Free checks now show an estimated score range, and the leaderboard is full audits only

Two days after free checks launched we compared them with full audits of the same sites. The free-check total was higher every time, by up to ten points. One site got 67 from a full audit and 76 from a free check an hour later.

Why the free check ran high

Two of the eight categories, UI/UX and Conversion, are scored by the AI design review: it looks at the rendered page on desktop and mobile and judges hierarchy, calls to action, trust and the mobile layout. A free check does not run that review. All it can tell from the HTML is that a hero, a navigation and buttons exist, and that passes almost every time. So UI/UX came out near 100 for nearly every site, and the total went up with it.

What changed

• A range, not a number. A free check shows an estimated Growth Score such as 66–76: the top is what the free check measured, the bottom is ten points lower, and on the sites we compared the full audit landed inside it. No grade: a range can cross two grades.
• UI/UX and Conversion carry no score in a free check. They show "AI review" instead, with the issues the HTML check did find.
• Leaderboard, badge and featured spots use full audits only. Sites that were listed with a free-check score are back to the score of their last full audit, or off the board until they have one.
• No fake progress. Score changes are measured between full audits only, in the report, the dashboard and the weekly digest.

The full audit gives the exact score and grade, and puts the site on the leaderboard: one credit or any plan.