Hitting the publish button for your website launch can be a state of excitement and anxiety. If you look at the time invested in creating a dynamic website, that will result in great success.

You have done an excellent job, and all you are eager for is reaping the success in it. Hold on a second before you click the publish button and do a recap to make sure everything necessary for the smooth running of the website has been done.

Check out these 55 important things to consider before announcing your website to the world.

Design Review Checklist

Time to make sure that the final design is faithful to the original plan. It’s common for formatting and images to be inconsistent with the approved designs, which can ruin a lot of effort from the web design process.

1. Review images

Check that all images are compressed for web, image quality, and image size consistency.

2. Review Image license

Are there any stock photos on the website? If so, check to make sure licenses have been purchased for each.

3. Review elements

Check out elements added matched the site design styles; if not, make the necessary adjustment.

4. Make sure the text is accurate and error-free.

Make sure the site content has been proofread for spelling, grammar, and flow. Company contact details are accurate throughout the website. All premium content, such as case studies, ebooks, and whitepapers, have been proofread. Spelling and grammar are correct.

5. Remove all default content

Generic content, such as lorem ipsum, has been properly removed and replaced.

6. Replace all placeholder images with final images and designs. 

On occasion, a website designer may use a placeholder image if they didn’t have the correct asset at the time of the page’s creation. It’s up to you to make sure each page is picture-perfect.

7. Make sure copy aligns with the new brand.

The text has been copy-edited to ensure consistent brand voice and style. All company taglines and mission statements are up to date.

8. Company logo is linked to the homepage.

9. Check that all styling preferences have been implemented.

Paragraphs, headers, lists, and other formatting are correct. Brand colors have been implemented correctly, including link and button colors.

10. Compare the approved designs with the final website.

Review each template for inconsistencies in layout, header style, fonts, formatting, and content.

11. Ensure your design is aesthetically pleasing.

Scripts, images, and CSS are optimized across web pages.

12. Check that the conversion paths have been implemented properly.

All necessary forms are present. Landing pages and thank you pages have been implemented. The correct buttons and calls-to-action (CTAs) are present in the proper locations. Everything is linked together appropriately.

13. Create your site backup strategy.

You can prevent loss of data and protect against malware and other damages by properly setting up site security and regular backups. Check that: Backup schedule has been created, the backup location has been identified, and an implementation plan is set to be put in motion after launch.

14. Store passwords and credentials in a secure place. 

Ensure that passwords are reset when the time comes, and proper password etiquette is followed.

15. Audit the technical SEO implementation for errors.

– Pages have unique page titles. – ages have unique meta descriptions. – Each page has a specific purpose, and pages meant to rank organically are optimized around a single keyword or set of keywords.

16. Calls-to-Action

Pages should have calls-to-action that guides the visitor toward the desired actions.

Analytics Checklist

Here is another area that requires special attention. If you miss one thing, you won’t get all of your data. You can fix it later, but you won’t get historical reports, so do it right the first time.

17. Google Analytics access

Ensure that you have access to Analytics and have been added to the account in Admin > User Management with full access (Manage Users, Edit, Collaborate, Read & Analyze). If you don’t have full access, request that you be added at this level.

18. Add the Google Analytics code to the website’s configuration record.

Note: the method of adding Analytics code to the website may vary depending on the content management system.

19. Set up filters to exclude traffic from the IP(s) of your office.

Find your IP address by typing “what is my IP” into Google.

20. Set up goals

You will need goals for each type of conversion (i.e., /contact-thank-you or /careers-thank-you or /checkout-receipt). It is recommended that you configure a Funnel as well.

21. Enable site search (if applicable).

The “query parameter” for site search features will vary depending on the content management system. It should be visible in the URL when testing your site search tool.

22. Enable e-commerce (if applicable).
23. Link Google Analytics to Google Search Console.

In Google Analytics, go to Admin > Property Settings and link to your accounts.

24. Check the SSL certificate

If the site has an SSL, ensure that “https” is selected for BOTH, the Property, and View areas in the account.

25. Add a Lead Capturing App or Page

Building an email subscriber list is key to the growth of any website. Collecting these emails gives you the ability to stay in contact with your visitors and keep them updated on promotions, deals, and news. Use a lead capturing landing page with a special offer to entice people into providing their email address.

Website Browser Testing

26. Test your forms

Verify that each form on the website is functioning properly. Each form should do the following when submitted:

• The submitter gets an auto-response email, which sets expectations about when you’ll be in touch.
• Submitter arrives at a thank-you page, which includes an additional marketing message or links to relevant content.
• The website stores the submission to a database, in case the email doesn’t get through.
• Analytics records the submission as a conversion.

27. File uploads

Test file uploads feature within the CMS to ensure there are no permission errors.

28. Page testing

Test pages for HTML/CSS errors and compatibility in all major, current browsers on all devices.

29. Test all features

Test all programmed features, ensuring all functions are user-friendly across all devices.

30. Page speed

Website speed is very important, just as your design is also. Test performance grades on Google PageSpeed and Pingdom Tools and correct any relevant technical recommendations.

Final Pre-Launch Checklist

It’s time for the final testing checklist. These are technical items that have a huge impact on the ROI of the total effort. Missing even one of these could be a very expensive mistake.

31. Third-party integration

Check that all third-party items are connected to the proper accounts—newsletter signup, Flickr galleries, Social Media, etc.

