Before launch
Crawl the site
Check that intended pages are reachable, internal links work and staging-only URLs are not referenced.
Review titles, canonicals and indexing directives
Confirm each important page has an appropriate title, canonical URL and no accidental noindex directive.
Test forms and conversions
Submit every important form on desktop and mobile. Verify messages reach the correct destination and analytics events work where configured.
Check responsive behaviour
Review navigation, tables, cards, images, forms and calls to action at narrow widths. Look for horizontal scrolling and hidden content.
Review accessibility basics
Test keyboard navigation, focus visibility, labels, alt text, heading structure, zoom and contrast. Automated tools can assist but should not be the only review.
Prepare redirects for a redesign
Map moved or consolidated URLs to the closest relevant new page. Do not wait until after the old site has been replaced.
Confirm ownership and backups
Record domain, hosting, CMS, analytics and third-party access. Take a recoverable backup before switching production files.
Recheck after DNS and deployment
Test the public site, HTTPS behaviour if applicable, redirects, forms, analytics, robots.txt and sitemap after the production environment is live.
After launch
Watch errors, indexing and conversions during the first weeks. A launch checklist reduces avoidable mistakes, but real traffic can expose issues that staging did not. Fix functional problems first, then evaluate design changes using evidence rather than immediate reactions.