Website Due Diligence Checklist: What the Seller Should Prove

A website seller should prove control of the asset, the numbers used to price it, and exactly what transfers. This checklist helps you separate a real acquisition from a page full of attractive claims.

Website due diligence checklist

• Confirm control of the domain. The seller should demonstrate registrar access and identify any lock or transfer delay.
• Open the analytics account. Review traffic inside the source account so screenshots are not carrying the whole claim.
• Match revenue to deposits. Revenue reports should connect to payment records for the same dates.
• Review search and backlink history. Look for sudden losses, manual actions, spam links, or one source carrying most of the audience.
• Inventory the content and rights. The seller should identify original work, licensed material, stock assets, and anything that cannot transfer.
• List every account the site needs. Hosting, email, analytics, advertising, software, and social accounts need a named transfer plan.
• Write down the exact handoff. The agreement should name the domain, files, database, content, credentials, and support period.
• Use a verification period. The buyer needs time to check the evidence before payment becomes final.

Website traffic needs a source and a date

A monthly traffic number is incomplete without the source account and the date range. Search traffic may be durable. A temporary referral spike may disappear after the purchase.

Review the page report as well as the total. One article carrying most of the traffic creates a different risk than steady visits spread across the site.

Website revenue should reach the bank record

A dashboard can report sales that were refunded or never collected. Match the claimed income to settled deposits for the same period.

Then separate revenue from profit. Hosting, software, contractors, paid traffic, and commissions can turn an impressive top-line number into a modest return.

The transfer list is part of the asset

A buyer is not purchasing a screenshot of last month. The value lives in what still works after control changes.

The written transfer should name every file, account, license, and dependency. If an important tool stays in the seller's account, the buyer needs to know before agreeing to the price.

How Shop Digital Property handles proof

Each active listing now carries a dated receipt showing what has been checked and what still needs confirmation. A missing source is marked as missing. It is not quietly turned into a confident claim.

Use the receipt to decide whether to inspect another listing or start an inquiry for the evidence behind the one you want.