23 things to audit on your website before your next fundraise.

How to use this

Open your homepage in a new tab. Go through the 23 points below. Score yourself yes/no for each. Anything below 18/23 needs work before you send another warm intro. Anything below 15/23 is probably hurting your fundraise meaningfully.

This isn't theoretical. DocSend research shows investors spend an average of 2 minutes and 28 seconds on a pitch deck, and a similar 30–90 second window on your website while reviewing the deck. 30% of decks that result in a meeting are shared internally before the meeting is scheduled, meaning multiple associates skim the site before you ever talk to a partner. Every yes you can convert to a no on this list is one less reason to pass.

Hero and positioning (6 points)

The first viewport carries 57% of total viewing time. Get this right and everything else compounds.

1. Can a stranger read your headline and explain what you do?

Test: read it to a friend in an unrelated industry. Can they paraphrase what your company does in one sentence? If not, the headline is too vague.

2. Is the headline outcome-led, not feature-led?

"The product development system for teams and agents" (outcome) beats "AI-powered project management software" (feature).

3. Is your audience visible in the hero?

Either the headline or subhead should name the user. "For finance teams" or "Built for B2B SaaS", not just "For modern teams."

4. Is your actual product visible in the hero?

A real screenshot, a video, or a working demo. Not stock illustration. Not abstract gradients with floating UI elements.

5. Is there one clear primary CTA?

Filled button, not competing with two other equally-weighted CTAs. One primary + one optional secondary = good. Three or more CTAs = bad.

6. Does the page load in under 2 seconds on mobile?

PageSpeed Insights, mobile, throttled 4G. Anything over 2 seconds drops conversion measurably.

Social proof (4 points)

CXL's eye-tracking research shows social proof works near a CTA or at a point of friction, not buried in the footer.

7. Are customer logos visible in the first scroll?

At least 4–6 recognizable logos, ideally in the second or third viewport. Below the fold but above the features section.

8. Are testimonials named with photo, role, and company?

"Sarah Chen, Head of Engineering, Linear" beats "S.C., Tech Company." Anonymous testimonials read as fake.

9. Is there at least one specific number or stat?

"150,000 businesses" or "$1.9T processed in 2025" or "50% of YC companies." Specificity beats vague claims.

10. Is there at least one press or recognized publication mention if you have one?

"As featured in TechCrunch" if you were actually featured. Skip the section entirely if you weren't, empty press sections are worse than no press section.

Team and credibility (3 points)

Investors are betting on the team. The team page is where the bet gets evaluated.

11. Does the team page have real headshots taken in the last 18 months?

No stock photos. No cropped LinkedIn profile photos. Real photos that match the brand visual style.

12. Does each team bio mention specific prior companies and roles?

"Built distributed systems at Stripe (2018–2024)" beats "15 years of engineering excellence."

13. Is the founder's LinkedIn linked from the team page?

Investors will check anyway. Make it one click instead of a Google search. Same for the company LinkedIn.

Pricing and conversion (3 points)

62% of B2B buyers disqualify hidden-pricing vendors. Investors check this same signal.

14. Is pricing accessible from the nav?

A "Pricing" link in the main nav. Even if pricing is "Talk to sales," the link to that conversation should be one click away.

15. Is there a starting-at anchor visible somewhere?

"Starting at $99/mo" or "Plans from $499/mo", even for custom-pricing products. Investors want to see your ACP / pricing tier signal.

16. Is there a clear path to "get the product"?

Free trial signup, demo request, talk to sales, pick one and make it obvious. If a customer can't figure out how to buy, neither can an investor evaluate your funnel.

Trust and craft (4 points)

These are the points investors silently judge but won't tell you about.

17. Are there any typos, broken capitalization, or copy errors?

Open every page. Read it carefully. Even one typo on the homepage signals "the team doesn't notice details."

18. Is the writing voice consistent across pages?

Homepage tone should match the about page tone should match the blog tone. Inconsistency reads as multiple authors with no editorial oversight.

19. Are images and graphics consistent in style?

Don't mix stock photos with illustrations with 3D renders. Pick one visual approach and execute it across the site.

20. Does the site work on the latest iPhone and Android browsers?

Test on real devices, not just dev tools. Most investors check on mobile. A site that breaks on iPhone is a site that loses the meeting.

Technical signals (3 points)

These don't move emotions but they get checked when an investor's technical co-investor reviews.

21. Does the site have meta tags, OG images, and a favicon?

View source on the homepage. If <meta name="description"> is missing or generic, fix it. OG image should be designed, not a screenshot of the homepage. Favicon should be your actual logo, not the default React or Next.js icon.

22. Is SSL working (HTTPS, no warnings)?

A site that throws an SSL warning is dead on arrival. Check the URL bar.

23. Is the company info verifiable in the footer?

Legal company name, address (or city + state at minimum), copyright year up to date. Vague "© 2023" footers signal abandoned site.

The compounding effect

A site that scores 23/23 isn't twice as good as one that scores 12/23, it's exponentially better. Investors form a snap judgment in 100ms (Princeton, Willis & Todorov 2006). Every additional craft signal compounds the judgment in your favor. Each missing item makes the cumulative impression worse than the sum of its parts.

The 5-minute pre-meeting audit

Before any specific investor meeting, run this fast version:

1. Open homepage in incognito mode (clears your cached impression)
2. Read it as if you've never heard of the company
3. Check whether the most important update from the last 3 months is reflected somewhere
4. Make sure your team page reflects current headcount
5. Make sure pricing isn't outdated
6. Check that there are no broken links in the nav
7. Make sure the contact form actually works
8. Confirm there's nothing embarrassing on the careers page

This catches the worst surprises. Five minutes well spent before any high-stakes outreach.

What this checklist won't fix

Some things this checklist genuinely can't help with:

• Bad positioning. If your company is positioned wrong, no homepage polish fixes it. Read April Dunford before redesigning.
• A weak product. A pretty site for a product nobody wants is still a product nobody wants.
• No traction. A great-looking site with no logos and no metrics signals "no users." Either get a logo or two, or hide social proof entirely.
• Investor mismatch. If you're pitching consumer to a B2B-only fund, the site won't save you.

The checklist is for the case where your fundamentals are good but your homepage is leaking the impression. That's a common case, and the fixes are mechanical.

Print version

A printable PDF of the 23-point checklist is available, DM me on LinkedIn or book an intro call and I'll send it. Or just bookmark this page and run through it manually. The discipline of doing the audit is what matters, not the format.