It’s not uncommon to hear that the reason a company built a website is “to have a website.” While we all love a little bit of circular logic before breakfast, if you’re going to put a lot of time and money into promoting your website, it’s important to have a good idea of what it’s doing for you.

Most websites are built out of a combination of basic building blocks. Whether your site is a web-based store seeking online sales; a personal blog seeking community connections; a political or religious outlet seeking to persuade, uplift, or inspire; a corporate “brochure” displaying branding identity and company information; or just about any other type of website you can imagine, it will likely include some or all of the following features or elements:

Now, spend some time clicking around your website. You should be able to tell which of the features in the preceding list are included. How well is each component doing its job? For now, think in terms of presentation and functionality. (Is your product information up-to-date? Is your online store full of technical glitches? Are your forms asking the right questions?) Give each feature that you find a ranking of Excellent, Good, Fair, or Poor. Obviously this isn’t going to be a scientific process—just make your best estimate.

Jason and Elizabeth’s checklists might look something like Tables 1.3 and 1.4: