The honest framework
Before paying any agency to fix your website, run these ten tests yourself. Each one is free, takes 2–3 minutes, and tells you something concrete. By the end you'll know whether your site needs a tune-up (1–3 fails), a serious fix (4–6 fails), or a complete rebuild (7+ fails). And you'll know which agencies are bluffing when they pitch you.
Test 1: Mobile PageSpeed score
Tool: Google PageSpeed Insights Pass: Mobile score ≥ 80 Fail: Mobile score < 60
Paste your homepage URL, click "Analyze," wait 30 seconds. Look at the Mobile score, not Desktop (Google ranks on mobile first).
Below 60 is critical — it costs you both Google rankings and the half of your traffic that bounces before the page loads. We covered the fixes in why am I getting no calls from my website?.
Test 2: Mobile-friendly layout
Tool: Google's Mobile-Friendly Test Pass: "Page is mobile-friendly" Fail: Anything else
If this fails in 2026, the site was built before 2018 and never updated. That's an automatic rebuild — Google has been mobile-first indexing since 2019.
Test 3: Indexation in Google
Tool: Google search Pass: Typing `site:yourdomain.com` returns at least 5 of your pages Fail: Returns nothing or only the homepage
If only the homepage shows, Google can't crawl your site properly. Could be a broken sitemap, blocked routes, or a CMS that hides content from search engines. Diagnose with Google Search Console.
Test 4: Title tag and H1 contain real keywords
Tool: Right-click homepage → "View Page Source" → Ctrl+F for `
` Pass: Both contain your service + your town (e.g. "Solar Panel Installation in Bristol") Fail: Either says just "Home" or "Welcome to MyBusiness"
Title and H1 are how Google decides what your page is about. Generic ones are why so many sites rank nowhere. See why isn't my business showing up on Google? for the full diagnostic.
Test 5: Phone number is tap-to-dial on mobile
Tool: Right-click → View Page Source → search for your phone number Pass: Phone number appears inside `` Fail: Phone number is plain text, or inside an image, or in a JavaScript widget
Mobile users won't manually copy a phone number. If it's not tap-to-dial, you lose every mobile caller.
Test 6: Real install photos on the homepage
Tool: Your own eyes Pass: 4+ photos of actual jobs your team has done, ideally with postcode-area captions Fail: Stock photos, generic product shots, or no photos at all
Customers can spot stock photos within seconds. They also use install photos as the primary trust signal for "is this a real business that does real work?" We broke this down in how do solar customers find installers online?.
Test 7: Real Google reviews embedded or linked
Tool: Open homepage, scroll for reviews Pass: 3+ real Google reviews displayed (live text or a Google widget) with a link to your actual GBP listing Fail: Fake-looking testimonials with stock photos, no reviews at all, or "Testimonial: 'Great service!' — A Customer"
Made-up testimonials are worse than none. Customers and Google both detect them. Embed real reviews from your real GBP listing or don't show any.
Test 8: Accreditation badges visible
Tool: Open homepage, scan header and footer Pass: Visible MCS, TrustMark, Which? Trusted Trader, FMB, or relevant trade body logos Fail: No badges
For renewable installers specifically, MCS certification is mandatory for customers claiming Smart Export Guarantee payments. If your site doesn't display it, you're filtering yourself out of half your potential market.
Test 9: Contact form is 4 fields or fewer
Tool: Open your contact / quote form, count the required fields Pass: Name, postcode, phone, "anything we should know?" — 4 fields max Fail: 6+ fields, especially anything optional that looks required
Every extra field drops completion by ~10%. A 4-field form converts at 2–3× the rate of a 10-field form.
Test 10: Schema markup present
Tool: Google's Rich Results Test Pass: Returns at least 2 valid schemas (e.g. LocalBusiness + Service) Fail: Returns "No items detected"
Schema is the hidden code that tells Google what your business is and triggers rich results (star ratings, opening hours, FAQs in search). Without it, you're invisible to a lot of Google's enhanced result formats. Most CMS plugins (Yoast, RankMath) add schema in two clicks — see how to do SEO for your website step 7.
Scoring
Count how many tests you failed:
- 0–1 fails: Your site is healthy. Spend your money on traffic, not rebuilds.
- 2–3 fails: Tune-up. Spend £500–£1,500 on targeted fixes. Don't rebuild.
- 4–6 fails: Serious fix. £1,500–£3,000 of targeted work, or budget for rebuild.
- 7+ fails: Rebuild. The cost of patching is higher than starting over. £999–£8,000 depending on agency tier (see how much does a website cost for a local business?).
Want this audit done for you?
Request a free audit and we'll send a 2-minute Loom walking through all ten tests on your specific site, with a clear "tune-up / fix / rebuild" recommendation. No call required, sent within 24 hours.
If you'd rather just rebuild it properly, Presencly builds custom websites for UK renewable installers at £999 + £99/month — every site ships at 90+ PageSpeed, all 10 tests passed by default.