How to research competitor websites with a short scorecard
Pick three to five sites your customers would really compare you with, go through each as a customer on your phone, and score them on the same short list: is it clear what they offer, are prices shown, how do you get in touch, what proof do they give. The useful output isn't a report; it's a few decisions for your own site, written into your brief.
Choose the right competitors
The competitors that matter are the ones your customers consider, which aren't always the biggest names in your field. Find them the way a customer would:
- Search for your main service and your town in a private browser window, on a phone. Note the businesses that appear in the map results and the first page.
- Ask recent customers who else they looked at before choosing you.
- Include one aspirational site: a business you admire, possibly in another city, whose site does something well.
- Leave out national chains unless your customers genuinely compare you with them. Their budgets and goals are different.
Three to five is enough. Beyond that, patterns repeat and the afternoon turns into a week.
Score them on the same questions
Use a simple sheet with a row per competitor and a column per question. Score each from 0 to 2 and write one line of evidence, such as a quote or a screenshot. Evidence matters more than the scores.
| Question | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Can you tell what they do in five seconds? | The headline and first screen on a phone, before scrolling |
| Who is it for? | Whether the site names a type of customer or tries to suit everyone |
| Are prices shown? | Fixed prices, ranges, "from" prices, or nothing |
| How do you get in touch or buy? | Number of steps, what the form asks, whether booking is online |
| What proof is there? | Reviews, named clients, photos of real work, credentials |
| What questions are answered? | FAQs, policies, delivery or turnaround times |
| How does it feel on a phone? | Tap targets, text size, how much scrolling before the point |
| How fast is it? | Run the page through PageSpeed Insights |
For speed, PageSpeed Insights reports on mobile and desktop, with field data from real Chrome users where there's enough of it and lab data from a simulated load. Compare competitors on the same setting, and treat small differences as noise.
Run the review, step by step
- Set a time limit: about twenty minutes per site.
- Act as a customer with a task, such as "find out whether they can fit a boiler next week and roughly what it costs". Note where you got stuck.
- Fill in the scorecard as you go, with evidence.
- Look at their history if a site has changed recently. The Wayback Machine shows older captures of many sites, which can reveal what they tried and dropped.
- Repeat for your own site, honestly, if you have one.
- Mark the patterns: what every site does (table stakes), what nobody does (possible gaps) and what one site does especially well.
Turn findings into decisions
Research is only useful once it changes what you build. Convert each pattern into a sentence for your brief:
- Table stakes
- "Everyone shows opening hours and a phone number at the top, so we will too."
- Gaps
- "Nobody shows prices. We'll publish ranges for our three main services."
- Differences
- "They all say 'quality and reliability'. We'll lead with same-week availability and photos of finished jobs."
- Things to avoid
- "Two make you call to book. We'll offer online booking."
Those sentences go straight into your website brief. If you build with Anticode, you can include a competitor's address as a reference in your request; links in the request are read once and summarised into the brief, so say what you want to learn from it ("clearer pricing than this") rather than "copy this".
Mistakes to avoid
- Copying. Copying text or photos infringes their rights, and copying structure makes you look the same as the business you want to stand out from.
- Reviewing on a laptop only. Most of your customers will meet your site on a phone.
- Judging by looks alone. A plain site that answers every question often beats a beautiful one that hides the prices.
- Stopping at the scorecard. No decisions, no value.
Questions people ask
How many competitor websites should I look at?
Three to five, plus one site you admire. More rarely adds new insight for a small business.
Is it OK to copy a competitor's website layout?
Common patterns, such as hours near the top, belong to nobody. Copying their words, photos or distinctive design does, and it makes you blend in.
How often should I repeat this?
Once before a build or redesign, and a quick check once a year as part of reviewing your own site.