Website due diligence checklist

The most common red flags

Share of 4,863 listings where our AI flagged each problem.

Our AI reads every new listing on 5 marketplaces. One listing can have several flags.

1. Money

1. Get 12 to 24 months of profit and loss, month by month.
2. Match income to bank, Stripe, PayPal or payout statements.
3. List every cost: hosting, tools, writers, ads, apps.
4. Check the margin makes sense for the type of business.
5. Find out where each dollar comes from. One source over half is a risk.
6. Look for one-off spikes that inflate the average.

2. Traffic and customers

1. Get view access to Google Analytics and Search Console, or a live screen share.
2. Look at 2 years, not 3 months. Note any drop after a Google update.
3. See how many pages bring most of the traffic.
4. Check which countries visitors come from.
5. For SaaS and stores: churn, repeat buyers and refund rates.
6. Check backlinks for spam or paid links.

3. Risks

1. How many hours a week does the owner work on it?
2. Who does the work: writers, developers, suppliers? Will they stay?
3. Does it depend on one platform: Google, Amazon, YouTube, an API?
4. Look up the domain on the Wayback Machine for its past.
5. Check for copied content, trademark issues or policy strikes.
6. Ask why the owner is selling. Does the answer make sense?

4. Price

1. Work out the multiple: price ÷ monthly profit.
2. Compare it with real sales of the same type.
3. Negotiate on the risks you found above.

Check the price with the calculator →

5. Handover

1. Use escrow. Never pay a seller directly.
2. Write a list of every asset and login that moves to you.
3. Agree how long the seller will help after the sale.
4. Release the money only when everything is in your name.

Questions

What is website due diligence?

Checking that a website's traffic, income and risks are what the seller says, before you pay.

What are the most common red flags?

In listings our AI read: Priced too high for the profit (50%). Numbers nobody has checked (37%). Risky or falling traffic (32%).

How long does due diligence take?

For a small site, a few days. For a business over $100k, 2 to 4 weeks is normal.

Do I need a professional?

For small sites, this checklist is enough. For big deals, pay an accountant or a due diligence service.

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