diff --git a/NEWS.md b/NEWS.md
index 0e7c1e20d6..88363efb5c 100644
--- a/NEWS.md
+++ b/NEWS.md
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 # pkgdown (development version)
 
+* `check_pkgdown()` and `pkgdown_sitrep()` have been unified so that they both report on the same problems. They now only differ in the style of their output: `pkgdown_sitrep()` reports whether each category is ok or not ok, while `check_pkgdown()` errors on the first issue (#2463).
+* `build_site()` automatically runs `pkgdown_sitrep()` at the start of the process (#2380).
 * New `vignette("accessibility")` describes what manual tasks you need to perform to make your site as accessible as possible (#2344).
 * `build_reference()` now automatically translates `--`, `---`, ``` `` ```, and `''` to their unicode equivalents (#2530).
 * Tweaked navbar display on mobile so that long titles in drop downs (e.g. article titles) are now wrapped, and the search input spans the full width (#2512).
diff --git a/R/build-articles.R b/R/build-articles.R
index ce70a11a4f..1b56b752e2 100644
--- a/R/build-articles.R
+++ b/R/build-articles.R
@@ -379,9 +379,9 @@ data_articles_index <- function(pkg = ".") {
   pkg <- as_pkgdown(pkg)
 
   meta <- pkg$meta$articles %||% default_articles_index(pkg)
-  sections <- meta %>%
-    purrr::map(data_articles_index_section, pkg = pkg) %>%
-    purrr::compact()
+  sections <- unwrap_purrr_error(meta %>%
+    purrr::imap(data_articles_index_section, pkg = pkg) %>%
+    purrr::compact())
 
   # Check for unlisted vignettes
   listed <- sections %>%
@@ -411,13 +411,9 @@ data_articles_index <- function(pkg = ".") {
   ))
 }
 
-data_articles_index_section <- function(section, pkg) {
-  if (!set_contains(names(section), c("title", "contents"))) {
-    cli::cli_abort(
-      "Section must have components {.field title}, {.field contents}",
-      call = caller_env()
-    )
-  }
+data_articles_index_section <- function(section, index, pkg) {
+  id <- section$title %||% section$subtitle %||% index
+  check_contents(section$contents, id, pkg, quote(build_articles()))
 
   # Match topics against any aliases
   in_section <- select_vignettes(section$contents, pkg$vignettes)
diff --git a/R/build-reference-index.R b/R/build-reference-index.R
index cbaba6d5f8..3e8be4c157 100644
--- a/R/build-reference-index.R
+++ b/R/build-reference-index.R
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ data_reference_index_rows <- function(section, index, pkg) {
 
   if (has_name(section, "contents")) {
     id <- section$title %||% section$subtitle %||% index
-    check_contents(section$contents, id, pkg)
+    check_contents(section$contents, id, pkg, quote(build_reference_index()))
     topics <- section_topics(section$contents, pkg$topics, pkg$src_path)
 
     names <- topics$name
@@ -74,9 +74,7 @@ data_reference_index_rows <- function(section, index, pkg) {
   purrr::compact(rows)
 }
 
-check_contents <- function(contents, id, pkg) {
-  call <- quote(build_reference_index())
-
+check_contents <- function(contents, id, pkg, call = caller_env()) {
   if (length(contents) == 0) {
     config_abort(
       pkg,
diff --git a/R/build.R b/R/build.R
index 84a061c5b5..2c5f5e9cfd 100644
--- a/R/build.R
+++ b/R/build.R
@@ -443,6 +443,8 @@ build_site_local <- function(pkg = ".",
   cli::cli_inform("Reading from: {src_path(path_abs(pkg$src_path))}")
   cli::cli_inform("Writing to:   {dst_path(path_abs(pkg$dst_path))}")
 
+  pkgdown_sitrep(pkg)
+
   init_site(pkg)
 
