The website launch checklist: 30 things to check before you go live

Most launch problems aren't hard to fix — they're just easy to forget. This checklist groups the checks we see fail most often in LaunchSafer audits, in the order you'd usually tackle them.

Content and messaging

• Your homepage headline says what you do and who it's for, in plain words.
• Every page has one clear next step (a call to action) — and the button text says what happens.
• There is no placeholder text left ("Lorem ipsum", "Your title here").
• Contact details are easy to find from every page, usually in the header or footer.
• The footer copyright year is current.

Search engine basics

• Every page has a unique <title> of roughly 30–60 characters.
• Important pages have a meta description that summarises the page.
• Each page has one H1, and headings follow a logical order.
• The site is not accidentally set to noindex. Many CMSs have a "discourage search engines" option that is easy to leave on after development.
• There is an XML sitemap and it's referenced in robots.txt.
• Social sharing tags (og:title, og:description, og:image) are present so shared links look good.

Performance

• Images are compressed, served at the size they're displayed, and in WebP or AVIF where possible.
• The hero image is not lazy-loaded.
• Third-party scripts (chat widgets, trackers) are loaded only if you actually use them.
• Static files are cached and text is compressed.

Security

• HTTPS works with a valid certificate, and HTTP redirects to HTTPS.
• Basic security headers are set: HSTS, X-Content-Type-Options, a clickjacking protection, Referrer-Policy.
• No API keys or secrets appear in the page source.

Accessibility

• Images have meaningful alt text.
• Every form field has a visible label.
• Text has enough contrast against its background.
• The site can be used with a keyboard, and focus is visible.
• The <html> element declares the page language.

Trust and legal discoverability

• A privacy policy is linked from the footer if you collect any personal data.
• Terms are published if you sell or provide an online service.
• If you use analytics or advertising trackers, consider whether you need a cookie notice for your visitors' regions.

After launch

1. Submit your sitemap in Google Search Console.
2. Check real-user performance after a few weeks of traffic.
3. Re-run an audit after every major change.

You can run all of these checks automatically with a free LaunchSafer audit.