Our methods

RateMySite never labels a site as safe, risky or a scam, and has no combined score. Every figure shows its source and the date it was checked.

Checks passed is a plain count of 14 yes/no tests, marked test below. Tests are not weighted. A test that could not run (for example, a source was down) is left out of the total and shown as unavailable.

User rating is the plain average of published ratings. Ratings held for review (for example, a burst of ratings from new accounts) are excluded until a moderator publishes them.

Identity

Site identity
Site name, description and icon as the site declares them in its own HTML.
Key identity · refreshed every 90 days

Technical

Website status test
Passes when the homepage answers with HTTP 200 after following redirects.
Key http_status · refreshed every 1 day
Mobile layout test
Passes when the homepage declares a responsive viewport (<meta name=viewport content=width=device-width>).
Key mobile_friendly · refreshed every 1 day
Mail server (MX) test
Passes when the domain publishes at least one MX record.
Key mx_record · refreshed every 1 day
Redirects test
Lists the redirect chain. Passes when the homepage does not redirect to a different domain.
Key redirects · refreshed every 1 day
Response time
Time to load the homepage HTML from our probe, including redirects.
Key response_time · refreshed every 1 day
Security headers test
Counts these homepage response headers: strict-transport-security, content-security-policy, x-content-type-options, x-frame-options, referrer-policy. Passes when at least 2 are present.
Key security_headers · refreshed every 1 day
SSL test
Passes when a TLS certificate valid for the domain is presented on port 443.
Key ssl · refreshed every 1 day

Infrastructure

Hosting by
Network owner (ASN organisation) of the site's first IP address.
Key hosting · refreshed every 7 days
Server location
Geolocation of the site's first IP address. CDNs report the nearest edge location.
Key server_geo · refreshed every 7 days

Longevity

Last updated
From the homepage Last-Modified header when the server sends one.
Key last_modified · refreshed every 30 days
Registered
Registration date from the domain registry (RDAP).
Key rdap_age · refreshed every 30 days
First archived
Earliest snapshot of the domain in the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.
Key wayback · refreshed every 30 days

Safety

APIVoid blacklist engines
Number of domain blacklist engines, out of those APIVoid queries, that list the domain. Information only; not one of the pass/fail tests.
Key blacklist_apivoid · refreshed every 1 day
Google Safe Browsing test
Passes when the domain is not on Google Safe Browsing lists (malware, social engineering, unwanted software).
Key blacklist_gsb · refreshed every 1 day
PhishTank test
Passes when the homepage URL is not a verified phish on PhishTank.
Key blacklist_phishtank · refreshed every 1 day
URLhaus test
Passes when abuse.ch URLhaus has no malware URLs recorded for the host.
Key blacklist_urlhaus · refreshed every 1 day
Name match
Highest text similarity between this domain's name and a list of well-known brands. Shown when 70% or higher. A match is a measurement, not an accusation.
Key name_match · refreshed every 1 day
WHOIS owner
Registrant name as published in RDAP, or whether it is privacy-protected.
Key whois_privacy · refreshed every 1 day

E-commerce

Physical address test
Passes when the homepage publishes a postal address (schema.org PostalAddress or an <address> element).
Key address · refreshed every 7 days
Contact page test
Passes when the homepage links to a contact page on the same site.
Key contact_page · refreshed every 7 days
Phone number test
Passes when the homepage or contact page shows a phone number (tel: link or a phone-shaped number near 'call'/'phone').
Key phone · refreshed every 7 days
Return policy (site text) test
Passes when the homepage links to a return or refund policy page. The first relevant sentence is quoted verbatim.
Key return_policy · refreshed every 7 days
Social links test
Finds links to major social platforms. Passes when at least one linked profile responds without an error.
Key social_links · refreshed every 7 days

Popularity

Global rank
Latest rank in the Tranco top-sites list (research-grade popularity ranking).
Key tranco_rank · refreshed every 7 days

Visuals

Screenshots
Desktop (1366×768) and mobile (390×844) screenshots of the homepage taken by a headless browser.
Key screenshots · refreshed every 14 days