Use this website launch checklist to confirm your business is easy to understand and contact. Check the everyday details that turn a good-looking website into a useful one.
Website launch checklist: start with the visitor
Write down the three things people should be able to do on your website. For a service business, that might be understanding your services, seeing previous work, and sending an enquiry. For a store, it might be finding a product, checking delivery information, and placing an order. Make those routes easy to spot in the navigation and on the homepage.
Ask someone unfamiliar with the business to try these tasks. Watch where they hesitate. A small change to a label or button can be more useful than adding another section.
Check the content people rely on
Confirm your phone numbers, email address, opening hours, and service areas. Read every service page for missing details and remove sample text. Use photographs you have permission to publish and give informative images useful alternative text.
Make button labels specific: “View rooms” or “Request a quote” tells visitors more than “Click here.” Keep headings descriptive and paragraphs short enough to scan on a phone.
Test real journeys on mobile
Open the website on a real phone as well as a desktop browser. Check the menu, forms, image cropping, text size, and tap targets. Try the site with the keyboard, too: links and fields should be reachable, and the focused control should be visible.
Submit a test enquiry and confirm it reaches the intended inbox. For an online store, test the complete order flow using the payment provider’s approved testing method. Check confirmation messages and the emails customers receive.
Prepare the technical handover
Make sure the correct domain opens over HTTPS, important pages are linked, and temporary launch restrictions have been removed. Review page titles and descriptions. If an old site is being replaced, map its important URLs to the relevant new pages.
Record who controls the domain, hosting, website administration, and paid software accounts. Agree on backups and maintenance responsibilities. The business should know how to request a change and how to recover access.
Leave room for improvements after launch
Launch is a starting point. Keep a short list of issues found during testing, with an owner for each. After launch, review enquiries and common customer questions to see whether the website answers them clearly.
Avoid changing every part of the site at once. Make a specific improvement, check that it works, and keep a record. That makes future decisions easier than relying on memory.
A quick checklist
- Confirm contact details and remove sample content.
- Test navigation, forms, and checkout on a phone.
- Record account ownership and maintenance responsibilities.
Need help putting this into practice? Explore the related service or talk to our team.
