Website Launch Checklist
Use this checklist before you launch so content, tracking, performance, and conversion paths are ready for real visitors.
Guide
Launch day is when assumptions meet real traffic. A polished design can still fail if forms break, analytics never fire, redirects point the wrong way, or legal pages are missing. This checklist is designed for business websites that need to convert — not just look finished in a staging environment.
Work through each section with one owner accountable for go/no-go. Mark items complete only when someone has verified them in the production (or production-like) environment. Partial checks create false confidence and turn the first week into emergency triage.
CodeActivv uses a similar pre-launch pass with clients: content clarity, SEO foundations, performance on mobile, conversion paths, and a short post-launch review window. Treat launch as the start of measurement, not the end of the project.
Content & messaging
Confirm visitors can understand what you offer and what to do next within seconds.
- Homepage value proposition is clear above the fold
- Service and about pages match what you actually sell
- Contact details and CTAs are consistent across pages
- Legal pages (Privacy, Terms) are linked in the footer
- 404 page and empty states are helpful, not dead ends
SEO & discoverability
Make sure search engines and AI systems can crawl and interpret priority pages.
- Unique title and meta description on every indexable page
- Canonical URLs set correctly
- XML sitemap submitted and robots.txt allows crawl of public pages
- Heading hierarchy is logical (one H1, ordered H2/H3)
- Image alt text written for meaningful images
Performance & technical
Validate the technical paths that protect trust and conversion on day one.
- Core pages load acceptably on mobile networks
- Forms submit successfully and send notifications
- HTTPS, redirects, and preferred domain are correct
- Analytics and conversion events fire as expected
- Backup and rollback plan documented
Examples
Local services site go-live
A trades business delayed launch by two days to fix form email notifications and add a clear phone CTA on mobile. First-week lead volume was measurably higher than their previous brochure site because inquiries actually arrived.
SaaS marketing site cutover
A product team staged DNS cutover after verifying Search Console property ownership, conversion events for demo requests, and redirects from legacy blog URLs. Organic traffic recovered within days instead of weeks of 404 noise.
Ecommerce soft launch
A retailer ran a private soft launch with staff purchases to validate checkout, tax, shipping, and confirmation emails before opening paid traffic — catching a payment webhook misconfiguration early.
Common mistakes
- • Treating staging sign-off as production-ready without retesting forms, analytics, and HTTPS
- • Launching without a rollback plan or DNS ownership clarity
- • Indexing thin or placeholder pages that dilute quality signals
- • Skipping mobile smoke tests on the primary conversion path
- • Assuming “someone else” owns post-launch monitoring for the first seven days
Practical tips
- • Launch with a short smoke-test list you can complete in 30 minutes.
- • Have one person own go/no-go so fixes do not stall indefinitely.
- • Schedule a 7-day post-launch review for analytics and form quality.
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Launch walkthrough (coming soon)
A short CodeActivv walkthrough of how we run a 30-minute launch smoke test — forms, analytics, redirects, and mobile conversion paths. Subscribe via contact if you want to be notified when it publishes.
FAQs
When should we start this checklist?
Begin two to three weeks before the target go-live date so content, tracking, and technical fixes have room to land. Re-run a shorter smoke list on launch morning.
Who should own go/no-go?
One decision owner — usually a product or marketing lead partnered with engineering. Shared ownership without a final call often stalls fixes indefinitely.
Do we need a soft launch?
For transactional sites, yes when possible. A limited audience or private invite reduces risk before paid campaigns or public announcements.
What if SEO isn’t finished?
Ship with unique titles, correct canonicals, sitemap, and no thin duplicates at minimum. Deeper content and internal linking can continue in the first 30 days with a clear backlog.
Can CodeActivv run a pre-launch audit?
Yes. We review content clarity, technical readiness, analytics, and conversion paths, then help close gaps before go-live.
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