A website launch checklist for business owners

A good website launch checklist covers five areas: content and contact details, forms and notifications, mobile and browser checks, search engine settings and analytics, and backups, security and access. Most launch problems are small, such as a form that sends to the wrong inbox or a page hidden from search engines, but they can cost enquiries for weeks before anyone notices. Working through a checklist before and just after launch catches them early.

Split the work into two passes. Do most checks on the staging site a few days before launch, so there is time to fix what you find. Then repeat the most important ones, such as forms, search settings and HTTPS, on the live site straight after launch, because some settings only change when the site goes live.

This checklist is written for business owners and managers, not developers. Some checks you can do yourself; others you should ask your developer to confirm. If you would like help with a new website, our website service page explains how we work.

Website launch checklist: content and contact details

Content errors are the easiest to fix and the most embarrassing to leave in place. Read every page on the staging site, the private copy used before launch, as if you were a new customer.

1. Remove placeholder text and images. Search for sample text, "lorem ipsum", test products and stock images that were only meant as placeholders.
2. Check contact details everywhere. Phone numbers, email addresses, physical addresses and opening hours often appear in the header, footer, contact page and structured data. Make sure they all match.
3. Test phone and email links. On a phone, tap each phone number and email link to confirm it opens the right app with the right details.
4. Check prices, services and product details. Make sure they are current and consistent across pages.
5. Review legal pages. Your privacy policy, terms and any cookie information should be present, current and linked from the footer. Check what is required in the markets you serve.
6. Proofread headings and buttons. Spelling mistakes in large text and buttons are the most visible.
7. Check images. Make sure images are sharp, correctly cropped on different screen sizes, and have short text descriptions for people using screen readers.
8. Check every link. Click through the menu, footer and in-page links. A crawler tool can check all links at once for broken ones.

Forms, emails and notifications

Forms are often how a website earns its keep, and they are easy to break without anyone noticing.

1. Submit every form yourself. Contact forms, quote requests, bookings, newsletter sign-ups and account registration.
2. Confirm who receives each message. Check that submissions reach the right inbox, not a developer's test address.
3. Check the confirmation to the visitor. If a form sends an automatic reply, make sure it arrives, reads well and has the right contact details.
4. Check spam folders. Emails sent from websites sometimes land in spam. Ask your developer to set up proper email sending so messages are delivered reliably.
5. Test error messages. Submit forms with missing or wrong information and check that the messages are clear.
6. Check spam protection. Forms need some protection against automated spam, but it should not block real visitors.
7. Test payments and bookings end to end. If the site takes payments or bookings, complete a real test transaction and refund it, following your provider's guidance.
8. Record where submissions are stored. Know whether form submissions are saved on the website as well as emailed, and who can see them.

Web applications with accounts and bookings need more testing than this list, as our comparison of websites and web applications explains.

Mobile and browser checks

Many visitors will see your site on a phone first. Test on real devices, not only a resized desktop browser.

1. Check key pages on a phone. Home, services or products, contact and any booking or checkout pages.
2. Look for layout problems. Text that overflows, images that are cut off, buttons that are too small or too close together, and menus that do not open.
3. Test on more than one browser. Check the site in the common browsers your customers use, on both phones and computers.
4. Check tablets and large screens. Layouts that work on phones and laptops can look stretched or cramped in between.
5. Test with a slow connection. Load the site on mobile data to see how long pages take and whether anything important appears late.
6. Try the site with a keyboard. Moving through a page with the Tab key shows whether menus, links and forms can be used without a mouse, which matters for accessibility.

Quick accessibility checks

Accessibility means making the site usable by as many people as possible, including people with visual, hearing, motor or cognitive impairments. A full review needs a specialist, but you can catch common problems yourself:

1. Check text contrast. Light grey text on a white background, or text over busy images, is hard for many people to read.
2. Check headings. Each page should have one main heading, with smaller headings in a logical order beneath it.
3. Check link and button text. Labels such as "Read more" repeated many times are unclear. Links should describe where they lead.
4. Check form labels. Every form field should have a visible label, not only placeholder text that disappears when typing starts.
5. Zoom in. Enlarge the page in your browser and check that text still fits and nothing overlaps.

Fixing these before launch is far easier than after.

Search engine settings and analytics

A site can look perfect and still be invisible to search engines because of one leftover setting. These checks are worth confirming with your developer.

1. Remove the block on search engines. Staging sites are usually hidden from search engines. Check that the live site is not blocked in its robots.txt file or page settings.
2. Check titles and descriptions. Each important page should have a unique page title and description that explains what the page is about.
3. Set up redirects if you had an old site. Old page addresses should redirect permanently to the closest new pages, so visitors and search engines are not lost.
4. Submit an XML sitemap. An XML sitemap is a file listing the pages you want search engines to find. Google explains that you can submit a sitemap through the Sitemaps report in Search Console, or reference it in your robots.txt file.
5. Verify the site in Search Console. Google Search Console is a free tool that shows how Google sees your site and reports problems.
6. Install analytics. Make sure your analytics tool records visits on the live site, and that any consent requirements in your market are respected.
7. Track what matters. Set up tracking for enquiries, bookings or sales, so you can measure whether the site is meeting its goals.
8. Update your business listings. Make sure your website address is correct on your business profiles, social media and directories.

If the new site replaces an old one, our guide on what happens during a website redesign project explains how redirects and search checks fit into the wider project.

Backups, SSL and access

The final group of checks protects the site after launch and makes sure you are in control of it.

1. Check HTTPS. The site should load over HTTPS, shown by the padlock in the browser, on every page. Visitors using the old http address should be redirected to https.
2. Confirm backups are running. Ask how often the site and its database are backed up, where backups are stored and how quickly the site can be restored. A backup that has never been tested is only a hope.
3. Confirm updates and maintenance. Agree who will apply software and security updates after launch.
4. Check accounts and passwords. Remove test accounts, use strong unique passwords and turn on two-step login for admin accounts where available.
5. Make sure you own the key accounts. The domain name, hosting, email, analytics and any paid licences should be registered to your business, with your developer given access rather than ownership.
6. Collect the handover information. Ask for a short document listing where the site is hosted, how it is deployed, and who to contact for support.
7. Set up uptime monitoring. A simple monitor alerts you if the site goes down, rather than waiting for a customer to tell you.

The first week after launch

1. Check forms and enquiries daily. Make sure messages keep arriving.
2. Watch Search Console and analytics for errors, missing pages or sudden drops.
3. Collect feedback from staff and customers, and fix small issues quickly.
4. Keep the old site's backup for a while in case you need to check old content.

A checklist is most useful as part of a clear plan from the start. Our guides on how to write a website brief and what a business website costs cover the earlier stages of a website project.

Check that the access and ownership items agreed in your quote are handed over, and our guide to reading a website quote lists what they should include.

Summary

• Read every page for placeholders, errors and consistent contact details, and check all links.
• Submit every form, confirm who receives it and test payments or bookings end to end.
• Test key pages on real phones and several browsers, including with a keyboard and slow connection.
• Remove search engine blocks, set up redirects, submit a sitemap and install analytics.
• Confirm HTTPS, tested backups, secure accounts and your ownership of key accounts.

A careful launch lets a new website start working for your business from its first day. If you're preparing to launch a new website, you can tell us about it here.