Having a Website Pre-Launch Checklist will help ensure your website launch is smooth. We run through a list of things to check and consider when you are launch a website – new or old. Launch check list includes front end and back end checks, website design, website functionality, SEO, must have plugins, wordpress security, backups, and more.
If you would like to add to this list, please commet below.
Pre-Launch Checklist
- Remove all Lorem Ipsum text?
- Proofread site copy for grammar and spelling errors?
- All links are working correctly?
- Confirm contact details are correct throughout site
- Test all contact forms to make sure you get the alerts
- Video and audio items are correct and formatted properly ?
- PDF files are properly linked and proofed ?
- 404 page is created or customized ?
- Old website URLs are 301 redirected to new URLs ?
- Be sure all required licenses for images, fonts, plugins, etc. are on file ?
- Confirm Gravatars are set up for their email address
Web Design
- Images are correct and have been optimized for the web (resize all large images) ?- images sould be below 150kb
- Site previewed in Chrome ?
- Site previewed in Firefox ?
- Site previewed in Internet Explorer ?
- Site previewed in Safari ?
- Site previewed in any legacy browsers requested by client ?
- Responsive design tested at standard phone sizes ?
- Responsive design tested at standard tablet sizes ?
- Website favicon is working ?
- Header (or company logo) is linked to home page
Website Functionality
- Page load time is 3 seconds or less ?
- All forms are submitting data correctly ?
- All forms are emailing to correct address ?
- All forms display correct message or redirection on submit ?
- Form autoresponders are working correctly ?
- All external hyperlinks open in a new tab ?
- Social sharing icons are working
- Social media posting is working correctly
- WordPress Database is optimised
- Clean up WordPress – removed old page/post revisions
SEO
- Page load time is 3 seconds or less ?
- All forms are submitting data correctly ?
- All forms are emailing to correct address ?
- All forms display correct message or redirection on submit ?
- Form autoresponders are working correctly ?
- All external hyperlinks open in a new tab ?
- Social sharing icons are working
- Social media posting is working correctly
- WordPress Database is optimised
- Clean up WordPress – removed old page/post revisions
Must-Have Plugins
- View our Essential WordPress Plugin list and instal plugins
WordPress Settings
- General: Confirm Site Title and Site Tagline are correct ?
- General: Confirm time zone is correct ?
- General: Confirm admin email address is correct ?
- Writing: Confirm Default Post Category is correct; if not, create default category ?
- Reading: Confirm Search Engin Visability Discourage search engines from indexing this site is NOT ticked
- Discussion: Confirm comment settings and comment moderation settings ?
- Permalinks: Confirm permalink settings are not Default for SEO purposes
Security & Backups
- 24/7 monitoring scripts are installed
- A copy of the final website has been made for backup purposes.
- Ongoing copies of the website are being created and stored on a regular basis.
- Passwords and other website credentials are stored in a secure database
- Installed a security plugin such as Wordfence
- Logins are secure – dont use your domain name, admin, administrator as your username, ensure passwords are strong
1 thought on “Website Pre-Launch Checklist”
Pingback: Questions to ask a Website Designer before you hire them