How does my shop’s website measure up?

Short answer: This free grader asks 12 yes-or-no questions about your shop's website, then gives you a score and a fix list. It compares your answers with our October 2026 check of 171 working local business sites around Aurora, where only 76 (44%) had all four basics: HTTPS, a phone-friendly layout, hours and tap-to-call.

The 12 questions, and how local sites compared

This table is the whole grader in one place, so you can use it even if the interactive version doesn’t load: count your “yes” answers. The middle column shows how many of the 171 working local business websites we fully scored in October 2026 had each one.

Question	Local sites that had it	Why it matters
1. Does your website address start with https, with a padlock in the browser?	168 of 171 (98%)	Browsers warn visitors about pages that aren't secure. What HTTPS means
2. Can you read and use your site on a phone without zooming or scrolling sideways?	168 of 171 (98%) passed a basic phone-layout check	Customers looking for you on the go are on their phones. What a phone-first website includes
3. Are your opening hours written as text on your site, not only in a photo or on Facebook?	105 of 171 (61%)	Hours are one of the first things a new customer checks. Printable listing checklist
4. Does your phone number dial when someone taps it on a phone?	111 of 171 (65%)	A number someone has to copy by hand is a call you might lose. What a tap-to-call link is
5. Does your site link to your Google listing or Google reviews?	68 of 171 (40%)	It lets customers read your reviews and get directions in one tap. Google review link generator
6. Do you have at least one page in Spanish, with your services, hours and how to book?	0 of 171	In Aurora, 41.6% of residents are Hispanic or Latino (U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 estimate). Bilingual website guide
7. Can customers book, order or request an appointment online?	86 of 171 (50%)	Some customers would rather not call, especially after hours. How to handle online booking
8. Does your chamber or other directory listing link to your current, working website?	13 of 188 listed sites we could verify (7%) didn't work	A dead or wrong link sends people somewhere else with your name next to it. Check your directory listing
9. Are your services, menu or prices written as text, not only in photos or a PDF?	Not measured	Text is easier to read on a phone and easier for search engines to understand. Menus and hours on Google
10. Does your site say which town you're in or which towns you serve?	Not measured	Customers want to know quickly that you're nearby. Service areas, explained
11. Do your business name, phone number and hours on your site match your Google profile exactly?	Not measured	Different numbers or hours in different places confuse customers. Google Business Profile checklist
12. Do you know who your domain is registered with, and do renewal notices go to an email you read?	3 of 188 listed sites were on lapsed domains that now forward to unrelated businesses or a gambling site	If the domain lapses, your website and email stop working. Who should own your domain

“Not measured” means our study didn’t check it, so there’s no number to compare. The full method is in our 2026 study of 280 local shops.

How the score works

Each “Yes” counts as one point. If online booking doesn’t fit your business, choose “Doesn’t fit my business” and that question is left out, so your score is out of 11. The score is a checklist, not a prediction: it can’t tell you how many customers you’ll get.

Want a person to look instead? AP Visible’s free audit checks your website and Google profile the way a customer would. Call or text (331) 298-2109.

Frequently asked questions

Does the shop website grader save or send my answers?

No. It runs only in your browser. Nothing you choose is saved or sent anywhere, and there's no sign-up.

Why doesn't the grader just scan my website?

For privacy and security, this page can't load other websites. Answering the questions yourself takes about two minutes, and you'll notice things a scan would miss.

Where do the comparison numbers come from?

From AP Visible's October 2026 study of 280 independent businesses in Aurora and eight nearby towns, drawn from public chamber, downtown and village directories. Site features were checked on the 171 working sites we fully scored.

Sources

• AP Visible, “How visible are Aurora’s small businesses online? (2026)” (280 businesses, data collected October 28, 2026): apvisible.com/aurora-small-business-online-visibility-2026
• U.S. Census Bureau, QuickFacts, Aurora city, Illinois (Hispanic or Latino share, 2025 estimate): https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/auroracityillinois/PST045224