Website Launch Checklist: What to Check Before, On and After Go-Live
A practical launch checklist for a business website — content, forms, search and analytics, redirects, speed, security and ownership — split into what to do before launch, on the day and in the weeks after.
Before · launch day · four weeks afterFIG.01
Short answer
Before launching a website, check that every page has real content and its own title, forms deliver to an inbox somebody reads, the site is fast on a phone, analytics and Search Console are connected, old URLs redirect to new ones, and SSL and backups are in place. Launch on a quiet weekday morning, then watch for errors for a month.
Key takeaways
- A launch has three stages — before, the day itself and the weeks after — and most problems come from skipping the third.
- Test every form by submitting it. A form that looks right and delivers nowhere is the most expensive launch bug.
- If the new site replaces an old one, redirects protect your rankings more than anything else you do.
- Do not launch on a Friday evening.
- The domain, hosting and analytics accounts should be in your company's name before the site goes live.
A website launch goes wrong in small, boring ways: a contact form that sends to the developer's test address, a page still marked as hidden from Google, a phone number with a digit missing. None of them is hard to prevent. This is the list we work through on our own web development projects.
Before launch: content and pages
- Every page has final text — no placeholder paragraphs, no "coming soon".
- Phone numbers, addresses, email addresses and opening hours are correct and the same on every page.
- Images are the right ones, properly sized, with descriptions for people who cannot see them.
- Privacy policy and terms pages exist and say what you actually do.
- There is a useful page for addresses that do not exist, with a way back.
Before launch: things that have to work
- Forms. Submit each one and confirm the message arrives in an inbox somebody reads.
- Phone and WhatsApp links. Tap them on a real phone.
- Mobile layout. Go through every page on a small screen, not a resized desktop window.
- Other browsers. At least Chrome and Safari.
- Payments, if it is a store: a real order, paid, confirmed and refunded.
Before launch: search and measurement
- Each page has its own title and description.
- One main heading per page, saying what the page is about.
- A sitemap exists and lists the pages you want found.
- Nothing is telling search engines to stay away — the "do not index" setting used during development has been removed.
- Analytics is installed and counting, and form submissions and calls are recorded as conversions.
- The site is verified in Google Search Console.
- The cookie notice works, if you use tracking that needs consent.
If the new site replaces an old one
This is where rankings are lost. When addresses change and the old ones are not redirected, every link and every search result pointing at the old site lands on an error page. List the old URLs, map each to its new equivalent and redirect them permanently.
That job deserves its own checklist: how to redesign your website without losing your Google rankings. A brand-new site on a new domain has no rankings to lose and can skip it.
Speed, security and backups
- Pages load quickly on a mobile connection — why website speed matters explains what to measure.
- SSL is active and every address opens on https.
- Admin passwords are changed from the ones used during the build, and test accounts are deleted.
- Automatic backups are running, and one has been restored as a test.
- Somebody is named as responsible for updates.
Who owns what
Before go-live, confirm that the domain, the hosting account, the analytics property and the source code are registered to your company and that you hold the logins. Sorting this out after a disagreement with a supplier is far harder than sorting it out now.
Launch day
Launching a website
Back up the old site
A full copy of the files and database, stored somewhere other than the server being replaced.
Go live on a quiet weekday morning
People are available to fix things, and you have the day to watch it. Friday evening gives you a weekend of unnoticed errors.
Check the live site, not the test copy
Home page, main pages, every form, and a sample of old addresses to confirm they redirect.
Submit the sitemap in Search Console
It tells Google the new pages exist rather than waiting for it to find them.
Announce it only after the checks pass
The email to customers and the social posts wait until the forms have been tested live.
The first four weeks
| When | What to check |
|---|---|
| Day one | Form deliveries, error pages, analytics recording visits |
| First week | Search Console for pages it cannot reach or will not index; speed on real phones |
| Weeks two to four | Traffic and enquiries against the same weeks before launch; any old address still returning an error |
| After that | The monthly routine |
The monthly routine is covered in website maintenance after launch.
The mistakes that repeat
- The live site still carries the "do not index" setting from development, so Google ignores it.
- The test copy is left public and competes with the real site.
- Forms deliver to the developer, or to nobody.
- Old addresses are not redirected.
- Analytics was installed on the test domain and never moved.
If you have a launch coming and would like a second pair of eyes on it, send us the address of the test site. Checking it against this list takes us less time than fixing any one of these afterwards.
Frequently asked questions
What should I check before launching a website?
Final content on every page, forms that deliver to a monitored inbox, mobile layout, unique page titles, a sitemap, analytics and Search Console, redirects from any old addresses, SSL, backups and ownership of the domain and hosting.
What is the best day to launch a website?
A quiet weekday morning, when the people who can fix problems are at work and you have the day to watch the site. Avoid Friday evenings and the day before a holiday or a campaign.
Will a new website lose its Google rankings?
A brand-new site has none to lose. A site replacing an old one keeps its rankings when every old address is redirected permanently to its new equivalent and the pages that ranked keep their content. Losses nearly always trace back to a missing redirect.
What should be tested after a website goes live?
The forms first, on the live address. Then a sample of old addresses, the sitemap, analytics, and over the following weeks the errors reported in Google Search Console.
Who should own the domain and hosting?
Your company. The agency or developer can manage them, but the accounts should be registered to you and you should hold the logins, so a change of supplier never puts the website at risk.
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