   build_home(pkg, override = override, preview = FALSE)
diff --git a/R/check-built.R b/R/check-built.R
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e0ae664403
--- /dev/null
+++ b/R/check-built.R
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+
+check_built_site <- function(pkg = ".") {
+  pkg <- as_pkgdown(pkg)
+
+  cli::cli_rule("Checking for problems")
+  index_path <- path_index(pkg)
+  if (!is.null(index_path)) {
+    check_missing_images(pkg, index_path, "index.html")
+  }
+}
+
+check_missing_images <- function(pkg, src_path, dst_path) {
+  html <- xml2::read_html(path(pkg$dst_path, dst_path), encoding = "UTF-8")
+  src <- xml2::xml_attr(xml2::xml_find_all(html, ".//img"), "src")
+
+  rel_src <- src[xml2::url_parse(src)$scheme == ""]
+  rel_path <- fs::path_norm(path(fs::path_dir(dst_path), rel_src))
+  exists <- fs::file_exists(path(pkg$dst_path, rel_path))
+
+  if (any(!exists)) {
+    paths <- rel_src[!exists]
+    cli::cli_warn(c(
+      "Missing images in {.file {path_rel(src_path, pkg$src_path)}}: {.file {paths}}",
+      i = "pkgdown can only use images in {.file man/figures} and {.file vignettes}"
+    ))
+  }
+}
diff --git a/R/check.R b/R/check.R
index 4a5b57bfad..ac4ceab031 100644
--- a/R/check.R
+++ b/R/check.R
@@ -1,20 +1,27 @@
 #' Check `_pkgdown.yml`
 #'
 #' @description
-#' Check that your `_pkgdown.yml` is valid without building the whole
-#' site. Currently this:
+#' This pair of functions checks that your `_pkgdown.yml` is valid without 
+#' building the whole site. `check_pkgdown()` errors at the first problem;
+#' `pkgdown_sitrep()` reports the status of all checks.
+#' 
+#' Currently they check that:
 #'
-#' * Checks the reference and article indexes to ensure that pkgdown can
-#'   read them, and that every documentation topic and vignette/article is 
-#'   included in the index.
+#' * There's a `url` in the pkgdown configuration, which is also recorded
+#'   in the `URL` field of the `DESCRIPTION`.
 #'
-#' * Validates any opengraph metadata that you might have supplied
+#' * All opengraph metadata is valid.
 #'
+#' * All reference topics are included in the index.
+#'
+#' * All articles/vignettes are included in the index.
+#
 #' @export
 #' @inheritParams as_pkgdown
 check_pkgdown <- function(pkg = ".") {
   pkg <- as_pkgdown(pkg)
 
+  check_urls(pkg)
   data_open_graph(pkg)
   data_articles_index(pkg)
   data_reference_index(pkg)
@@ -22,29 +29,59 @@ check_pkgdown <- function(pkg = ".") {
   cli::cli_inform(c("v" = "No problems found."))
 }
 
-check_built_site <- function(pkg = ".") {
+#' @export
+#' @rdname check_pkgdown
+pkgdown_sitrep <- function(pkg = ".") {
+  cli::cli_rule("Sitrep")
+
   pkg <- as_pkgdown(pkg)
+  error_to_sitrep("URLs", check_urls(pkg))
+  error_to_sitrep("Open graph metadata", data_open_graph(pkg))
+  error_to_sitrep("Articles metadata", data_articles_index(pkg))
+  error_to_sitrep("Reference metadata", data_reference_index(pkg))
+}
 
-  cli::cli_rule("Checking for problems")
-  index_path <- path_index(pkg)
-  if (!is.null(index_path)) {
-    check_missing_images(pkg, index_path, "index.html")
-  }
+error_to_sitrep <- function(title, code) {
+  tryCatch(
+    {
+      code
+      cli::cli_inform(c("v" = "{title} ok."))
+    },
+    rlang_error = function(e) {
+      bullets <- c(cnd_header(e), cnd_body(e))
+      cli::cli_inform(c(x = "{title} not ok.", set_names(bullets, " ")))
+    }
+  )
+  invisible()
 }
 
-check_missing_images <- function(pkg, src_path, dst_path) {
-  html <- xml2::read_html(path(pkg$dst_path, dst_path), encoding = "UTF-8")
-  src <- xml2::xml_attr(xml2::xml_find_all(html, ".//img"), "src")
+check_urls <- function(pkg = ".", call = caller_env()) {
+  pkg <- as_pkgdown(pkg)
+  details <- c(i = "See details in {.vignette pkgdown::metadata}.")
+  
+  if (identical(pkg$meta, list())) {
+    cli::cli_abort(
+      c("No {.path _pkgdown.yml} found.", details),
+      call = call
+    )
+  }
 
-  rel_src <- src[xml2::url_parse(src)$scheme == ""]
-  rel_path <- fs::path_norm(path(fs::path_dir(dst_path), rel_src))
-  exists <- fs::file_exists(path(pkg$dst_path, rel_path))
+  url <- pkg$meta[["url"]]
 
