Check your website on a phone in five minutes

Open a fresh browser tab and type your website address. If practical, use mobile data rather than your office Wi-Fi. Look at the actual page, not a saved screenshot. Can you tell what the business does, where it works and what to do next without hunting through the menu?

Tap the address bar to check for HTTPS and look for browser warnings. Do not bypass a certificate warning. Notice whether useful text and the main contact option appear while other content is still loading. One slow visit is a clue to investigate, not a reliable speed measurement.

Hold the phone upright and scroll down the homepage. Text should be readable without pinching to zoom. Look for words cut off at the edge, overlapping headings and images that push the page sideways. Try the menu and close it again. Check whether a cookie banner covers the navigation or contact button.

Use your browser's text-size or page-zoom setting to enlarge the text. Can you still read the page and reach its buttons? Do not judge solely by whether the page fits a particular phone. A page can fit neatly and still be hard to use for someone who needs larger text.

Find the route a customer would use for an enquiry, booking or order. Visit the contact page too, if there is one. If a phone number is displayed, tap the number or the nearby call button. Does it offer to dial the right number? Cancel before placing a call.

Tap the email link and check that it opens a draft addressed to the business. Close it without sending. If a form is the main route, check that its fields have clear labels and that the keyboard does not hide the next field or button. Do not submit a test containing someone else's details. Submission and delivery need a separate, agreed test.

Open the main service or product page, then the booking, enquiry or directions link. If time remains, try the footer links. Watch for missing-page messages, a button that does nothing or a destination unrelated to its label.

Write down both the page containing the link and the words on the button. Retry a failed page once before calling it broken. A temporary error, blocked request or sign-in screen needs investigation. It is not automatically a missing page. You do not need to test every link to record a useful, specific example.

Review your notes. Give priority to a browser warning, an unusable contact route or a key page that consistently fails. Save a screenshot with personal information removed. Send your web person the exact address and what happened, rather than just saying the website is broken.

If you have a Google Business Profile, manually check its opening hours, contact details and website link too. This may need another session. A map on your website does not prove that your profile is correct or that you control it.

A phone walkthrough does not measure search rankings, prove legal compliance or establish that everyone can use the site. Lighthouse can help check mobile speed, accessibility and search basics in a lab, but its scores do not describe every visitor's experience or replace a full accessibility review.

Check the homepage title and search description separately with your web person. An old or missing copyright year is not, by itself, proof that the business is inactive or the website is broken. Certificate renewal and domain renewal also need separate checks. Confirm domain renewal in your registrar account; an unavailable public expiry date does not mean it has expired.