Launch day problems are almost always the same handful of issues — and almost all of them are easy to catch in advance. Use this checklist before you switch your new website on.
Functionality
- Every form sends — to the right email address, and the enquiry is saved somewhere reliable.
- Thank-you messages or pages appear after submission.
- Phone, WhatsApp and email links open correctly on mobile.
- All internal links work — no 404s, no links still pointing to the staging site.
- Payment flows work end to end, if you sell online, including GST on invoices.
Content
- No placeholder text — no "Lorem ipsum", dummy prices or sample testimonials.
- Contact details are correct and consistent everywhere on the site.
- Spelling and grammar checked on every page.
- Legal pages exist — privacy policy, terms and, if relevant, refund policy.
SEO
- Each page has a unique title and meta description.
- robots.txt doesn't block the site — a common leftover from development.
- XML sitemap is live and submitted to Google Search Console.
- 301 redirects are set up from old URLs if you're replacing a previous site, so you don't lose existing rankings.
- Images have descriptive alt text.
Speed and mobile
- Pages load quickly on mobile data — test with PageSpeed Insights.
- Everything works on a real phone, not just a resized desktop browser.
Tracking
- Analytics is installed and recording visits.
- Conversions are tracked — form submissions, calls and WhatsApp clicks. See our conversion tracking guide.
Security and ownership
- HTTPS works on every page, and http redirects to https.
- Backups are scheduled, and you know how to restore one. You should also have admin access and own the domain and hosting accounts in your business's name.
After launch
The first week after launch is when you find what testing missed. Check Search Console for errors, watch analytics for unusual drops, and submit a few test enquiries yourself.
Launching soon?
Our website development projects go through this checklist — and more — before every launch, with SEO basics and tracking built in from the start.