The website launch checklist: 20 things to check before you go live

Launch day is exciting — and it's when small mistakes are most costly. A contact form that silently fails or an old page that now shows an error can lose you leads without you ever knowing. Work through this checklist before you switch the new site on.

Content

1. Proofread every page — names, prices, phone numbers and addresses especially.
2. Remove any placeholder text and sample content from the template.
3. Check that every image has appropriate alt text.
4. Make sure testimonials and case studies are real and approved by the clients involved.
5. Confirm the copyright year and legal pages (privacy policy, terms) are in place.

Functionality

6. Submit every form and confirm the message arrives — and doesn't land in spam.
7. Click every link, button and menu item.
8. Test phone and email links on a real phone.
9. Test any booking, checkout or payment flow end to end.
10. Check the 404 "page not found" page.

Devices and browsers

11. Test on an iPhone and an Android phone.
12. Test on a tablet and a laptop.
13. Check Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Edge.

SEO

14. Give each page a unique title and meta description.
15. Set up redirects from old page addresses to the new ones.
16. Submit your XML sitemap in Google Search Console.
17. Make sure search engines aren't blocked from indexing the live site.

Security and performance

18. Confirm HTTPS works on every page, with no security warnings.
19. Run PageSpeed Insights and fix any major issues.
20. Take a full backup of the new site — and of the old one before replacing it.