The last week before a website launch is usually spent on final design tweaks, while the things that cause real trouble get checked in a hurry or not at all: an enquiry form that emails a former employee, a staging noindex tag left switched on, old URLs that now return errors, or an admin login protected by a weak password.
This checklist covers what to test before go-live, what to do on launch day and what to watch in the first week. It works for a new site or a rebuild, whether it was built in-house, by a freelancer or by an agency, and it applies equally to a marketing site and the public side of a web application.
Quick answer: Before launch, test every form end to end, remove staging noindex settings, map and test redirects from old URLs, confirm HTTPS and security basics, check speed and layout on real phones, set up analytics and Search Console, take a backup, and confirm the domain, hosting and code are in your company's name. After launch, watch errors, enquiries and indexing daily for a week.
Two weeks before launch: content and functionality
Start once content is final. Whether you build in-house or with a web development partner, these checks belong to the business as much as to the developer, because only your team knows what correct looks like.
- Content: proofread every page for spelling, phone numbers, addresses, prices and product details. Remove placeholder text and test pages.
- Forms, end to end: submit each form and confirm the enquiry reaches the right person or CRM, the confirmation message appears, spam protection works and the data is stored only where it should be. If a form uses OTP verification or payment, test the full flow on real phones, with the gateway in test mode.
- Links and contact actions: no broken internal links, phone numbers are click-to-call on mobile, and email and map links open correctly.
- Legal pages: a privacy notice that matches what your forms and analytics collect, in line with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, plus terms of use.
- Browsers and devices: Chrome, Safari, Edge and Firefox; an inexpensive Android phone and an iPhone; small screens and a slow connection.
- Accessibility basics: image alt text, labelled form fields, readable colour contrast and pages that can be used with a keyboard.
SEO settings that commonly break at launch
- Staging blocks left in place: remove noindex tags and robots.txt rules used on the staging site, then check robots.txt on the live domain.
- Redirect map: every old URL that has traffic or backlinks should redirect with a 301 to the closest new page. Test a sample list after the switch.
- One version of the site: HTTP to HTTPS, and a single choice of www or non-www, with the other redirecting.
- Titles and descriptions: unique per page, with one clear main heading on each.
- XML sitemap: generated with live URLs, not staging addresses, and ready to submit in Search Console.
- Structured data: organisation and breadcrumb markup validated where used.
- The staging site itself: password-protected so it never competes with the live site in search results.
If you are replacing a site that already ranks, a technical SEO review of the redirect map before launch costs far less than recovering lost traffic afterwards.
Security, performance and reliability checks
| Check | What good looks like | Who verifies |
|---|---|---|
| HTTPS | Valid certificate, HTTP redirects to HTTPS, no mixed-content warnings | Developer |
| Admin access | Strong unique passwords, two-factor login where available, test accounts removed | Developer and site owner |
| Software versions | CMS, plugins, framework and server software on supported, updated versions | Developer |
| Error display | Debug mode off; visitors see a friendly error page, never code or file paths | Developer |
| Security headers | Headers such as HSTS and a Content Security Policy set where appropriate | Developer |
| Speed | Key templates checked for Core Web Vitals; images compressed; caching and CDN active | Developer |
| Backups | Automatic backups of files and database stored away from the server, with one test restore done | Developer or hosting provider |
| Monitoring | Uptime checks and error logging that alert a named person | Developer |
| Email delivery | SPF, DKIM and DMARC records set so form notifications and replies are not marked as spam | IT team or developer |
For a site that takes payments or stores customer data, consider an independent website security audit before go-live rather than after the first incident.
Ownership and handover before you sign off
- Domain: registered in your company's name, with the registrar login held by you.
- Hosting and DNS: the hosting or cloud account in your company's name and billed to it, with DNS access for your team.
- Code and CMS: access to the source code repository and an administrator account of your own, not only the developer's.
- Analytics and Search Console: owned by a company account, with the developer or agency added as a user.
- Third-party services: form tools, map keys, email sending and CDN accounts registered to your company.
- Documentation: a short guide to editing content and a list of every service the site depends on.
Launch day and the first week
- Pick a low-traffic time, and avoid launching just before a weekend or holiday when nobody is available to fix problems.
- Lower the DNS TTL a day or two beforehand so the switch reaches visitors quickly.
- Take a final backup of the old site and keep it accessible to your team.
- After the switch, test forms, payments and key pages on the live domain.
- Crawl the live site to find broken links, redirect chains and stray noindex tags.
- Submit the sitemap in Search Console and inspect the home page and key pages.
- For the first week, check daily that enquiries are arriving, analytics data is flowing, and server errors and 404s are not piling up.
If enquiries drop sharply in the first days, check the forms and tracking before drawing any conclusions about search rankings. A silent form failure is easy to miss and quick to fix.
How EthicsComputer can help
Our web development team works through a pre-launch checklist like this before go-live, covering forms, redirects, security hardening, speed and handover. If your site is already built and you want an independent check before launch, our website security audit and technical SEO services can review it. Source code, domain and hosting stay in your company's name.
Launching a new website soon?
Tell us your launch date and what has been built, and we will help you check it before it goes live.
About the author
Vinay Grover founded EthicsComputer in Rohtak, Haryana in 2018 and leads its cybersecurity, software and AI work for clients across India and abroad. EthicsComputer is ISO 9001, ISO/IEC 27001 and ISO 20000-1 certified.
