Website launch checklist: what to check before you go live

Short answer: before a new website goes live, check six things. The words and details are right, every form and phone link works, it's quick and usable on a phone, Google can see it, nothing from the old site has been lost, and the legal basics are in place. Most launch problems are small and boring, a broken form or a page hidden from Google, and they're far cheaper to catch the day before launch than three months after. Here's the full list we work through, which you can use whoever built your site.

Launch day is when things slip through. Everyone's tired of looking at the site, the designer wants to move on, and you just want it live. Then a fortnight later someone mentions the contact form hasn't sent anything since launch.

This checklist is grouped so you can split it up. Some of it you can check yourself in ten minutes. Some of it you should ask your web designer to confirm. Tick it off before you announce the new site to anyone.

A broken contact form doesn't show an error. It just stops the phone ringing.

Content and details

• Phone number, email and address are right on every page, including the footer. Ring the number from the site.
• Opening hours and the areas you cover are current.
• Prices, if you show them, are up to date, and match what you'd actually quote.
• No placeholder text is left anywhere. Search the site for "lorem ipsum", "TBC", "insert" and "example".
• Every service you offer has its own page, and no page mentions a service you've stopped doing.
• Photos are yours, or properly licensed. No images lifted from Google.
• Spelling and names are right: your business name, staff names, place names and brand names.
• Credentials are shown and current: trade bodies, registrations, insurance.

Forms and contact

• Submit every form yourself and check the enquiry actually arrives, including in your spam folder.
• Check who it goes to. Make sure enquiries come to an inbox someone actually reads, not the designer's test address.
• Tap the phone number on your phone. It should start a call, not do nothing.
• Test any booking system end to end, including the confirmation email.
• Check the thank-you message tells people what happens next and when.

Phone and speed

• Read every page on your phone, not just the homepage. Most of your visitors will.
• Nothing spills off the side of the screen, and the menu opens and closes.
• Buttons are big enough to tap without zooming in.
• Run the homepage and a service page through PageSpeed Insights on mobile. Big images are the usual culprit. There's more on why it matters in our page speed piece.
• The padlock shows, with no "Not secure" warning, on both the www and non-www versions of your address.

Google and search

• The site isn't hidden from Google. New sites are often built with a "don't index" setting switched on. Ask your designer to confirm it's off.
• Every page has its own title and description, written for the people searching, not "Home" or "Page 1".
• There's a sitemap at yourdomain.co.uk/sitemap.xml, and it lists your pages.
• The site is added to Google Search Console, and the sitemap is submitted.
• Your Google Business Profile links to the new site, and the name, address and phone number match exactly. Our free Google Business Profile scorecard checks the rest.
• Analytics is installed and recording visits. Open the real-time view and load the site to check.

If it replaces an old site

• Every old page address redirects to its new equivalent with a permanent (301) redirect. Test a few of your most-visited old pages.
• Pages that brought in visitors still exist in some form, and say at least as much as before.
• Email still works if the domain or DNS moved. Send yourself one and reply from it.
• Nothing is cancelled yet. Keep the old hosting or plan running until everything above is ticked.

Our guide to moving a site without losing your rankings covers redirects and email in detail.

Legal and accessibility

• There's a privacy policy that covers what your forms collect and what happens to it.
• Cookies are handled properly. If you use analytics or marketing cookies, check the rules in our cookie consent guide.
• Your business details are shown: if you're a limited company, the registered name, number and office.
• Images have text alternatives, text is readable against its background, and forms have labels. More in what UK law requires on accessibility.

The first week after launch

• Day one: submit a test enquiry again from your phone, from a different network.
• Day two or three: check Search Console for errors and pages Google can't find.
• By the end of the week: check analytics is showing real visitors, and ask two or three customers to try the site and tell you anything odd.
• Then announce it: update your Google Business Profile, email signature, social profiles and van.

Want someone to check it for you?

We built this list from the checks we run before our own Zenlio Local sites go live. If someone else built your site and you'd like a second pair of eyes before launch, book a free 15-minute call and we'll tell you what we'd check first.

Keep reading: Website jargon explained: a plain-English glossary · How a website redesign works · How long does it take to build a website? · Your website might have a twin