-  if (any(!exists)) {
-    paths <- rel_src[!exists]
-    cli::cli_warn(c(
-      "Missing images in {.file {path_rel(src_path, pkg$src_path)}}: {.file {paths}}",
-      i = "pkgdown can only use images in {.file man/figures} and {.file vignettes}"
-    ))
+  if (is.null(url)) {
+    cli::cli_abort(
+      c("{config_path(pkg)} lacks {.field url}.", details),
+      call = call
+    )
+  } else {
+    desc_urls <- pkg$desc$get_urls()
+    desc_urls <- sub("/$", "", desc_urls)
+    
+    if (!pkg$meta[["url"]] %in% desc_urls) {
+      cli::cli_abort(
+        c("{.file DESCRIPTION} {.field URL} lacks package url ({url}).", details),
+        call = call
+      )
+    } 
   }
 }
diff --git a/R/sitrep.R b/R/sitrep.R
deleted file mode 100644
index 74505da9fc..0000000000
--- a/R/sitrep.R
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,47 +0,0 @@
-#' Report package pkgdown situation
-#'
-#' @description
-#'
-#' `pkgdown_sitrep()` reports
-#'
-#' * If there is an `url` field in the pkgdown configuration;
-#'
-#' * If that pkgdown website URL is stored in the DESCRIPTION file.
-#'
-#' @inheritParams as_pkgdown
-#'
-#' @export
-#'
-pkgdown_sitrep <- function(pkg = ".") {
-  pkg <- as_pkgdown(pkg)
-  warns <- c()
-
-  if (is.null(pkg$meta[["url"]])) {
-    warns <- c(
-      warns,
-      x = "{.field url} is absent. See {.vignette pkgdown::metadata}."
-    )
-  }
-
-  desc_urls <- pkg$desc$get_urls()
-  desc_urls <- sub("/$", "", desc_urls)
-  if (length(desc_urls) == 0 || !pkg$meta[["url"]] %in% desc_urls) {
-    warns <- c(warns, x = "{.file DESCRIPTION} {.field URL} is empty.")
-  }
-
-  if (length(warns) == 0) {
-    cli::cli_inform(c(
-      "v" = "pkgdown situation report: {.emph {cli::col_green('all clear')}}",
-       "!" = "{.emph Double-check the following URLs:}",
-       " " = "{config_path(pkg)} contains URL {.url {pkg$meta['url']}}",
-       " " = "{.file DESCRIPTION} contains URL{?s} {.url {desc_urls}}"
-    ))
-  } else {
-    cli::cli_warn(c(
-      "pkgdown situation report: {.emph {cli::col_red('configuration error')}}",
-      warns
-    ))
-  }
-
-  invisible()
-}
diff --git a/man/check_pkgdown.Rd b/man/check_pkgdown.Rd
index d049c9439a..3854e8ca6a 100644
--- a/man/check_pkgdown.Rd
+++ b/man/check_pkgdown.Rd
@@ -2,20 +2,27 @@
 % Please edit documentation in R/check.R
 \name{check_pkgdown}
 \alias{check_pkgdown}
+\alias{pkgdown_sitrep}
 \title{Check \verb{_pkgdown.yml}}
 \usage{
 check_pkgdown(pkg = ".")
+
+pkgdown_sitrep(pkg = ".")
 }
 \arguments{
 \item{pkg}{Path to package.}
 }
 \description{
-Check that your \verb{_pkgdown.yml} is valid without building the whole
-site. Currently this:
+This pair of functions checks that your \verb{_pkgdown.yml} is valid without
+building the whole site. \code{check_pkgdown()} errors at the first problem;
+\code{pkgdown_sitrep()} reports the status of all checks.
+
+Currently they check that:
 \itemize{
-\item Checks the reference and article indexes to ensure that pkgdown can
-read them, and that every documentation topic and vignette/article is
-included in the index.
-\item Validates any opengraph metadata that you might have supplied
+\item There's a \code{url} in the pkgdown configuration, which is also recorded
+in the \code{URL} field of the \code{DESCRIPTION}.
+\item All opengraph metadata is valid.
+\item All reference topics are included in the index.
+\item All articles/vignettes are included in the index.
 }
 }
diff --git a/man/pkgdown_sitrep.Rd b/man/pkgdown_sitrep.Rd
deleted file mode 100644
index 90ada03344..0000000000
--- a/man/pkgdown_sitrep.Rd
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,18 +0,0 @@
-% Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
-% Please edit documentation in R/sitrep.R
-\name{pkgdown_sitrep}
-\alias{pkgdown_sitrep}
-\title{Report package pkgdown situation}
-\usage{
-pkgdown_sitrep(pkg = ".")
-}
-\arguments{
-\item{pkg}{Path to package.}
-}
-\description{
-\code{pkgdown_sitrep()} reports
-\itemize{
-\item If there is an \code{url} field in the pkgdown configuration;
-\item If that pkgdown website URL is stored in the DESCRIPTION file.
-}
-}
diff --git a/tests/testthat/_snaps/check-built.md b/tests/testthat/_snaps/check-built.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..0f750c9208
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/testthat/_snaps/check-built.md
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+# warn about missing images in readme
+
+    Code
+      check_built_site(pkg)
+    Message
+      -- Checking for problems -------------------------------------------------------
+    Condition
+      Warning:
+      Missing images in 'README.md': 'articles/kitten.jpg'
+      i pkgdown can only use images in 'man/figures' and 'vignettes'
+
diff --git a/tests/testthat/_snaps/check.md b/tests/testthat/_snaps/check.md
index a5479cafc0..08744c86db 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/_snaps/check.md
+++ b/tests/testthat/_snaps/check.md
@@ -1,37 +1,58 @@
-# fails if reference index incomplete
+# sitrep reports all problems
 
