The website launch checklist.
Most launch-day problems are small things nobody checked: a form that sends nowhere, a page still blocked from search, a missing phone number. This checklist walks through content, devices, speed, search, tracking and the first week after launch.
- Test the site as a visitor would, on a real phone, before it goes live.
- Check that search engines can see it, and that tracking records visits.
- Plan to watch it closely for the first week.
6 min readPublished By Domeq Solutions
Why use a launch checklist?
By launch day everyone involved has looked at the site so many times that they no longer see it. A checklist replaces memory with a routine, and it makes sure the dull, important things are checked as carefully as the design.
Use the lists below in order. Tick them on the staging site first, then repeat the ones that depend on the live environment once the site is public.
Give the checking to someone who did not build the site if you can. People who made it read what they meant, not what is on the screen, and a fresh pair of eyes finds the typo in the phone number that everyone else has missed for weeks.
A site is not ready when it looks finished. It is ready when it has been checked.
Three moments to check around a launch.
Before launch
Content, forms, devices, search and security.
Launch day
Switch over, then check the live address.
After launch
Watch errors, speed and enquiries.
Is the content right and does every form work?
Content errors are the most visible mistakes, and forms are the most expensive ones, because a broken form loses enquiries without anyone noticing.
Send a real test enquiry through every form and confirm that it arrives, in the right inbox, within a minute or two.
Nine content and form checks.
- Spelling and grammar read aloud, page by page
- Business name, phone number, email and address are correct everywhere
- No placeholder text, sample images or lorem ipsum remain
- Every form sends a message to the right inbox
- Each form shows a clear confirmation after sending
- Every button and link goes where its label says
- The privacy policy and terms pages are linked in the footer
- Images have descriptive alternative text
- The 404 page is helpful and links back to the homepage
Does it work on every device, and is it fast?
Most visitors will arrive on a phone, often on a slow connection. Test on real devices as well as in the browser's resizing tool, because touch, scrolling and keyboards behave differently on real hardware.
Speed is part of the experience, and slow pages lose visitors. Check it with a free tool such as Google PageSpeed Insights, and fix the largest images first.
What to test on each kind of device.
| Aspect | Phone | Tablet | Laptop |
|---|---|---|---|
| Layout | No sideways scrolling or cut-off text | Columns reflow sensibly in both orientations | Content stays readable on wide screens |
| Navigation | Menu opens, closes and is easy to tap | Menu and links work by touch | Hover menus also work by keyboard |
| Forms | Right keyboard appears for each field | Fields are large enough to tap | Tab key moves through fields in order |
| Speed | Test on mobile data, not only Wi-Fi | Images load at a sensible size | Large images are compressed |
Can search engines see the site, and is tracking on?
Sites are often hidden from search engines while they are being built, so that unfinished pages do not appear in results. That setting has to be reversed at launch, and forgetting to do it is one of the most common launch mistakes.
Tracking is the other half. Without analytics from day one, you lose your baseline and cannot tell what the new site is doing. For the set-up itself, see how to set up Google Search Console and Analytics.
Six launch slips that hide a site or lose data.
Search engines are still blocked
Remove any noindex setting or robots block that was added for the build.
No sitemap submitted
Submit the sitemap in Google Search Console so pages are found sooner.
Titles and descriptions missing
Each page needs its own title and short description, written for the reader.
Analytics not recording
Visit the live site and confirm your own visit appears in the reports.
Old addresses not redirected
On a redesign, every old address that earned visits must point to its new home.
Wrong canonical or address version
Choose one address for the site, with or without www, and make the other point to it.
Is the site secure and backed up?
A launch is the moment to confirm the basics, because attackers and bots find new sites quickly. None of this needs specialist knowledge, but all of it needs doing.
Five steps for a safer launch.
Check the padlock
The site should load over HTTPS on every page, with no browser warnings about mixed content.
Tighten the logins
Use unique, strong passwords, remove default or test accounts and turn on two-step sign-in where it is offered.
Update everything
Make sure the platform, plugins and themes are on current versions before the site goes public.
Set up backups
Confirm that backups run on a schedule and that you know how to restore one.
Know who has access
Keep a list of who can log in to the domain, hosting and the site, and keep the owner's details on each.
What should you check after the site goes live?
The first week shows how the site behaves with real visitors. Look at it every day, and fix small problems before they accumulate.
Seven checks for the first week.
- Open the live site on your own phone, away from the office network
- Send another test enquiry through the live forms
- Check Google Search Console for errors and indexing
- Watch analytics for unexpected drops in visits
- Search for your business name and see what appears
- Ask a few customers or friends to try the site and tell you what confused them
- Book a first maintenance check, see Website Maintenance & Optimization
Planning the project? See how long a website takes to build for where launch fits.
Questions, answered.
What should I check before launching a website?
Content and contact details, every form, how the site looks and works on a phone, speed, search settings, tracking and security basics. The checklists above cover each of them in turn.
How do I test a website before it goes live?
Use a staging copy that is not public, and test it as a visitor would: on real phones and a laptop, filling in every form and clicking every link. Then repeat the key checks on the live site.
Why is my new website not showing on Google?
Most often because search engines are blocked, the sitemap has not been submitted or the site is too new to have been crawled. Check the indexing settings first, then Google Search Console.
What should I do after my website goes live?
Monitor it daily for the first week: test the forms, watch analytics and Search Console, and fix small issues quickly. Then schedule regular maintenance.
Should I tell Google when I launch a new website?
Yes. Add the site to Google Search Console and submit the sitemap. This helps Google find your pages sooner, though it does not guarantee when or whether they will rank.
Does Domeq test websites before launch?
Yes. Every Domeq website goes through full QA and sanity testing before delivery, and is built fully responsive with Google Search Console, Google Analytics and Meta connected.
Keep reading.
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