Free checklist, updated 1 November 2026

The AI-ready website checklist.

Building a new site or rebuilding an old one? Work through these 40 checks before launch. They cover what buyers need, what search engines need, and what AI search tools need to find and quote you.

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0 of 40 done

01Clarity

Can a stranger tell what you do in five seconds?

5 checks

The homepage says what you do, who it is for and where you work in one plain sentence.Buyers, and the AI tools summarising you, repeat the clearest sentence they find.
Each service, product line or industry you sell to has its own page.One page per question gives search engines and buyers a precise place to land.
Every page opens with the answer, then the detail.Visitors skim; summaries and AI answers quote the opening of a section.
Jargon is explained, or replaced with the words customers use.Match the language buyers type into search, not your internal names.
There is one primary next step per page, named for what happens (e.g. “Request a quote”).A specific action converts better than a generic “Contact us”.

02Structure

Can people and crawlers find their way?

5 checks

Navigation has seven items or fewer and uses customer words.Fewer, clearer choices reduce drop-off on the first screen.
Every important page is reachable in three clicks and linked from related pages.Internal links help crawlers discover and understand pages.
URLs are short, readable and permanent (/services/sourcing, not /?p=123).Clean URLs are easier to share, cite and keep stable.
Old URLs from the previous site 301-redirect to their new equivalents.Redirects keep the search history you have already earned.
A helpful 404 page points people back to key pages.Broken links happen; dead ends don’t have to.

03Trust

Would a cautious buyer believe you?

5 checks

Real case studies show the situation, decisions and verifiable results.Specific, attributable proof is what buyers and reviewers look for.
Company details are complete: legal name, address, contact email, phone where relevant.Consistent business details build confidence and help search engines identify you.
Certifications, memberships or standards are shown where they genuinely apply.Credentials matter most in regulated and technical industries.
Articles show an author or team name, a publish date and an updated date.Dated, attributed content reads as maintained and accountable.
Testimonials and logos are used only with client permission.Unapproved proof is a legal and reputational risk.

04Search foundations

Is the basic SEO done properly?

6 checks

Every page has a unique title (under ~60 characters) and meta description.Titles and descriptions shape how you appear in results.
One H1 per page, with headings that outline the content in order.Headings are how both readers and crawlers understand structure.
An XML sitemap exists and is submitted in Google Search Console.It helps new pages get discovered and lets you monitor indexing.
robots.txt does not block pages or resources you want found.A single wrong line can hide the whole site.
Canonical tags point to the preferred version of each page.Prevents duplicates from competing with each other.
Images have descriptive alt text and file names.Helps accessibility and image search.

05AI search readiness

Can AI answers find, read and quote you?

6 checks

Key pages are indexed and eligible to show a snippet in Google (no accidental noindex or nosnippet).Google says this is the requirement for appearing as a link in AI Overviews and AI Mode.
Important text is in the HTML, not only in images, sliders, PDFs or text loaded after the page runs scripts.If a crawler can’t read it on first load, it can’t quote it.
An FAQ answers the real questions your sales team hears, in plain sentences.Direct question-and-answer content is easy for people and AI tools to reuse.
Organization structured data lists your name, logo, URL and contact details.Not required for AI features, but still useful for search to understand who you are.
You have decided deliberately which AI crawlers to allow in robots.txt (GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, Google-Extended).Blocking or allowing should be a business decision, not a default.
An llms.txt file is optional. Add one only if you want to; Google has said Search doesn’t use it.Treat it as low-priority housekeeping, not a ranking lever.

06Speed and accessibility

Does it work for everyone, on any device?

5 checks

Core Web Vitals pass on mobile in Search Console or PageSpeed Insights.Slow pages lose visitors before they read a word.
Images are compressed, correctly sized and in a modern format (WebP or AVIF).Images are usually the biggest part of page weight.
Text contrast meets WCAG AA and the site works with a keyboard alone.Accessibility is a legal expectation in many markets, and it is good design.
Forms have visible labels, clear errors and 16px+ inputs on mobile.Small inputs zoom on iPhone and frustrate buyers mid-enquiry.
Buttons and links are at least 44 × 44px to tap.Many B2B buyers do their first visit on a phone.

07Enquiries and measurement

Do leads arrive, and do you know where from?

4 checks

Every form has been tested on the live site and reaches the right inbox.The most common launch bug is a form that silently goes nowhere.
Forms have spam protection and a clear thank-you state.Protects the inbox and reassures the visitor it worked.
Enquiries, calls and WhatsApp clicks are tracked as conversions.Measure qualified enquiries, not just page views.
Analytics respects privacy and matches what your privacy policy says.Trust is part of the experience.

08Security and legal

Is it safe to run?

4 checks

HTTPS everywhere, with security headers set (HSTS, CSP, X-Content-Type-Options).Protects visitors and signals a maintained site.
Privacy policy and terms match what the site actually collects and your local law (e.g. India’s DPDP Act, GDPR for EU visitors).Generic copied policies are a liability.
CMS, theme and plugins are updated, with automatic backups you have tested restoring.Most WordPress incidents start with an outdated plugin.
Admin accounts use strong passwords and two-factor authentication.Cheap insurance against the most common attacks.

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