Most UK Websites Are Not Compliant: How to Check Yours

Most UK business websites have at least one compliance gap, and the owners usually have no idea it is there. Cookie banners that set trackers before anyone clicks, privacy policies written years ago, missing company details and buttons a screen reader cannot use are all very common. Each one is a legal risk, and each one quietly costs you customers.

The good news is that most of these problems are quick to fix once you can see them.

Why so many websites fall short

Websites change constantly. A new marketing tag goes in, a plugin updates, a developer adds a chat widget, a form is rebuilt. Nobody re-checks compliance after each change, so a site that was fine at launch drifts out of line within months.

There is also no single owner. Marketing looks after the content, IT looks after hosting, and legal signs off the privacy policy once. The gaps fall in between.

The most common problems we see

Cookies set before consent

Under PECR, non-essential cookies (analytics, advertising, social pixels) need consent before they are set. Many banners look right but load Google Analytics or a Meta pixel the moment the page opens. A "Reject" option that is harder to find than "Accept" is another frequent problem.

Out-of-date privacy information

UK GDPR requires clear information about what you collect, why, who you share it with and how long you keep it. Policies often miss newer tools, list old suppliers or say nothing about people's rights.

Accessibility barriers

Missing image descriptions, low-contrast text, unlabelled form fields and pages you cannot use with a keyboard all shut people out. WebAIM's yearly study of the top one million home pages keeps finding detectable accessibility errors on more than nine in ten of them. Under the Equality Act 2010, businesses must make reasonable adjustments for disabled people, and that includes their websites.

Missing business details

Limited companies must show their registered name and other details on their website under the Companies Act rules. Online sellers have further information duties under consumer law. These details are often missing or buried.

Weak security settings

Missing security headers, out-of-date software and badly set up email records (SPF, DKIM and DMARC) make your site and domain easier to abuse. Insurers and Cyber Essentials assessors increasingly look at these.

What it costs to get it wrong

The ICO has made cookie compliance a priority, and it has been reviewing the UK's most visited websites and writing to those that fall short. The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 raises PECR fines to UK GDPR levels. Fines are only part of the picture, though. Complaints, lost sales from people who cannot use your site, failed supplier checks and damage to trust often cost more.

How to check your own website

You can do a basic check by hand:

1. Open your site in a private browser window and see which cookies load before you click anything.
2. Read your privacy policy against the tools you actually use today.
3. Try to use your key pages with only a keyboard.
4. Check your footer and contact page for your full company details.
5. Ask your developer when security headers and email records were last reviewed.

Doing this properly across every page, and doing it again after every change, takes time. That is why we built a checker to do it for you.

Check your website in minutes with ComplianceCheck

ComplianceCheck scans your website across five areas (cookies and consent, privacy, accessibility, legal information and security) and gives you a plain-English report with a clear fix list.

• Free scan for one website, so you can see where you stand today
• Prioritised fix checklist, with step-by-step guidance for common platforms
• Ongoing monitoring that re-scans your site and alerts you when something changes
• Shareable and white-label reports for your board, clients or auditors

It helps you find and fix problems before a customer, competitor or regulator does.

Run your free website compliance scan or learn more about ComplianceCheck.

This article is general information, not legal advice. For specific legal questions, speak to a qualified adviser.