix the weakest group; under 12 means start with the lowest group that scores two or fewer.

• 20 checks in 5 groups of 4: arrive, understand, believe, choose, act.
• 16 or more: sound. Look elsewhere for problems.
• 12 to 15: fix the weakest group first.
• Under 12: start at the lowest group scoring 2 or fewer.

How do you use the homepage checklist?

Answer each check yes or no, testing on a phone where it says so. Do it with someone outside the business if you can, because owners know too much to see the page as a stranger. Score one point per yes. The general high-converting website checklist covers the whole site; this one is only the homepage.

• Why your homepage is not converting visitors into customers
• High-converting website checklist

Arrive: are the right people reaching a working page?

• Most homepage visitors are in places and segments you serve.
• The homepage loads its first screen within about 2.5 seconds on a phone.
• Nothing covers the first screen on mobile, such as pop-ups or banners.
• Your search title and description match what the homepage says.

• Wrong visitors reaching your homepage? Check traffic first
• Core Web Vitals on your homepage: what to fix first

Understand: can a stranger tell what you do?

• The headline says what you do in buyers' words.
• The subheadline says who it is for and the result.
• Your service area or delivery promise is in the first screen.
• A stranger can explain your business after 20 seconds.

• Homepage hero section: the five parts that convert
• Show where you work on your homepage

Believe: is there specific proof near the top?

• A review score with a count appears in the first two screens.
• Required or recognised accreditations are shown and checkable.
• At least two pieces of real, specific work are shown.
• Every claim and number on the page can be backed up.

• The trust bar under your hero: what goes in it
• Case study teasers that pull visitors deeper

Choose: is there one obvious next step?

• One primary action has the strongest button on the page.
• The button says what visitors get, not 'Submit' or 'Learn more'.
• The action repeats about every two screens.
• On a phone, the action is visible without opening the menu.

• One primary call to action on your homepage
• Mobile menus that hide your homepage's next step

Act: does the route work end to end?

• The form has five fields or fewer and works on iPhone and Android.
• The phone number is tappable and answered or called back quickly.
• Text beside the button says who replies and when.
• Key events for each route are recorded in GA4.

• Should your homepage have a contact form?
• Track homepage button clicks in GA4

What do the scores mean?

16 or more means the homepage is sound; if enquiries are still low, look at traffic, inner pages or follow-up. 12 to 15 means one group is holding the page back: fix that group first. Under 12 means start with the lowest group scoring two or fewer, because it caps every group above it. These bands are GBL working rules of thumb.

Across our client work, conversion-focused website changes have delivered a 2.4× enquiry rate; treat that as context for what is possible, not a promise for any one business.

• Which homepage problem should you fix first?
• A 30-day plan to fix a homepage that does not convert

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: a homepage scores well on believe and act, because reviews and the form are good, but scores one out of four on understand. The fix is a new headline, subheadline and area line, not new reviews or a new form.

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

Using the checklist

• Test on a phone with someone outside the business.
• Score each of the 20 checks yes or no.
• Add up each group of four.
• Fix the weakest group, lowest rung first.
• Re-score after four to eight weeks.

• A homepage rewrite, before and after
• What a homepage fix costs in the UK

Next step

Run the 20 checks this week and write down each group's score out of four. The lowest group is your next project.