Determining a website’s legitimacy involves a practical checklist you can apply quickly. Here’s a concise guide you can use right away, plus deeper steps if you want a thorough check. Direct answer

• Look for a secure connection, a valid certificate, and the site’s clear ownership details. Cross-check the URL for obvious typos or unusual domains, and verify the site’s trust signals and contact information before providing any personal data.

Checklist to evaluate legitimacy

• URL and domain
  • Check for misspellings or weird characters in the address bar.
  • Look for a proper domain (for example, a reputable organization typically uses a recognizable domain like .com, .org, or a country-specific domain; be cautious with new or obscure TLDs).
  • Be wary of URLs that use hyphenated or long strings intended to resemble a well-known site.
• Security indicators
  • Ensure the page uses HTTPS with a valid SSL certificate (padlock icon in the address bar is a cue, but verify by clicking the padlock to view certificate details).
  • Beware sites that show HTTPS but still request sensitive information without a valid certificate or strong encryption.
• Trust signals and ownership
  • Look for contact information (physical address, phone number, email) and a privacy policy and terms of service.
  • Check for an official trust seal and, if present, click it to confirm it’s legitimate (redirect to the issuer’s site).
  • Validate the site’s identity with independent signals, such as business registrations or regulatory seals relevant to the site’s industry.
• Content and reviews
  • Look for professional design, clear product/service descriptions, and reasonable pricing.
  • Search for external reviews about the site, and be cautious of a wall of fake-looking testimonials or reviews that praise everything.
• Payment and returns
  • Use trusted payment methods; avoid sites that push for direct bank transfers or untraceable payments.
  • Check the returns/refund policy and contact channels in case issues arise.
• Browser and safety checks
  • Use Google’s or another reputable safety service to see if the site is flagged as suspicious or malware-distributing.
  • Avoid downloading files from sites you’re unsure about, and consider using a security extension that flags risky sites.

If you want more assurance, you can share the exact website URL (in a privacy- conscious way), and I can walk you through a targeted, step-by-step verification using publicly available signals.