We spent the past month analyzing 184 business websites across London, Ontario. Dentists, restaurants, law firms, auto shops, fitness studios — the full cross-section. We scored each one on performance, mobile experience, security, SEO, content quality, and accessibility.
The results were illuminating.
The Big Picture
Average score: 4.2 out of 10.
That's not great. It means the typical London business website has significant room for improvement. But the range was wide — scores went from a low of 1 to a high of 9.
Here's the breakdown:
- 8-10 (Excellent): 12% of businesses — Fast, mobile-friendly, secure, and well-maintained. These businesses are winning online.
- 6-7 (Good): 19% — Solid sites with minor issues. Usually missing a few SEO fundamentals or have slightly slow load times.
- 4-5 (Fair): 28% — The "it works, sort of" category. Functional but clearly not a priority.
- 2-3 (Needs Work): 27% — Significant problems. Broken layouts on mobile, expired SSL certificates, outdated content.
- 0-1 (Poor): 14% — Either no website at all or one that's essentially non-functional.
What the Top Performers Do Differently
The businesses scoring 8+ share a few traits:
- They invest in modern platforms. Custom builds, headless CMS setups, or well-maintained WordPress sites with quality themes. None of them are running templates from 2015.
- They prioritize speed. Average load time for top scorers: 1.8 seconds. Average for bottom scorers: 9.4 seconds.
- They keep content fresh. Updated service pages, recent blog posts, current team photos.
- They treat mobile as the default. Not an afterthought — the primary experience.
The Most Common Issues
Across all 184 businesses, these problems appeared most frequently:
- Slow mobile load times (68%) — The single most common issue. Large unoptimized images are usually the culprit.
- No clear call to action (52%) — Visitors land on the site and have no obvious next step.
- No mobile optimization (41%) — Sites that technically "work" on mobile but are painful to use.
- Outdated business information (31%) — Wrong hours, old phone numbers, discontinued services.
- Missing or expired SSL certificates (23%) — Still surprisingly common in 2026.
How Different Industries Compare
Some industries consistently outperformed others:
- Lawyers and financial advisors tend to score highest (avg 5.8). Their clients make high-stakes decisions and expect professionalism online.
- Restaurants were surprisingly strong (avg 5.1), likely because many use platforms like Square or Toast that handle the basics well.
- Dental and medical practices landed in the middle (avg 4.4), though with huge variation — some excellent, others running sites untouched since 2018.
- Trades (plumbing, electrical, HVAC) scored lowest on average (avg 3.1). Many rely on word-of-mouth and don't prioritize their web presence.
Why This Matters for Your Business
If your competitors are scoring 4 out of 10, you don't need perfection to stand out. A score of 7 puts you ahead of roughly 70% of London businesses. That's achievable for almost any business willing to invest a few hundred dollars and a weekend of effort.
The businesses at the top aren't spending tens of thousands on their websites. They're getting the fundamentals right and maintaining them consistently.
See Where You Stand
We've published our full directory of London business scores. Browse by category, see your score, and get specific recommendations for improvement.
Browse the London, Ontario directory
Not listed? Request a free audit and we'll add your business within 48 hours.