the website launch checklist: 30 things to verify before going live

launching a website is one of those moments that can either go smoothly or produce a stressful scramble to fix obvious problems. the difference usually comes down to whether anyone worked through a launch checklist before the site went live.

here are 30 items worth checking. some are quick; a few take a few minutes. together they catch the issues that are embarrassing to find after launch.

content and copy

1. all placeholder text removed. search for "lorem ipsum" throughout the site. it happens.
2. no broken images. click through every page and verify every image loads.
3. contact information accurate. phone number, email, address — verified and clickable on mobile.
4. copyright year in footer. make sure it reflects the current year.
5. team bios and photos up to date. anyone who no longer works there should be removed.
6. pricing accurate. if any pricing appears on the site, verify it's current.
7. all dates and "current" information reviewed. event dates, opening hours, any time-sensitive content.

functionality

8. all forms tested. submit every form on the site and confirm the submission arrives at the right email address. test from a different browser/device if possible.
9. confirmation emails work. if your forms trigger an auto-response email to the user, confirm they send correctly.
10. phone numbers are clickable links on mobile. tap the phone number on a phone and verify it triggers a call.
11. all buttons and links work. click every link. verify external links open in a new tab. fix any 404s.
12. search functionality tested. if your site has search, test several queries.
13. payment processing tested. run a test transaction in test mode if your site takes payments.
14. booking or scheduling tested. test the full flow from start to confirmation.
15. 404 page is custom. make sure a broken url leads to a helpful 404 page rather than a generic server error.

technical

16. ssl certificate installed. the site loads at https:// and there's a padlock in the browser address bar.
17. http redirects to https. typing http:// in the browser should automatically redirect to https.
18. www redirects. www.yourdomain.com and yourdomain.com should both work and redirect to a single canonical version.
19. favicon set. the small icon that appears in browser tabs. often forgotten.
20. google analytics installed and tracking. open the realtime report and visit the site — confirm you appear.
21. google search console set up. site verified and sitemap submitted.
22. sitemap exists and is submitted. yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml should load correctly.
23. robots.txt is correct. yourdomain.com/robots.txt should not be blocking important pages.
24. page titles and meta descriptions on all pages. check 5–10 pages for missing or duplicate title tags.
25. alt text on images. check representative images throughout the site.

performance and mobile

26. pagespeed score checked. run the live site through pagespeed.web.dev. mobile score above 70.
27. tested on a real phone. not just browser developer tools — an actual ios and android device.
28. navigation works on mobile. hamburger menu opens, all links accessible.
29. forms usable on mobile keyboard. fill out your contact form on a phone. is it comfortable?
30. tested in multiple browsers. chrome, safari, and firefox at minimum. internet explorer can be ignored in 2025.

the pre-launch staging environment

ideally, all of this testing happens on a staging environment before the site is pushed to the live url. this avoids visitors encountering a broken page while you're fixing it. most managed hosting providers and development workflows include staging environments. if your developer isn't using one, ask why.

after launch: the first 24 hours

check google search console the day after launch for any new crawl errors. monitor your analytics to confirm traffic is being tracked. test your contact form one more time from a real email address.

nanushi uses a launch checklist on every project and reviews it with clients before go-live. if you'd like to work with a team that treats the launch as seriously as the build, reach out.