Website Launch Checklist
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Pre-launch
Foundation
Register domain and verify DNS resolves
Use a registrar you control; set A/AAAA and MX if needed.
Set up hosting / CDN (GitHub Pages, Cloudflare, VPS, S3)
Prefer HTTPS by default. Test from a second network.
Configure SSL/TLS certificate and force HTTPS
Redirect HTTP → HTTPS. Verify with SSL Labs scan.
Set up a staging environment separate from production
Never test on live. Use a subdomain or local tunnel.
Create a simple 404 page and a maintenance page
Match your brand; include a way back home.
Add favicon, Apple touch icon, and web manifest
Use a generator; deliver at least 32×32, 180×180, 192×192.
Content
Pages & Copy
Home page clearly states the value proposition
A stranger should understand it in 5 seconds.
About / Contact page with working email or form
Test the form. Set up a spam filter if public.
Privacy policy and terms of service (even if minimal)
Required for analytics, payments, and EU users.
All images have alt text; no broken image links
Run an accessibility scan with Lighthouse or WAVE.
No placeholder text, lorem ipsum, or "coming soon" left behind
Search the repo for "lorem", "TODO", "FIXME", "placeholder".
Links open in the same tab unless they are external
External links: rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank".
Technical
Performance & SEO
Page titles and meta descriptions are unique per page
Keep titles ≤60 chars, descriptions ≤160 chars.
Open Graph and Twitter Card tags present on key pages
Test with Facebook Sharing Debugger and Twitter Card Validator.
Canonical URLs set; no accidental duplicate content
One canonical per page. Parameter pages should canonicalize.
XML sitemap submitted to Google Search Console
Also add sitemap URL to robots.txt for discoverability.
robots.txt allows indexing of public content
Block only admin, staging, and private paths.
Core Web Vitals pass on mobile and desktop (Lighthouse ≥90)
Compress images, lazy-load below-fold, minimize JS.
Site is responsive and readable at 320px width
Test real devices or Chrome DevTools device mode.
No console errors or 404s in the Network panel
Open DevTools, hard-refresh, watch for red.
Post-launch
Go-live
Analytics installed (Plausible, Fathom, or GA4 with consent)
Verify the first live event fires. Check real-time view.
Uptime monitoring set (UptimeRobot, Pingdom, or self-hosted)
Monitor homepage + one critical API path if applicable.
Backups configured for content and any database
Test a restore once. Automate daily if data changes often.
Social share preview tested on LinkedIn, X, and Facebook
Post a private/unlisted link and inspect the card.
Email deliverability verified (SPF, DKIM, DMARC if sending mail)
Use mail-tester.com. Score should be ≥9.
Announce the launch on one owned channel
Newsletter, blog, changelog, or repo release notes.