Website launch checklist: 30 checks before your site goes live: PageKiwi

In short: launching a website is like opening a shop. You walk through the day before: unlock the doors, switch on the lights, try the till, hang the sign. This list is that walk.

1. Check it before it goes live

Most new sites are built on a private copy first, often called a staging site or a test site. Do the checks below on it, then again on the real address on launch day, because some things only break once the real address is switched on.

PageKiwi's checks need a public address. They open your pages the way a visitor does, so they can't get past a password box or a log-in. A site that tells robots to keep out may not be checked either.
If the copy is behind a password, do the by-hand checks on it, and run the PageKiwi checks once the real site is live. Or ask your web person to lift the password for an hour.
If the copy is public, keep it out of Google while you test (see "Being found on Google" below), and make sure nobody links to it.
Write down what fails: the page, the check and what you saw. That's what your web person needs.

2. The address and the padlock

Your domain name is renewed, and in your name.
How to check: log in to where you bought it, read the renewal date, and make sure the account is yours, not your web designer's. A launch is when old accounts get forgotten. Keep your domain. Site health shows the expiry date, and Who hosts this website? shows which company you rent the name from. Neither can show whose name it's in, so check that in the account.
The domain points at the new site.
How to check: open your address in a private window on your phone, off your office Wi-Fi. You should see the new site, not the old one. Changes can take a while to reach everyone. Connect your domain to your website.
The padlock shows on every page.
How to check: your address should start with https, with no "Not secure" beside it, on the home page and a few others. Site health checks the certificate. Why your site says "Not secure", and mixed content if only some pages show a warning.
The version with www and the version without both work.
How to check: try your address both ways. Both should end up on the same one, not two copies of your site. Redirect checker shows where each one lands.
Old addresses go to the matching new pages.
How to check: if the site is a rebuild, list the old page addresses people use (from Google, old emails, flyers) and open each one. Each should land on the matching new page with a 301 redirect, not on the home page. Google suggests keeping redirects for at least a year. What is a 301 redirect? Redirect a page. Run the Redirect checker on each.

3. Links and pictures

No link is broken, and email and phone links work.
How to check: run Link Check on the home page, then on your busiest pages. It finds links that lead nowhere, email links with a mistyped address or a domain that can't receive mail, and phone links with a number that can't be dialed. How to find broken links. Also click a "call us" link on your phone.
No link still points at the test copy.
How to check: on the live site, click the menu, the logo, the buttons and the footer links, and watch the address bar. Anything that jumps to a test address (like staging, dev or a temporary address from your builder) needs changing.
No placeholder words or pictures are left.
How to check: read every page for "Lorem ipsum", "Your text here", "Coming soon", sample pages and example names or prices. Picture Check flags pictures that look like stand-ins, by their file names or by one picture used again and again.
Every picture shows, has alt text and isn't heavy.
How to check: run Picture Check. It finds missing pictures, missing alt text (the words a screen reader says) and photos that slow a page, mostly on phones. Write good alt text. Shrink a photo makes a smaller copy to upload.

4. The same facts everywhere

Phone, email and ZIP code match on every page.
How to check: Facts Check compares them across your pages. A rebuild is when an old number survives in one footer.
Hours, prices, dates and your address are right.
How to check: tools can't know your opening hours, so compare the Contact page, the footer and the home page with the real ones, and with your Google Business Profile. Look at event dates and anything with a year in it, like the copyright line. Get your business on Google Maps.

5. Phones and screen sizes

It looks right on a phone, a tablet and a laptop.
How to check: Screen sizes shows your page at each size side by side. Then open it on a real phone. See your site on a phone.
You can read it without scrolling sideways, the menu opens, and buttons are easy to tap.
How to check: on a phone, scroll down a page, open the menu, tap the buttons with a thumb and turn the phone on its side. Is my website mobile friendly?

