Website Due Diligence Checklist: What to Verify First

This website due diligence checklist covers what to verify before you buy any online store: traffic proof, revenue proof, supplier relationships, domain and trademark, account transfers, reviews and chargebacks, and legal risk. If you are buying a brand-new starter store instead, there is a section on checking the build itself.

Due diligence is simple in principle. The seller makes claims, and you check each one against a source the seller cannot easily edit. Work through the list below in order, write down what you saw and where, and do not pay until every item is either confirmed or priced into the deal.

Why a website due diligence checklist matters

Most bad online store purchases are not scams. They are ordinary businesses with a problem nobody looked for: traffic that came from a single ad account, a supplier who only deals with the old owner, or a brand name that belongs to someone else. A checklist stops you from skipping the boring parts because the listing looked good.

It also gives you a fair basis to negotiate. Every problem you find is either a reason to walk away or a reason to change the price or terms. If you want to understand how those findings affect price, read how to value a website.

1. Traffic proof

Traffic claims are the easiest to inflate and the easiest to check if you insist on the right access.

Ask for live access, not screenshots. A screen-share or read-only login to the analytics account lets you change date ranges and filters yourself.
Look at sources. Where do visitors come from: search, paid ads, social, email, direct? A store that gets most of its traffic from one channel carries more risk.
Check the trend over time. Look at at least 12 months if the store is that old. Sudden spikes just before a sale are worth asking about.
Match traffic to orders. Visitors should roughly line up with orders in the store platform. Large traffic with very few orders can mean low-quality or bought traffic.
Check search visibility yourself. Search for the store's main product terms and brand name. See whether the store appears and whether any search penalties or manual actions show in its search console account.

2. Revenue and profit proof

Revenue is the number that sets the price, so verify it from more than one direction.

Store platform reports. Look at orders, refunds and net sales by month inside the platform itself.
Payment processor. Look at payouts in the processor account. These should match the platform, less fees and refunds.
Bank deposits. Ask to see the bank statements the payouts land in. This is the hardest source to fake.
Costs. Get every cost: product cost, shipping, apps, hosting, ads, contractors, and the owner's own time. Profit is what is left after all of them.
Ad spend. If the store runs paid ads, see the ad account directly. Revenue that only exists while ad spend is high is a different business from revenue that arrives on its own.

If a seller refuses live access to analytics, the store platform or the payment processor, treat the numbers as unverified. You can still buy, but price it as if the revenue might not be there.

3. Supplier and dropship relationships

Many online stores do not hold their own stock. The supplier relationship is often the real asset, and it does not always transfer with the website.

Get the name of every supplier and what share of sales each one covers.
Ask whether the supplier account is in the seller's personal name or the business name, and whether the supplier will accept a new owner.
Contact the supplier yourself before closing, with the seller's permission, and confirm pricing, stock and shipping times.
Check whether there is a written agreement, and whether it has exclusivity, minimum orders or a termination clause.
Look for a backup supplier for the best-selling products.

If you are still deciding between a store that ships from suppliers and one that holds stock, see dropshipping vs holding inventory.

4. Domain and trademark

Domain ownership. Look up who the registrar lists and confirm the seller controls the registrar account. Check the renewal date.
Domain history. Check whether the domain was used for something else before. A past spam or unrelated use can affect search performance.
Trademark search. Search the brand name in the trademark database for each country you plan to sell in. A conflict with an existing mark can force a rebrand after you buy.
Social handles and email. List every social account and email address tied to the brand and confirm they will be handed over.

5. Platform and account transfers

An online store is a bundle of accounts. Write down each one and how it moves to you.

Store platform account (for example, a Shopify store has its own ownership transfer process; see buying a Shopify store).
Payment processor. These accounts are usually tied to a person or business identity and often cannot be transferred. Plan to open your own.
Theme and app licences. Some are tied to the store and move with it, some are tied to the developer or the seller and need a new subscription.
Email marketing list and tool. Check the list was collected with consent and that the tool allows a change of owner.
Ad accounts, analytics, search console, and any content or design files.

6. Reviews, refunds and chargebacks

Read the store's reviews on and off the site. Look for patterns: late delivery, wrong items, quality.
Ask for refund and chargeback rates by month from the payment processor. A rising chargeback rate can put a processor account at risk.
Look at the customer support inbox. Unanswered complaints show you what you are inheriting.

7. Legal and regulatory items

This is where niche matters most. For pet supply, outdoor and health products, check:

Health and wellness claims. Product pages, ads and emails that claim to treat, cure or prevent a condition can break advertising and product rules. In the United States, both the FTC and the FDA have rules that apply to health claims. Read every product page and remove or rewrite anything you cannot support.
Restricted products. Some outdoor items (knives, certain hunting gear) and some supplements have shipping or age restrictions that vary by state and country.
Required policies. Privacy policy, returns policy and terms of service should exist and match how the store actually operates.
Taxes. Ask where the store has been collecting sales tax and whether there are any unpaid amounts.
Purchase agreement. Make sure it lists every asset, states what the seller warrants, and says what happens if a claim turns out to be false.

Do you need a lawyer? For a small starter store, many buyers do not. For a store with real revenue, a regulated niche such as health products, or an agreement you do not fully understand, a short legal review is a reasonable cost next to the price of getting it wrong.

The biggest red flags

The seller will not give live access to analytics, the store platform or the payment processor.
Revenue depends on one ad channel or one supplier.
The brand name conflicts with an existing trademark.
Product pages make health claims a regulator would not accept.
Chargebacks or complaints are rising in recent months.

Checking a brand-new starter store

A starter store is a new build with no sales history. There is no revenue to verify and no traffic to audit, and anyone who tells you otherwise is describing something else. You are paying for the work of building it, so due diligence is about the build.

Who owns the domain. It should be registered to you, or transferred to you at handover, not held by the builder.
Hosting. Where does the store run, who pays for it, and what happens if you want to move it later?
Theme and app licences. Are they licensed to you, and what are the ongoing costs?
Supplier accounts. Are the supplier or dropship accounts in your name, or does the builder hold them?
Content. Are product descriptions and images licensed for your use? Do any health product pages make claims you would not want to defend?
Transfer of ownership. Get a written list of every account and login you will receive, and a date for handover.

You can see what a starter build includes in each niche on our websites for sale page.

How long due diligence takes

For a small store with a cooperative seller, a careful buyer can usually work through this list in days rather than weeks. Larger stores, or sellers who are slow to share access, take longer. The time is set by how quickly you can get live access to each account, so ask for access on the first day.

Common questions

What is website due diligence?

It is the checking you do before you pay for a website or online store. You confirm that the traffic, revenue, supplier relationships, domain, accounts and legal position are what the seller says they are.

How do I verify a seller's revenue?

Ask for read-only or screen-shared access to the store platform and the payment processor, and match those figures against bank deposits. Screenshots and spreadsheets alone are not proof.

What should I check when buying a brand-new starter store?

A new store has no revenue to verify, so you check the build: who owns the domain, where it is hosted, whether theme and app licences transfer, whether supplier accounts are in your name, and exactly how ownership is handed over.

Do I need a lawyer for website due diligence?

For a small starter store, many buyers do not. For a store with real revenue, a regulated niche such as health products, or a purchase agreement you do not fully understand, paying for a short legal review is a reasonable cost.

What are the biggest red flags when buying an online store?

A seller who will not give live access to analytics or payment accounts, revenue that depends on one ad channel or one supplier, trademark conflicts in the name, and health product claims that a regulator would not accept.