How the slop score adds up.
SlopLens opens the page in a real browser at desktop and phone sizes and marks every pattern it recognizes. Each mark adds points, related marks share a limit, and the total is capped at 100. Every scan uses the same rules, so two scores are always comparable.
How the marks combine
Related marks form a family that adds at most a set number of points, so one habit seen through several rules is not counted as separate evidence: stock copy up to 14, surface effects up to 18, layout patterns up to 18, unfinished template up to 30, proof and claims up to 10, supporting signals up to 8, quality issues up to 12. Supporting signals also never add more than the slop signals they support. A score above 54 needs copy or structure that could belong to any product, or unfinished template content, together with another family of signals, and a score above 74 needs three families.
What the score cannot tell you
The score measures how much a page resembles common templates. It cannot tell who or what built the website, and a high score is not proof that anyone used AI. SlopLens only looks at the address you give it, never signs in or fills in forms, checks English copy only, and stops reading 8,000 pixels down the page. Sites that show a bot check cannot be scored.
Blue pencil: slop signals
These carry most of the score. Each one is a familiar template habit, and a single instance counts for little on its own. Finding several different kinds together is what pushes a page toward certified slop.
- Buzzword copyup to 14
Headings, buttons and short blurbs lean on stock marketing phrases that could describe almost any product. A single phrase counts for little, and more only add up when they make a real share of the short copy. Long-form prose is left out.
- Em dash overloadup to 7
Em dashes turn up in a noticeable share of the headings, buttons and short blurbs, a punctuation habit of stock marketing copy. Quotations, their sources, number ranges and long-form prose are left out.
- Bold label in every bulletup to 5
Most bullets in one list open with a short bold label and a colon. It looks organised without organising anything, because every point gets the same mechanical shape.
- Clipped slogansup to 8
Short lines are built from two or more clipped fragments of one to three words each, such as “Code. Curiosity. Craft.”, a rhythm that stock copy uses in place of saying something.
- Gradient headline textup to 12
Text filled with a color gradient is a strong template tell, especially in headlines.
- Accent word in the headlineup to 8
One word or short phrase inside a heading is set in a different color or in italic, a highlight habit that template headlines repeat. Links and gradient text are measured separately.
- Glow, blur and gradientsup to 11
Colorful gradients, frosted glass and big glowing shadows appear in three or more separate sections. Effects inside one illustration or section count once.
- Emoji as decorationup to 10
Emoji are doing the job of icons or bullet points in headings, lists and buttons. Plain ©, ® and ™ signs are not emoji and are left out.
- Arrow on every linkup to 6
Many links end with the same decorative arrow.
- Boxes inside boxesup to 7
Content sits inside several rounded, bordered boxes stacked into each other.
- Mixed icon stylesup to 5
Small interface icons in the same group of buttons or links mix outlined and filled styles. Logos and illustrations are left out.
- Cookie-cutter feature cardsup to 13
A row of identical cards, each with a small icon, a heading and a blurb, is the most familiar block in template land. Rows whose cards each lead to their own page or carry concrete detail count lightly.
- Same section, againup to 10
Several sections share exactly the same structure, so the page feels assembled from one block.
- Stock hero layoutup to 6
The opening screen is a centered headline over one filled and one plain button, the default hero in nearly every starter kit.
- Pill badge over the headlineup to 5
A small rounded announcement badge, or a short label led by a small status dot, sits above the main headline, a fixture of template landing pages.
- Numbered labels on everythingup to 6
Three or more labels open with zero-padded numbers such as 01, 02 and 03 on items that are not steps. Ordered lists and labelled steps are left out.
- Leftover template textup to 30
Placeholder words, prompt leftovers or chat replies were left in, which usually means a template was shipped before it was finished. Four or more links that go nowhere count lightly on their own.
- Placeholder testimonial companyup to 8
A customer quote credits a company name that reads as a placeholder, such as TechCorp, Acme Inc or Lorem Ipsum. This is the strongest form of invented proof, and a real quote from a person readers can look up does not count.
- Numbers without a sourceup to 6
Customer counts, speed multipliers and percentage claims sit in the copy with no source, link or method beside them. A number nobody can check is a landing-page habit rather than evidence.
Dotted blue: supporting signals
Plenty of careful sites use a free icon set, a UI kit’s colors or a long page, so these never raise a score on their own. They add points only when at least one slop signal above was also found.
- Kit default colorsup to 5
The accent colors are the untouched defaults of a UI kit such as Tailwind, Bootstrap or Material, which only counts when other slop signals are present.
- Stock icon setup to 3
The icons come straight from a popular free icon set, which only counts when other slop signals are present.
- Endless scrollup to 3
The page runs well past six laptop screens, the stacked-section length of a typical template, which only counts when other slop signals are present.
- Label above every headingup to 5
A small label sits above section headings in several separate sections, usually in capitals or wide letter spacing and often repeating the heading in fewer words. Plenty of editorial layouts use one label now and then, so this only counts when other slop signals are present.
- Dotted metadata stringsup to 4
Several short lines string three or more fragments together with middle dots, such as “Studio · Remote · Since 2019”, as decoration rather than information. Navigation and footers are left out, and this only counts when other slop signals are present.
- Underlined linksup to 5
A real share of the links are underlined at rest, with text decoration, a bottom border or a thin bar, or carry an underline that slides in on hover. Underlines are a common accessibility choice, so this only counts when other slop signals are present.
Red pencil: quality issues
These are real usability problems rather than style choices, so they add only a few points. They are still worth fixing, because they affect the people using the page.
- Spills off phonesup to 8
Some content runs past the edge of a phone screen.
- Unlabeled buttonsup to 6
Some buttons, links or fields have no accessible name in the browser's accessibility tree, so screen readers cannot announce them.
- Invisible keyboard focusup to 4
Pressing Tab moves focus, but nothing on screen shows where it went.
- Uneven buttonsup to 3
Buttons that do similar jobs come in noticeably different heights.
- Uneven paddingup to 3
Similar buttons use noticeably different inner padding.
- Ignores reduced motionup to 2
Animations keep running even when someone asks their device for less motion.
- Images without alt textup to 5
Some content images have no alt attribute at all, so screen readers skip them and a broken image goes unnoticed. Images marked as decorative with an empty alt are left out.
- Broken or empty imageup to 6
Some images point at a file that is missing or was never set, so the page shows a broken icon or an empty space where the picture should be.
- Mouse-only controlsup to 5
Some things act like buttons or links but are boxes with a click handler, so a keyboard cannot reach or press them. Real buttons, links with an address and boxes with a tab stop are left out.
- Skipped heading levelsup to 4
Heading levels skip on the way down, such as a second-level heading followed by a fourth-level one, which makes the page outline harder to follow with a screen reader.