6. Being found on Google

Each page has its own title.
How to check: look at the browser tab. Google advises a title that describes the page, not "Home" on every page. Google and share preview shows the title and description people would see in a search.
Sharing a link gives a good card.
How to check: the same preview shows how the page looks when shared on social media or in a message. A share card needs a title, a picture and an address; that's what Open Graph tags are for.
The browser-tab icon (favicon) is yours.
How to check: look at the tab. Favicon maker turns your logo into every size. Google asks for a square picture of at least 8 by 8 pixels, and recommends larger than 48 by 48. Favicon not showing in Google.
The test copy is hidden from search engines.
How to check: if the staging copy is public, put "noindex" on it, or better, a password. Google says a robots.txt file isn't a way to keep a page out of Google, and that a noindex page must not be blocked by robots.txt or Google never sees the noindex. In WordPress it's the "Discourage search engines from indexing this site" box under Settings, Reading, and it's up to search engines to honor it.
The live site is NOT hidden.
How to check: this is a common launch mistake, because the test copy's noindex setting can travel with the site. Run Google and share preview on the live home page: it tells you if a "noindex" tag is in the page. It doesn't read the server's own headers, so also ask your web person. In WordPress, untick the box above. Squarespace: in Settings, open Crawlers and make sure "Block Search engine crawlers" is unticked; then open Site Availability and make sure it says Public, not Password Protected or Private. Wix: in SEO & GEO, under Tools and settings, open SEO Settings and switch "Let search engines index your site" on. Shopify: in Online Store, click the Private label if it shows, choose Public, and click Update (or Launch store); private mode hides every page from search engines. My website isn't showing on Google.
The site is in Google Search Console, with your sitemap sent.
How to check: a Domain property in Search Console covers www and without, http and https. Then submit your sitemap in its Sitemaps report. Google calls a sitemap a hint, not a promise, and a new site can still take weeks to show. Steps in My website isn't showing on Google.

7. Forms and email

The contact form delivers.
How to check: fill in every form on the live site and send it. Did the message arrive, and not in spam? Did the visitor see a thank-you? Does Reply go to the visitor? A form on a test copy often sends to the builder's email. Contact form not sending.
Email on your domain works, both ways.
How to check: send to your address from a Gmail or other outside account, and reply. A new site or new host can change where email is delivered. Email with your domain name.
Your email settings (SPF, DKIM and DMARC) are in place.
How to check: they tell mail servers your emails are from you. Google describes all three as ways to do that. Email check reports each one, and Stop your emails going to spam explains them.

8. Accessibility basics

These checks help you get closer to the accessibility rules. They don't make a site accessible by themselves, and they aren't legal advice. The website accessibility checklist has 25 more, and the official sources are on our accessibility page.

Accessibility Check finds no serious problems.
How to check: run Accessibility Check on the home page and your contact page. It finds missing labels, links with no words and similar problems. It can miss things, so it's a start, not a verdict.
You can use the site with the keyboard alone.
How to check: put the mouse away and press Tab. You should reach the menu, links and form boxes in order, and always see where you are.
Text is easy to read on its background.
How to check: put your text and background colors into Color check. Readability shows if your wording is easy to read.
There's an accessibility page saying how to reach you.
How to check: if something doesn't work for a visitor, they need someone to tell. Accessibility statement writes one for you.

9. After you launch

You've taken a backup of the launched site.
How to check: a copy you can restore from, kept somewhere other than the site itself. How to back up your website.
Log-ins are safe and not in one person's hands.
How to check: the owner has the domain, hosting and site log-ins, not only the person who built it. Two-step log-in is on. Turn on two-step log-in.
The test copy is closed or still hidden.
How to check: take it offline, or keep the password on it. Otherwise it can compete with the real site. Take your website offline.
You'll hear if something breaks.
How to check: Site Watch checks your site every night and emails you only when something changes, such as a broken link or a padlock that's running out. Free. Run Full Check again a week after launch too.

10. When something fails

Fix first whatever stops a visitor: a wrong address, a missing padlock, a form that doesn't send, a live site set to noindex.
Your own words and pictures you can usually fix yourself. How to edit your own website.
Settings, redirects and email records are for your web person, or your host. Hiring a web designer.
Automatic checks sometimes miss a problem or flag something that's fine. If a PageKiwi check got it wrong, tell us and we'll fix the check.

The short version

Do the by-hand checks on the test copy, then run Link Check, Picture Check, Facts Check and Accessibility Check on the live site on launch day. Make sure the live site is not set to noindex. Then turn on Site Watch. Send what fails to your web person with the message below.

Send this to your web person

Not sure what to say? Copy this into an email, add your website's address, and send it.

Hi,

I went through a launch checklist for [your website address] and these checks failed:

- [the check, for example: the old page /about-us/ doesn't redirect to the new About page]
- [the check, for example: the live site still has a noindex tag]
- [the check, for example: the contact form doesn't reach my inbox]

Could you fix these before we announce the site, starting with anything that keeps visitors or Google out? Please tell me what you changed so I can check again.

Thanks

Keep an eye on your website?

Check it every night: Site Watch emails you only when something changes.
Remind me in 3 months: one email with a link to check it again. Then we delete your address.

We email you a link first, and nothing starts until you press Confirm in it. Never sold or shared. What we keep.

Website launch checklist