# Business Website Verification

> Learn how the Business Website Verification works and how it can assist with verifying the validity and legitimacy of a business's website during KYB.

Source: https://help.withpersona.com/articles/6YMwMNVZpOYO4n6bpUhokY/
Section: Verifications > Features > Verification Service Types

## Overview

The Business Website Verification (part of the **Online Credibility** suite) verifies the validity of a business's website during the Know Your Business (KYB) process. Powered by AI, it scans and evaluates the live state of a website to help verify digital-first or thin-file businesses whose public registry data may be incomplete.

## Why is this verification valuable?

- **Automate manual review:** Replaces time-consuming manual website checks with automated, real-time analysis to speed up onboarding decisions.
- **Prevent impersonation:** Highlights fraud signals (e.g., mismatched domains, parked pages) to catch shell companies that pass public registry checks but lack a legitimate web presence.
- **Link individuals to businesses:** Pair with [Email (2FA) Verification](https://help.withpersona.com/articles/2FauPy2tquCwnyeMjtpVly/) to confirm employment. For example, if a user proves they own [bill@acme.com](mailto:bill@acme.com) and acme.com is verified as ACME Inc.'s legitimate domain, the user is likely associated with ACME Inc.

## What checks does this verification provide?

### Inputs

The verification returns a "Passed" or "Failed" status based on the following inputs:

- **Required:** Business name, URL
- **Optional (but recommended):** Address, phone number, email address

### Verification checks

You can configure which of the following checks are required to pass the overall verification:

|            **Check Name**             | **Description**                                                                    | **Possible Failure Reasons**                                                      |
| :-----------------------------------: | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
|      Valid URL Format Detection       | Checks if the provided URL is formatted correctly                                  | Invalid URL format                                                                |
|          Identity Comparison          | Compares website information with provided business details                        | Domain not resolvable; insufficient content; insufficient match                   |
|      Domain Resolvable Detection      | Checks whether the website's IP address is resolvable and the domain is accessible | Failed to resolve                                                                 |
|       Domain Redirect Detection       | Detects if the input URL redirects to another domain                               | Domain redirected or not resolvable                                               |
|         Domain Age Detection          | Checks if the domain age meets minimum requirements                                | Domain is newly created; unable to determine domain age                           |
|      Domain Expiration Detection      | Detects if the domain is expired or expiring soon                                  | Domain is expired; domain is expiring soon; unable to determine domain expiration |
|      Supported Domain Detection       | Verifies the domain platform is supported                                          | Domain is unsupported                                                             |
|     Sufficient Content Detection      | Checks if the site has enough useful information to review                         | Insufficient content (ex: “Coming soon!”); parked domain/domain is for sale       |
| Terms of Service Legitimacy Detection | Detects if the site has a legitimate Terms of Service                              | Broken link; insufficient content; error page; placeholder text; no URLs found    |
|          Backlink Detection           | Checks if other websites link to this website                                      | Below threshold (not enough backlinks)                                            |
|      Malicious Website Detection      | Flags if the website is flagged for unsafe content.                                | Website is reported for malware; social engineering; email spam                   |
|  Privacy Policy Legitimacy Detection  | Detects if the site has a clear and valid Privacy Policy                           | Missing or broken link; not found on homepage/footer                              |
|        Cookie Banner Detection        | Detects if the site shows a valid and functional cookie consent banner             | Missing banner; broken banner; no reject option                                   |

### Configuration options

- **LLM Provider Selection:** Choose your preferred LLM provider to power the AI-generated Identity Comparison Check. There are no pricing differences based on the selected LLM provider.
- **Required Checks:** Customize which detection checks are required to pass the verification.

## Frequently Asked Questions

**Does this verification cover the online presence of a business?**

It does not verify the full online presence of a business, which could encompass things like social media presence and third party review sites (e.g., Yelp, TripAdvisor). This is covered in the [Business Online Presence Report](https://help.withpersona.com/articles/4PXsPj48k67OR26o2ToN5x/) (also part of the online credibility suite).

**What should we do if a company's website fails certain checks?**

Investigate the reasons behind the failure. Use this insight to request additional documentation or perform manual review.

**What locales and languages do this report support?**

The report generally performs well across other languages. No special locale setup is required.

## Plans Explained

### Business Website Verification by plan

|                               | Startup Program | Essential Plan | Growth Plan | Enterprise Plan |
| ----------------------------- | --------------- | -------------- | ----------- | --------------- |
| Business Website Verification | Not Available   | Available      | Available   | Available       |

[Learn more about pricing and plans](https://withpersona.com/pricing?utm_source=product&utm_medium=referral&utm_audience=a&utm_campaign=cm_gen_ds_hc-plan-table).