Launch day is exciting, and that is exactly when small mistakes slip through: a contact form that sends nowhere, a page still showing placeholder text, or a site that Google has been told not to index. This checklist covers what to test before you go live. Work through it with your developer, or on your own if you built the site yourself.
Content and pages
- Every page has final text, with no placeholder or "lorem ipsum" copy left.
- Spelling, grammar, prices, phone numbers and addresses are checked.
- Images are sharp, correctly cropped and compressed for the web.
- Legal pages are in place: privacy policy, cookie policy and terms where needed.
- A helpful 404 page exists and links back to the main sections.
Design and mobile
- The site has been tested on real phones, tablets and desktop screens.
- It works in the main browsers: Chrome, Safari, Edge and Firefox.
- Menus open and close properly on mobile, and buttons are easy to tap.
- Text is readable without zooming, and nothing overflows the screen sideways.
Links, forms and features
- All internal links work, and external links open the right pages.
- Every form has been submitted as a test, and the messages arrive in the right inbox.
- Thank-you messages or pages appear after a form is sent.
- Phone numbers and email addresses are clickable on mobile.
- Any bookings, payments or logins have been tested end to end.
Speed
- Pages load quickly on mobile data, not just on office Wi-Fi.
- Images use modern formats where possible and are not larger than needed.
- Unused plugins, scripts and fonts have been removed.
SEO basics
- Each page has a unique title and meta description.
- Each page has one clear main heading, and images have descriptive alt text.
- The site is not blocked from search engines. This is a very common launch mistake: check the robots.txt file and remove any "noindex" setting left over from development.
- An XML sitemap exists and is submitted in Google Search Console.
- If you are replacing an old site, old URLs redirect to the matching new pages.
Tracking, security and backups
- Analytics, such as Google Analytics 4, is installed and recording visits and form submissions.
- HTTPS works on every page, and the www and non-www versions point to one address.
- A full backup has been taken, and you know who has the admin, hosting and domain logins.
After launch
The first weeks after launch matter too. Check Search Console for crawl errors, watch your analytics for pages people leave quickly, and ask a few customers to try the site and tell you what confused them. Small fixes in the first month often make the biggest difference.
Need a hand?
Every website we build goes through a checklist like this before launch. If you are planning a new site or want your current one checked, see our website development service. The first consultation is free.
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