32. Plan phase II

Create a list of items not completed at the time of launch. Schedule a meeting to review and prioritize.

33. Make a copy of your old site

Download the current site using WebZip or a similar tool. Note: this step allows you to go back to the old site and recover things after you launch. This is often your last chance!

34. Confirm the list of domains.

Are there other domains that need to point to the new site? If so, confirm that you have access to all domain registrars.

35. Confirm the technical/IT contact who can assist with the launch.

They should have access to the domain registrar and point the A record for the domain to the new IP address.

36. Registrar and DNS information.

Find the current registrar information with a WHOIS lookup and the DNS information by opening Terminal and dig www.domain.com.

37.  Check the technical SEO components for errors.

• Page titles, meta descriptions, and URLs are all present and match the original technical SEO strategy.
• The load time for site pages is optimized.
• A dynamic XML sitemap has been created.
• The XML sitemap has been submitted to search engines.
• Page URLs consistently reflect site information architecture.
• 301 redirects are in place for all old URLs (redirecting old to new pages).
• rel=”nofollow” tags are in place on applicable links and pages.

38. Optimize your metadata.

• Metadata is properly in place for any content in an RSS feed.
• Metadata is properly in place for any social media sharing content.
• Spelling and grammar are correct in all metadata.
• Alt tags have been added to every image.

39. Export your top-performing pages from Google Analytics.

Log into Google Analytics and go to Behavior > Site Content > All Pages. Be sure to adjust the calendar and select a long timeframe (maybe 2-3 years).

These are your top pages on your website. Now select “Show rows” in the bottom right of this report to show more pages (the number you choose depends on how many pages you have on your website).

40. Use the Search Console to find the pages that have been linked to the most. 

Log into Google Search Console. In the left column select Links > External links > More.

Again, you’ll want to expand how many rows this report shows and then download a list of “your most linked content.”

41. Use SEMrush (or a similar tool) to export a list of high ranking pages.

You might find that the high ranking pages are the same as the high traffic pages, so this may not be necessary.

42. Combine these three lists above into a spreadsheet.

Check the new site to ensure that these pages will still exist or that there is a closely related page for each. Make a list of all URLs for all the top pages on the old site and keep track of which URLs will be changed during the launch.

43. Create 301 redirects from the old site pages to the new ones.

44. Create a content strategy workbook. 

Make a list of all URLs for all pages on the old site and keep track of which URLs will be changed during the launch. Include all the keyphrases, the page type (blog post, service pages, product page, etc.), the redirection plan, the total links to those pages, the header tags, title tags, page descriptions, etc..

Be sure to create 301 redirects from the old site pages to the new ones or make a quick note if you decide not to redirect them.

45. Review meta descriptions.

Meta descriptions are not a ranking factor, but they affect click-through rates from search results pages, making them good!

Meta descriptions should meet the following criteria:

• Include the target key phrase for the page
• Be unique to each page
• Include around 120 characters, including spaces
• Be compelling and explain what the user can expect to find on that page.

Website Post-Launch Checklist

Let’s say you’ve done it. The button has been pushed, the domain is pointing to the new site, and you’re about ready to tell the world.

But wait just one second because you still have things to check for now that your site is officially live.

46. Test the site for user experience again.

Just in case there was an issue with the implementation, you’ll want to ensure the experience is consistent with what you reviewed before it went live.

47. Test your conversion path’s functionality.

Take some time to test and validate all of the different features on your website. Lead generation forms, CRM integration, and any other technology should work flawlessly across your website.

• Forms are submitting data properly.
• Thank you message or page displays after form is submitted.
• Form data is being emailed to a recipient and/or stored in a company database.
• Auto-responders are working properly (if applicable).

48. Check that integrations with third-party tools are running smoothly.

Integrations such as your CRM, e-commerce software, and/or marketing platform link to your site and help you run your business. If there is a potential issue that can cause data loss, you don’t want to find out a way after the fact.

49. Make a copy of the final website for backup purposes.

Now that everything is in place and finalized, you want to have a pristine copy of it should you experience data corruption or loss.

50. Ensure that backups are running properly.

Now is the time to check the implementation of your backup strategy. Check that ongoing copies of the website are being created and stored regularly.

51. Make sure your site is secure.

• 24/7 monitoring scripts are installed.
• There’s a plan in place for updating plugins (if applicable).
• Ensure that all appropriate parties are aware of your organization’s password etiquette policies.

52. Comply with all applicable laws.

Make sure your website complies with any applicable laws and regulations. Internet law can be sticky, and each industry has its own set of rules to follow

• Web pages announce if the website uses cookies (required in some countries).
• The website is compliant with usage rights for purchased or borrowed code, images, and fonts.
• The website is PCI compliant (if you’re storing and processing credit cards).

53. Terms and privacy visibility

Terms and privacy policies are visible to website visitors.

54. Crawl the site to ensure no errors happened on launch.

Compare the crawl to the previous crawl and see if you find any inconsistencies that were not intentional. You’ll also want to ensure that all pages have the proper search engine indexing settings.

55. Have a plan for maintenance of the website

It is important to have a ready-made plan for maintaining the website moving forward. You or your development partner can handle this.

The above list of items will assist you in setting up a smooth and succeful launch that applies to most website projects.