With so many companies and individuals offering website review service on the Internet, it is very hard to decide which one to use. In this article I will try to help you to understand important qualities to look for when searching for this kind of service.

Free Reviews

The first question should be: “Do I want to spend any money on a website review?” If the answer is no, then I would recommend 2 choices. First, visit different webmasters forums and look for the “website review” section. If you find a forum with this section, register with the forum and post your URL. It is useful to read posting rules since some forums request that you also review a certain number of other sites before you gain the right to post your own site.
Your second option is to use one of many free services. Since they are free, most of these services are not quality services. It is very easy to find free services using any of the major search engines.

Paid Reviews

If you are serious about improving your website I would recommend having a professionally performed paid website review. How to find the right reviewer? There are a few steps I would recommend that you take.

Step One
Using all available resources (search engines, directories, forums, newsgroups, colleagues, and friends) search for websites that provide this service. Choose just those websites that look professional. If a website providing a review service does not look professional, what are the chances that they will give you an advice on how to make your website look professional? Make a list of your top 10 choices.

Step Two
Email all 10 review services on your list your website URL (web address) and ask them how they feel about reviewing your website. Ask them questions about the review process or anything that is not covered on their own website. Then remove those review services that did not reply within two business days.

Step Three
Revisit all the remaining services websites. Carefully review reports descriptions and write them down so you can compare them later. Read testimonials, sample reports, case studies, check return policy, company information, help section (FAQ), industry articles or tips. If the site is professional it will have at least 90% of these features. If it doesn’t, take it off the list. By now your list will not contain more than 2 or 3 websites.

Step Four
Compare review descriptions, turnaround time, and prices for the remaining sites from your list. At this point you should be able to easily choose the best candidate.