A 12-point checklist before your website goes live

Launch day is exciting, and it is also when small oversights become public. Whether we build your site or you do, work through this list before you go live.

Content and links

1. Read every page out loud. Typos and leftover placeholder text hide in plain sight.
2. Click every link and button. Make sure nothing leads to an error or an old address.
3. Check your contact details. Phone number, email and address should be correct everywhere they appear.

How it works

4. Test on a phone. Most visitors will arrive on mobile. Check text is readable, buttons are easy to tap and nothing overflows.
5. Test in more than one browser. At least one Chromium-based browser (Chrome or Edge), Safari and Firefox.
6. Submit your own forms. Send a test enquiry and confirm it actually reaches you, and that you get any confirmation email.
7. Check page speed. Oversized images are the usual culprit. Compress them before upload.

Visibility

8. Give every page a clear title and description. This is what people see in search results.
9. Add alt text to meaningful images. It helps accessibility as well as search.
10. Make sure search engines are allowed in. It is surprisingly common to launch with the "do not index" setting still on from development.

Trust and legal

11. Include privacy and terms pages. If you collect any personal data through forms, you need to say what you do with it.
12. Confirm the secure padlock. The site should load over HTTPS with no browser warnings.

After launch

Keep an eye on the site for the first few days. Check your inbox for test-form leftovers, watch for errors, and note anything visitors ask that the site does not answer. That feedback is the start of your next round of improvements.

If you would rather hand the checking to someone else, launch support is part of how we work. See our pricing or get in touch.