The interactive audit needs JavaScript to score your answers and
show you which band you land in. Below are all twelve questions
with the same explanations the interactive version surfaces when
you answer “no.” Read through them, count your
“no” answers, and use the score guide at the bottom.
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Question 01 of 15 · Ownership
If you wanted to log into your website's hosting account tonight — Cloudflare, GoDaddy, WP Engine, whoever runs your site — could you do it without calling your agency?
If you answered no: Your agency controls where your website lives. If you leave, they control whether your site comes with you — or whether it just disappears.
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Question 02 of 15 · Ownership
Do you own your domain name that's registered in your name for your website? If you don't, your agency probably owns it.
If you answered no: If your agency owns your domain, they own your address on the internet. Walking away means starting over with a new URL and losing every search ranking you've earned.
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Question 03 of 15 · Ownership
If you fired your agency tomorrow, could you take a working copy of your website with you and hand it to any developer?
If you answered no: You're paying every month for something you can't take with you. That's renting, not owning.
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Question 04 of 15 · Ownership
Does all your business data, such as your customer email signups, form submissions, blog content, sales records, and analytics, land in accounts you own?
If you answered no: The data your website generates is some of the most valuable property your business owns — customer relationships, sales records, the content you've published, the analytics that prove your traction. If your agency holds even one of the accounts where this data lives, leaving means losing assets you can't replace. The right answer is that every account, for every kind of data, is in your name.
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Question 05 of 15 · Transparency
Are your agency's prices published on their website for anyone to see? (Meaning they charge the same rates for every client — no hiding behind "contact us for a quote.")
If you answered no: Custom-quote pricing is how agencies price-discriminate. The same site can cost one customer $500 a month and another $1,500 — based on what the salesperson thinks the buyer will pay, not what the work is worth. Published pricing is the only way to know you're getting the same deal as everyone else. Every TechTailors service has its price on the website. Always has, always will.
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Question 06 of 15 · Transparency
Does your monthly invoice show a line-by-line breakdown of what you're paying for — hosting, software, etc.?
If you answered no: A single-line invoice is the easiest place in the world for an agency to hide a markup. If you can't see where the money goes, you can't tell whether you're paying $20 a month or $200 a month for the same hosting.
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Question 07 of 15 · Transparency
When your monthly bill goes up, does your agency tell you exactly which of their costs increased and why?
If you answered no: Markup on vendor costs is one of the oldest plays in the agency playbook. If you can't see what your hosting or software actually costs, you can't tell whether your last price hike was real or just margin.
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Question 08 of 15 · Transparency
Has your agency ever told you how fast your website loads on a phone, or run a Google PageSpeed test in front of you?
If you answered no: Your website might be quietly losing you customers every day with a slow phone load, and you'd never know. Ask your agency for a Google PageSpeed score. If they hesitate, you have your answer.
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Question 09 of 15 · Quality
When you pull up your own website on your phone, does it load in under three seconds and look as clean as it does on a laptop?
If you answered no: More than 60% of your potential customers see your site on a phone before they ever see it on a laptop. If it's slow or broken there, you're losing them before you ever know they showed up.
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Question 10 of 15 · Quality
When someone Googles your business name, does the result show your hours, phone number, address, and star rating right there — or just a plain blue link?
If you answered no: Those Google-result extras come from JSON-LD structured data — markup that tells Google exactly what your business does, where, and how customers rate you. Without it, your listing competes on plain text while every well-marked-up competitor takes more screen space and looks more legitimate at the moment a customer is choosing who to call. We add over 23 types of structured data to every site we ship.
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Question 11 of 15 · Quality
If a friend asked which software your website is built on — WordPress, Shopify, Squarespace, Webflow, or something custom — could you answer confidently?
If you answered no: You're paying every month for technology you can't name. That makes it impossible to evaluate whether the price is fair, whether anyone else can work on it, or whether you're locked in.
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Question 12 of 15 · Quality
If you asked your agency a handful of these questions, would you have real answers within 48 hours? Not a week of silence or dismissive answer like: "You can find the terms in your contract for reviewing."
If you answered no: A good agency answers your questions like a partner, not a billable opportunity. If your agency points you at your contract or takes a week to respond, the relationship has already broken down — they just haven't told you yet. We answer real questions in plain English within two business days, every time, and there's never a billable line item for explaining things you should already know.
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Question 13 of 15 · Risk
Has anyone ever tested your website for accessibility? Meaning, can someone using a screen reader, only a keyboard with no mouse, or larger text navigate it without hitting walls? Does it meet acceptable accessibility standards?
If you answered no: More than 60 million Americans have a disability that affects how they use the internet. If your site doesn't work for them, you're shutting them out — and exposing yourself to ADA-style legal claims that have hit thousands of small businesses since 2020. Accessibility isn't a nice-to-have; it's a basic professional standard your agency should have met before launch.
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Question 14 of 15 · Risk
Would your website automatically block a hacker trying to inject a fake payment form or phishing link?
If you answered no: A Content Security Policy blocks injection attacks before anyone sees them. The vast majority of small-business sites don't have one. If yours doesn't, your customers' next visit could be the one a hacker uses to steal from them.
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Question 15 of 15 · Risk
If you cancelled your agency contract tomorrow, could your website keep running with you in full control of everything?
If you answered no: If you don't know the answer to this question, you're in a more vulnerable position than you think. Every month you stay locked in is a month your business runs on someone else's terms.
Count the questions you answered “no” or “I’m
not sure” to. Your total maps to one of three bands:
