Website Launch Checklist

# Website Launch Checklist

## Purpose
Complete before every website deployment to catch issues that could harm user experience, search rankings, or security.

## When to Use
A thorough pre-launch checklist covering SEO, performance, accessibility, security, analytics, and content review before taking a website live.

## Instructions
1. Review the template below and familiarise yourself with the structure
2. Replace all [bracketed placeholders] with your business details
3. Customise the tone and formatting to match your brand
4. Save in your preferred tool (Webflow or Squarespace)

---

## Website Launch Checklist

### Pre-Launch: Content (Owner: Content Manager)
- [ ] All pages proofread and approved by stakeholder
- [ ] Images optimised for web (WebP format, max 200KB each)
- [ ] Alt text added to every image for accessibility
- [ ] Contact details verified on all pages (phone, email, address)
- [ ] Privacy policy and terms of service published and linked in footer
- [ ] Copyright year is current and auto-updating
- [ ] All placeholder or lorem ipsum content removed
- [ ] Social media links tested and pointing to correct profiles

### Pre-Launch: SEO (Owner: Marketing Lead)
- [ ] Unique meta title (under 60 characters) on every page
- [ ] Unique meta description (under 155 characters) on every page
- [ ] One H1 tag per page with target keyword included
- [ ] XML sitemap generated and submitted to Google Search Console
- [ ] Robots.txt file configured correctly (not blocking important pages)
- [ ] Canonical URLs set on all pages to prevent duplicate content
- [ ] Open Graph and Twitter Card tags configured for social sharing
- [ ] Google Business Profile updated with new website URL

### Pre-Launch: Technical (Owner: Developer)
- [ ] SSL certificate installed and verified (padlock showing on all pages)
- [ ] All internal links tested - no broken links or 404 errors
- [ ] All forms tested with real submissions and confirmation emails verified
- [ ] 404 error page configured with helpful navigation back to homepage
- [ ] Page load time under 3 seconds on mobile (test with Google PageSpeed)
- [ ] Website responsive across mobile, tablet, and desktop breakpoints
- [ ] Browser testing completed on Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge
- [ ] Favicon uploaded and displaying correctly in browser tabs

### Pre-Launch: Analytics & Tracking (Owner: Marketing Lead)
- [ ] Google Analytics 4 installed and receiving data
- [ ] Google Tag Manager configured with all required tags
- [ ] Goal and conversion tracking set up for forms and CTAs
- [ ] Facebook Pixel or other ad tracking pixels installed (if applicable)

### Post-Launch: Verification (Owner: Project Manager)
- [ ] DNS propagation confirmed and site accessible on live domain
- [ ] Old site redirects (301) in place for all changed URLs
- [ ] Final check of all pages on live URL across devices
- [ ] Team notified of successful launch via Slack or email
- [ ] Client sign-off received and documented

---

**Complexity:** intermediate | **Setup time:** 20 minutes | **Tools:** Webflow, Squarespace, Shopify