Website Launch Checklist: What Most People Miss

The Launch Rush Problem

Everyone wants to launch. The site looks great, the deadline is today, stakeholders are excited. So you flip the switch—and immediately discover the contact form doesn't work, mobile navigation is broken, and Google is indexing your staging site instead of production.

Launch failures rarely come from major development issues. They come from skipped checks, assumed functionality, and the excitement-driven rush to go live. A methodical pre-launch review catches these problems while they're still embarrassing-but-fixable rather than live-and-costly.

Content Checklist

Content issues are the most visible launch mistakes.

Text Content

• □ All placeholder text ("Lorem ipsum") replaced
• □ Spelling and grammar checked
• □ Contact information accurate and complete
• □ Dates and times verified (especially events)
• □ Prices and offers current
• □ Legal pages present (privacy policy, terms)

Images and Media

• □ No placeholder images remaining
• □ All images optimized for web
• □ Alt text on all images
• □ Image copyrights cleared
• □ Videos playing correctly
• □ Favicons displaying properly

Links

• □ Internal links working (no broken links)
• □ External links opening in appropriate windows
• □ Download links functioning
• □ Email links (mailto:) correct
• □ Phone links (tel:) correct

Functionality Checklist

Functionality must work perfectly—not just appear to work.

Forms (Most Commonly Broken)

• □ Every form submitted with test data
• □ Confirmation messages displaying
• □ Email notifications being received
• □ Data storing correctly (check database/CRM)
• □ Required field validation working
• □ Error messages clear and helpful
• □ Spam protection active but not blocking legitimate submissions

E-commerce (If Applicable)

• □ Products displaying correctly
• □ Add to cart functioning
• □ Cart calculations correct (including tax, shipping)
• □ Checkout process complete (test purchase)
• □ Payment processing in production mode
• □ Order confirmation emails sending
• □ Inventory tracking working

User Accounts (If Applicable)

• □ Registration working
• □ Login/logout functioning
• □ Password reset flow complete
• □ Account management features working
• □ User data protected appropriately

Search

• □ Site search returning relevant results
• □ No results message helpful
• □ Search suggestions working (if implemented)

Technical Checklist

Technical issues often hide until launch—or worse, until search engines notice.

Performance

• □ Page load times acceptable (under 3 seconds)
• □ Images optimized and lazy-loaded
• □ Caching configured and working
• □ CDN configured (if used)
• □ Database optimized

Security

• □ SSL certificate installed and working
• □ All pages loading over HTTPS
• □ No mixed content warnings
• □ Default passwords changed
• □ Admin URLs protected
• □ Security plugins configured

SEO

• □ Page titles unique and descriptive
• □ Meta descriptions written
• □ URLs clean and logical
• □ XML sitemap generated
• □ Robots.txt allowing indexing
• □ Canonical URLs set correctly
• □ 301 redirects from old URLs configured
• □ Google Search Console verified
• □ Google Analytics installed

Mobile

• □ Tested on actual mobile devices (not just browser simulation)
• □ Touch targets appropriately sized
• □ Mobile navigation working
• □ Forms usable on mobile
• □ No horizontal scrolling
• □ Text readable without zooming

Third-Party Integration Checklist

Integrations that work in development may fail in production.

Analytics and Tracking

• □ Google Analytics tracking all pages
• □ Conversion tracking configured
• □ Facebook Pixel installed (if used)
• □ Other marketing pixels active

Marketing Tools

• □ Email marketing integration working
• □ CRM integration receiving data
• □ Marketing automation triggers firing
• □ Chat widgets functioning

APIs and Services

• □ API keys switched to production
• □ Third-party services using live endpoints
• □ Payment gateways in live mode
• □ Social media integrations working

Accessibility Checklist

Accessibility issues affect real users—and create legal risk.

• □ Keyboard navigation works throughout site
• □ Focus states visible
• □ Color contrast meets WCAG standards
• □ Alt text on all meaningful images
• □ Form labels properly associated
• □ Heading hierarchy logical
• □ Skip navigation link present
• □ Error messages announced to screen readers
• □ Videos have captions

Launch Day Checklist

On launch day, follow a methodical process.

1. Final backup

   Create a complete backup of the current state before any changes.

2. DNS changes (if needed)

   Update DNS records. Allow time for propagation.

3. Deploy code

   Push final code to production.

4. Clear caches

   Clear all caching layers.

5. Smoke test

   Quick check of critical functionality.

6. Monitor

   Watch analytics, error logs, and user feedback closely.

Rollback Plan

Before launching, document how to undo it:

• How to restore the previous version
• Who has authority to decide on rollback
• What triggers a rollback decision
• How to communicate issues to stakeholders

Post-Launch Monitoring

Launch isn't the end—it's when real testing begins.

First Hour

• Monitor server performance and response times
• Check error logs for new issues
• Verify analytics data flowing
• Test critical forms and functions again

First Day

• Review user feedback channels
• Check email deliverability
• Monitor conversion tracking
• Address any reported issues immediately

First Week

• Analyze traffic patterns
• Review error logs comprehensively
• Gather stakeholder feedback
• Document lessons learned

Launch with Confidence

A thorough pre-launch checklist transforms launch day from anxiety-inducing to routine. When you've verified every item, tested every function, and prepared for problems, launch becomes a non-event—which is exactly what it should be.

Create your checklist before you need it. Customize it for your specific site. Run through it methodically, not frantically. And never skip items because you're "sure it works."

Your visitors will never know about all the problems you prevented. That's the point.