Guide · checklist
Website launch checklist: what to check before you go live
Everything worth checking before you announce a new website, in the order a first-time visitor will notice it. Use it for a startup, a SaaS product, a client site or a business website.
Updated · by Adeoje Afeez
Launch day is the worst time to find out your homepage doesn't say what you do, or that the contact form leads nowhere. By then you've posted the link, emailed your list or handed the site to a client, and the first visitors are already forming an opinion.
This checklist covers what visitors notice first and what quietly breaks. Work through it a day or two before launch, on your phone as well as your laptop, ideally with someone who hasn't seen the site before.
1. The first screen
Most visitors decide whether to stay before they scroll. Open your homepage on a phone and look only at what fits on the screen.
It says what this is
A stranger should be able to say what you offer in one sentence after five seconds. Brand slogans and words like “platform” or “solution” on their own don't count.
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It says who it's for
Name the audience, or make it obvious from the words you use. “For small clinics” beats “for everyone”.
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It gives a reason to care
The result the visitor gets, or the problem that goes away, should be visible before the feature list.
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There is one clear next step
One main button that says what happens next: “Start free trial”, “Book a call”, “See pricing”. Not three competing ones, and not “Learn more”.
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It fits a phone screen
No sideways scrolling, no text cut off, and the main button visible without hunting for it.
Our scan measures this
2. Messaging and copy
The problem comes before the features
Describe the problem or need in your visitor's words first. Features only make sense once someone recognises the problem.
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The same thing has the same name everywhere
If it's a “workspace” on the homepage, it shouldn't be a “project” on the pricing page and a “board” in the FAQ.
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Buttons say where they lead
“See how reminders work” tells people what to expect. Six buttons that all say “Learn more” don't.
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No placeholder text is left
Search every page for lorem ipsum, “Your headline here”, template testimonials, example.com links and stock “Company name” text.
Spelling and grammar are clean
Read every page aloud once. Small mistakes on a new site read as carelessness.
3. Trust and credibility
A new site has no reputation yet, so visitors look for small signs that a real, accountable business is behind it.
Who is behind it is clear
A business or person's name, a country, and a way to reach a human. An about page helps.
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Contact details work
An email address or contact form that actually reaches you. Send yourself a test message from a phone.
Proof is real and specific
Named testimonials, client logos you're allowed to use, or concrete numbers you can back up. Anonymous quotes add little; invented ones are worse than none.
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Claims match across pages
Numbers like “500 customers” or “99.9% uptime” should be identical wherever they appear.
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The policies you need are linked
Every site that collects any data needs a privacy policy. Anything that sells needs terms, and stores need shipping and returns policies. Link them from the footer.
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4. Pricing and the offer
Skip this section for a portfolio or a site with no paid offer.
Prices are easy to find
If you sell something, visitors should find the price, or how to get one, within a click.
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Limits and extras are stated
Usage limits, extra charges, taxes and what happens when someone goes over. An unpriced “additional usage fees apply” reads like a surprise bill.
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Prices, trials and limits match everywhere
Pricing page, FAQ, landing pages, marketplace listings and checkout should all say the same thing. Old prices hide in FAQs and blog posts.
Our scan compares this across pages
Cancellation and refunds are answered
Say how to cancel and whether refunds are possible, in plain words, before people pay.
5. Links, forms and technical basics
Every page loads over HTTPS
And http:// addresses redirect to https://. Browsers label plain http pages as not secure.
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No broken links or images
Click every link in the header and footer, and check that images load on every page.
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No JavaScript errors
Open the browser console on each main page. Errors there often mean something visitors need is broken.
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Pages aren't too heavy
Large unoptimised images are the usual cause of slow pages on phones. Compress them and serve sensible sizes.
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Missing pages return a real 404
Visit a made-up address on your site. You should see a helpful not-found page, and the server should send a 404 status.
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Forms work end to end
Submit every form yourself: contact, sign-up, newsletter, booking. Check that the confirmation appears and the message arrives.
Sign-up and checkout work
Go through the whole path as a new customer, including the emails that follow. Use a test payment if your provider has one.
There is a favicon
A blank browser-tab icon makes a site look unfinished next to other tabs.
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6. Search and sharing basics
Each page has its own title
Unique, descriptive page titles help search engines and people scanning their browser tabs.
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Each page has a meta description
Without one, search results show whatever text the search engine picks.
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Images have alt text
A short description for every meaningful image helps screen-reader users and search engines.
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Search engines are allowed in
Check that robots.txt and any “noindex” settings from development were removed. This is one of the most common launch mistakes.
A sitemap is submitted
Submit your sitemap in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools so new pages are found sooner.
Link previews look right
Paste your link into a messaging app. Check the title, description and image that appear.
7. Measuring what happens
Analytics is installed and working
Check that your analytics or ad pixel actually sends data when a page loads, not only that the script is there.
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You know your main goal
Decide the one action that counts as success (a sign-up, a sale, a booking) and make sure you can measure it.
Get a second pair of eyes
The hardest part of checking your own site is that you already know what it means. A visitor doesn't. That's the gap our scan is built for: it reads your public pages the way a first-time visitor does, runs the technical checks marked above, and compares prices and claims across pages.
It can't test your forms, sign-up or checkout, or anything behind a login, so do those by hand.