The listings are open data
Businesses come from OpenStreetMap through the public Overpass service. Town names are looked up with Photon. Nothing is scraped from Google or from a paid directory.
About
The looking is the slow part. We automated the looking.
SiteScout is made by Agent Creative, a small web design and development studio in Connecticut.
Why it exists
A studio that builds websites for local businesses spends a surprising amount of time not building websites. It spends it looking: scrolling a map, opening one business after another, checking whether the site is secure, whether it works on a phone, whether the phone number can be tapped.
Every one of those checks is mechanical. The judgment that matters comes after: which business to approach, and how to explain the problem in words the owner cares about. SiteScout does the mechanical part and hands you a head start on the second.
It is the tool we wanted for our own prospecting, built to be honest with both sides: the designer gets a real picture of a town, and the business owner gets a report that is accurate and useful even if they never reply.
How it is built
Open data, one polite request, scoring in the open.
The audit is one polite request
The server fetches a homepage once, under the name SiteScoutBot, and refuses to touch private or internal addresses. The 19 checks then run on what came back.
The scoring is in the open
Every check, its weight and its pass mark are published on the What we check page. The same engine runs in the app and on that page.
It is a WordPress plugin
SiteScout runs as a plugin with its own accounts, plans and settings panel, so whoever operates it can change limits, prices shown and report wording without touching code.
The line
What SiteScout will not do.
A tool that points at other people’s work needs manners. These are ours.
It will not invent problems
A check either found something on the page or it did not. Checks that do not apply are left out of the score.
It will not send email for you
It drafts the message. You send it, from your own address, when you have read it.
It will not promise you clients
It finds businesses you could help and gives you something true to say. Whether that becomes work depends on you and on them.
It will not shame a business
Reports say what would help and credit what already works. Verdicts about real businesses are never published by SiteScout; only you and the people you share a link with see a report.
Credits
Where the information comes from.
| Source | Used for | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| OpenStreetMap | Business names, addresses, phone numbers and websites | © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License. Kept up to date by volunteers, so coverage varies by town. |
| Photon by komoot | Suggesting towns as you type | Built on OpenStreetMap data. |
| OpenStreetMap map tiles | The map behind the dots on a live search | Darkened to match the night look of the tool. The made-up sample town has no map tiles: it is a plain drawing. |
| The business’s own homepage | The 19 checks | Fetched once per audit by SiteScoutBot and kept for a day. |
| Google PageSpeed Insights | Optional speed scores on the Agency plan | Only when a Google API key has been saved in the settings. |
The town in the animation on this site is generated by code. It is not a real place and the colored markers are not real businesses.
Someone in your town needs a better website. Find out who.
Open the app and the sample town is waiting. Search your own in under a minute.