     Code
-      check_pkgdown(pkg)
-    Condition
-      Error in `check_pkgdown()`:
-      ! 1 topic missing from index: "?".
-      i Either use `@keywords internal` to drop from index, or
-      i Edit _pkgdown.yml to fix the problem.
-
-# fails if article index incomplete
+      pkgdown_sitrep(pkg)
+    Message
+      -- Sitrep ----------------------------------------------------------------------
+      x URLs not ok.
+        'DESCRIPTION' URL lacks package url (http://test.org).
+        See details in `vignette(pkgdown::metadata)`.
+      v Open graph metadata ok.
+      v Articles metadata ok.
+      x Reference metadata not ok.
+        1 topic missing from index: "?".
+        Either use `@keywords internal` to drop from index, or
+        Edit _pkgdown.yml to fix the problem.
+
+# checks fails on first problem
 
     Code
       check_pkgdown(pkg)
     Condition
       Error in `check_pkgdown()`:
-      ! 2 vignettes missing from index: "articles/nested" and "width".
-      i Edit _pkgdown.yml to fix the problem.
+      ! 'DESCRIPTION' URL lacks package url (http://test.org).
+      i See details in `vignette(pkgdown::metadata)`.
 
-# informs if everything is ok
+# both inform if everything is ok
 
+    Code
+      pkgdown_sitrep(pkg)
+    Message
+      -- Sitrep ----------------------------------------------------------------------
+      v URLs ok.
+      v Open graph metadata ok.
+      v Articles metadata ok.
+      v Reference metadata ok.
     Code
       check_pkgdown(pkg)
     Message
       v No problems found.
 
-# warn about missing images in readme
+# check_urls reports problems
 
     Code
-      check_built_site(pkg)
-    Message
-      -- Checking for problems -------------------------------------------------------
+      check_urls(pkg)
+    Condition
+      Error:
+      ! _pkgdown.yml lacks url.
+      i See details in `vignette(pkgdown::metadata)`.
+
+---
+
+    Code
+      check_urls(pkg)
     Condition
-      Warning:
-      Missing images in 'README.md': 'articles/kitten.jpg'
-      i pkgdown can only use images in 'man/figures' and 'vignettes'
+      Error:
+      ! 'DESCRIPTION' URL lacks package url (https://testpackage.r-lib.org).
+      i See details in `vignette(pkgdown::metadata)`.
 
diff --git a/tests/testthat/_snaps/sitrep.md b/tests/testthat/_snaps/sitrep.md
deleted file mode 100644
index 60db031677..0000000000
--- a/tests/testthat/_snaps/sitrep.md
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,29 +0,0 @@
-# pkgdown_sitrep works
-
-    Code
-      pkgdown_sitrep(pkg)
-    Condition
-      Warning:
-      pkgdown situation report: configuration error
-      x url is absent. See `vignette(pkgdown::metadata)`.
-      x 'DESCRIPTION' URL is empty.
-
----
-
-    Code
-      pkgdown_sitrep(pkg)
-    Condition
-      Warning:
-      pkgdown situation report: configuration error
-      x 'DESCRIPTION' URL is empty.
-
----
-
-    Code
-      pkgdown_sitrep(pkg)
-    Message
-      v pkgdown situation report: all clear
-      ! Double-check the following URLs:
-        _pkgdown.yml contains URL <http://example.com/pkg>
-        'DESCRIPTION' contains URL <http://example.com/pkg>
-
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-build.R b/tests/testthat/test-build.R
index 5786c1d1dd..19e088cb59 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-build.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-build.R
@@ -4,5 +4,5 @@ test_that("both versions of build_site have same arguments", {
 
