Judging the design of your website can be difficult. If you’re not a designer, how can you know the design meets your reader’s needs?

Without objective measures, it’s difficult to know whether your website’s design is effective. B2B buyers are judging you and your business based off the design of your website.

As a freelance consultant, this is especially important. You are your brand.

Here is a checklist that you can run through every page on your website. Shoot on 100% for every page. 80% will suffice. With most of these checked off, you can safely say your website is well designed and easy for your readers to use.

I’ve included free tools to help you check each item off the list. These tools will help you or your designer optimize and perfect these key aspects of each page on your website.

There is always room for improvement, but this checklist will give you a solid foundation.

NOTE: This is meant for your individual pages – but can apply to your blog posts as well.

This page has sufficient contrast.
All non-decorative images feature alt text.
This page is screen-reader friendly.

The colors reflect your brand and the feeling you want to create.
Your brand’s persona and tone is apparent throughout the page.
The imagery on this page is relevant and supports the copy.

This page has no typos.
The content is easy to read.
The page has a specific goal (which the content aims to fulfill).
The page has headlines making it easy for the reader to scan.

This page works on all devices (simulate devices with Device Mode).
This page works on all modern browsers.
This page is printer friendly.

This page loads in under 3 seconds.
The reader will know what this page is about from the headline.
It is easy for the reader to know which page they are on (and how to get back to the homepage).

Checking off everything from this list for every page of your website doesn’t automatically mean it will convert well and grow your business.

What it does mean is that you have the foundation for a solid design that is focused on best serving your readers.

The most important aspect of any web design relates to your content and it’s organization. If your website is hard to read or navigate, it immediately fails no matter how “pretty” it is. This applies to all devices and browsers.

Your readers are members of your audience and your potential clients. A good design helps you position yourself as a trusted adviser in your industry.