UK Small Business Website Health Report
Original research by Get Your Website Seen
We audit UK small business websites every week as part of how we work. Over time, the data has added up — and the picture it paints is worth sharing. This page is a live summary of what we’ve found across more than 2,700 audits. The numbers are updated regularly as we continue auditing new sites.
This isn’t theoretical. Every number on this page comes from a real website belonging to a real UK small business.
The Headlines
GDPR & Legal Compliance
More than half the sites we’ve audited have basic legal compliance issues. Under UK data protection law, any website that collects personal information — and if you’ve got a contact form or analytics running, you are — needs a privacy policy and a way for visitors to manage cookies.
The ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) is the UK body responsible for enforcing data protection. Fines for cookie consent violations start at £17,500. These aren’t technicalities — they’re legal requirements that over half the businesses we audited aren’t meeting.
GDPR compliance varies dramatically by industry
The 52% headline figure hides large differences between sectors. Some industries are far worse than others.
| Industry | % with no Privacy Policy | Sample size |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic Cleaners | 70.1% | 134 |
| Beauty Salons | 69.4% | 180 |
| Landscapers | 66.7% | 87 |
| Computer Repair | 63.2% | 57 |
| Window Cleaners | 62.1% | 87 |
| Dog Walkers | 61.1% | 72 |
| Photographers | 60.9% | 115 |
| Electricians | 60.4% | 91 |
| Builders | 59.9% | 382 |
| Removals Companies | 54.1% | 148 |
| Plumbers | 50.0% | 114 |
| Taxi Firms | 46.4% | 84 |
| Physiotherapists | 42.3% | 71 |
| Accountants | 36.9% | 160 |
| Estate Agents | 25.2% | 151 |
| Dentists | 20.0% | 50 |
Search Engine Visibility
If Google doesn’t understand what your business does and where you’re based, it can’t show you to the people searching for your services. Nearly half the sites we looked at are making this harder than it needs to be.
Schema markup adoption by industry
Schema markup is one of the clearest signals to Google about what a business does. Adoption varies widely — some industries have effectively standardised on it, while others are leaving it entirely off the table.
| Industry | % with no Schema | Sample size |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic Cleaners | 59.7% | 134 |
| Electricians | 57.1% | 91 |
| Computer Repair | 56.1% | 57 |
| Estate Agents | 51.7% | 151 |
| Dog Walkers | 51.4% | 72 |
| Window Cleaners | 49.4% | 87 |
| Beauty Salons | 48.3% | 180 |
| Builders | 46.6% | 382 |
| Taxi Firms | 45.2% | 84 |
| Accountants | 44.4% | 160 |
| Plumbers | 41.2% | 114 |
| Removals Companies | 39.9% | 148 |
| Photographers | 36.5% | 115 |
| Physiotherapists | 35.2% | 71 |
| Landscapers | 34.5% | 87 |
| Dentists | 22.0% | 50 |
Usability & Accessibility
These are the basics that directly affect whether visitors can actually use your website — and whether they stick around long enough to become customers.
Site Performance
Overall Scores
Every site receives an SEO score and an accessibility score out of 100. Here’s how the numbers break down.
Most Common Primary Issues
Every audit identifies a primary issue — the single biggest thing holding the site back. Here’s how they break down across all 2,706 sites.
Industries Covered
The audits span 78 different industries across the UK. The samples below are those with 20 or more audited sites — the findings on this page are most reliable for these sectors. A further 44 industries with smaller sample sizes also contribute to the overall totals.
How We Collect This Data
Every website is audited using our own purpose-built auditing tools. Each audit checks over 30 factors including security (SSL, HTTPS), legal compliance (GDPR, privacy policy, cookie consent), search engine optimisation (schema markup, meta descriptions, H1 tags, alt text), mobile usability, accessibility, site speed, and broken resources.
The businesses are sourced from Google search results across multiple UK regions and industries, with a deliberate concentration in the Midlands (Leicestershire, Derbyshire, West Midlands, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire) and Bristol. All audits are conducted on live, publicly accessible websites. No data is collected from the businesses themselves — everything is based on what’s visible to any visitor or search engine.
No individual businesses are identified in this report. All findings are presented as aggregate data across the full sample.
This data is updated weekly as new audits are completed. The figures on this page always reflect the latest cumulative totals.
Update Log
- June 2026 Dataset doubled to 2,706 websites across 78 industries. Industry-specific breakdowns for GDPR compliance and schema markup added — exposing significant variation between sectors (domestic cleaners at 70% no privacy policy vs estate agents at 25%). Builders sample now at 382, beauty salons 180, plumbers 114. Average SEO score 81.0, accessibility 73.3. Added regional spread disclosure (Midlands and Bristol concentration).
- March 2026 (update) 1,348 websites audited across 65 industries. Estate Agents, Electricians, Event Planners, Catteries and Vets added as significant sample groups. Average SEO score up to 70.9 (from 64.7). Average accessibility score up to 62.7 (from 56).
- March 2026 1,006 websites audited across 59 industries. Initial publication of findings.
Want to know where your website stands?
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