 test_that("can build package without any index/readme", {
   pkg <- local_pkgdown_site(test_path("assets/site-empty"))
-  expect_output(build_site(pkg))
+  expect_no_error(suppressMessages(build_site(pkg, new_process = FALSE)))
 })
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-check-built.R b/tests/testthat/test-check-built.R
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..29a6170be5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-check-built.R
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+test_that("warn about missing images in readme", {
+  pkg <- local_pkgdown_site(test_path("assets/bad-images"))
+  suppressMessages(build_home(pkg))
+
+  expect_snapshot(check_built_site(pkg))
+})
+
+test_that("readme can use images from vignettes", {
+  pkg <- local_pkgdown_site(test_path("assets/bad-images"))
+  file_copy(
+    test_path("assets/articles-images/man/figures/kitten.jpg"),
+    path(pkg$src_path, "vignettes/kitten.jpg")
+  )
+  withr::defer(unlink(path(pkg$src_path, "vignettes/kitten.jpg")))
+
+  suppressMessages(build_home(pkg))
+  suppressMessages(build_articles(pkg))
+
+  suppressMessages(expect_no_warning(check_built_site(pkg)))
+})
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-check.R b/tests/testthat/test-check.R
index 4a85d4bca8..4d451f1fa5 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-check.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-check.R
@@ -1,46 +1,37 @@
-test_that("fails if reference index incomplete", {
+test_that("sitrep reports all problems", {
   pkg <- local_pkgdown_site(test_path("assets/reference"), meta = "
     reference:
      - title: Title
        contents: [a, b, c, e]
   ")
-  expect_snapshot(check_pkgdown(pkg), error = TRUE)
+  expect_snapshot(pkgdown_sitrep(pkg))
 })
 
-
-test_that("fails if article index incomplete", {
-  pkg <- local_pkgdown_site(test_path("assets/articles"), meta = "
-    articles:
+test_that("checks fails on first problem", {
+  pkg <- local_pkgdown_site(test_path("assets/reference"), meta = "
+    reference:
      - title: Title
-       contents: [starts_with('html'), random, standard, toc-false, widget, needs-escape]
+       contents: [a, b, c, e]
   ")
   expect_snapshot(check_pkgdown(pkg), error = TRUE)
 })
 
-test_that("informs if everything is ok", {
-  pkg <- local_pkgdown_site(test_path("assets/reference"))
-  expect_snapshot(check_pkgdown(pkg))
-})
-
-# built site ---------------------------------------------------------------
-
-test_that("warn about missing images in readme", {
-  pkg <- local_pkgdown_site(test_path("assets/bad-images"))
-  suppressMessages(build_home(pkg))
-
-  expect_snapshot(check_built_site(pkg))
+test_that("both inform if everything is ok", {
+  pkg <- test_path("assets/open-graph")
+  expect_snapshot({
+    pkgdown_sitrep(pkg)
+    check_pkgdown(pkg)
+  })
 })
 
-test_that("readme can use images from vignettes", {
-  pkg <- local_pkgdown_site(test_path("assets/bad-images"))
-  file_copy(
-    test_path("assets/articles-images/man/figures/kitten.jpg"),
-    path(pkg$src_path, "vignettes/kitten.jpg")
-  )
-  withr::defer(unlink(path(pkg$src_path, "vignettes/kitten.jpg")))
+# check urls ------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-  suppressMessages(build_home(pkg))
-  suppressMessages(build_articles(pkg))
+test_that("check_urls reports problems", {
+  # URL not in the pkgdown config
+  pkg <- test_path("assets/figure")
+  expect_snapshot(check_urls(pkg), error = TRUE)
 
-  suppressMessages(expect_no_warning(check_built_site(pkg)))
+  # URL only in the pkgdown config
+  pkg <- test_path("assets/cname")
+  expect_snapshot(check_urls(pkg), error = TRUE)
 })
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-sitrep.R b/tests/testthat/test-sitrep.R
deleted file mode 100644
index b710b89a8c..0000000000
--- a/tests/testthat/test-sitrep.R
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,11 +0,0 @@
-test_that("pkgdown_sitrep works", {
-  # URL not in the pkgdown config
-  pkg <- test_path("assets/figure")
-  expect_snapshot(pkgdown_sitrep(pkg))
-  # URL only in the pkgdown config
-  pkg <- test_path("assets/cname")
-  expect_snapshot(pkgdown_sitrep(pkg))
-  # URL everywhere
-  pkg <- test_path("assets/open-graph")
-  expect_snapshot(pkgdown_sitrep(pkg))
-})