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Website launch checklist
Website launch checklist: what to check before you make the site public
A new website can look finished and still fail on launch day: a form that emails nobody, a share link with no preview, a page search engines are told to ignore. This checklist covers the checks to run before you announce the site, grouped so you can split them between the person writing the copy and the person who built it.
Where our scanner checks the same thing, you will see how the 241 sites we have scanned actually do on it.
Data updated November 4, 2026 from 241 scans
1. Content: the homepage says what it is
Read the homepage as a stranger. In the first screen you should learn what this is, who it is for and what to do next. The headline must be real text in an H1, not inside an image, so search engines, screen readers and link previews can read it. See hero section examples.
- Headline in an H1 that names the job or outcome
- A subhead that says who it is for
- One primary call to action above the fold
- No placeholder text, lorem ipsum or "coming soon" sections left in
- Spelling and product names checked
How launch pages score on this item (Clear headline (H1)): missing on 38% of 237 launch pages we scanned. It was missing on 5% of pages scoring 70 or more and 68% of pages under 50. Across all scanned pages, those with it averaged 60.3 points out of 100; those without it, 34.4.
2. Content: show and prove
Sites that score well almost always include a real image of the product and at least one piece of proof. If you do not have testimonials yet, use the founder's name, a short story of why the product exists, or an honest early usage number.
- Real product screenshots or photos
- At least one proof point near the top
- Pricing or a clear offer
How launch pages score on this item (Social proof / testimonials): missing on 51% of 237 launch pages we scanned. It was missing on 5% of pages scoring 70 or more and 85% of pages under 50. Across all scanned pages, those with it averaged 63.2 points out of 100; those without it, 38.3.
3. Search basics
A new site starts with no search visibility. These checks make sure search engines can find and understand it from day one.
- Unique page title and meta description on every page
- One H1 per page
- robots.txt allows the pages you want found
- No stray noindex tag left from staging
- sitemap.xml lists every public page, submitted in Google Search Console
- Canonical URL set on each page
- www and non-www, http and https all redirect to one version
- Old URLs (if replacing a site) redirect with 301s
How launch pages score on this item (Page title + meta description): missing on 12% of 237 launch pages we scanned. It was missing on 2% of pages scoring 70 or more and 23% of pages under 50. Across all scanned pages, those with it averaged 53.3 points out of 100; those without it, 31.
4. Share previews
Every page you expect people to share needs Open Graph tags and a share image, or the link appears as a bare URL in chats and social posts. Test it by pasting the URL into a private chat. See OG image examples.
- og:title and og:description on every shareable page
- og:image at 1200 × 630 with an absolute URL
- twitter:card set to summary_large_image
- Favicon and app icons in place
How launch pages score on this item (Open Graph title + description): missing on 21% of 237 launch pages we scanned. It was missing on 0% of pages scoring 70 or more and 43% of pages under 50. Across all scanned pages, those with it averaged 56.3 points out of 100; those without it, 29.4.
5. Forms and conversion paths
Submit every form yourself on a phone and a laptop. Check that the submission arrives where it should, the visitor sees a confirmation, and any automatic email actually sends and does not land in spam.
- Every form submitted and received
- Confirmation message or page after each form
- Automatic emails delivered, from a domain with SPF and DKIM set
- Checkout tested end to end, if you sell
- Signup or waitlist form present if you want a list
How launch pages score on this item (Signup or waitlist): missing on 50% of 237 launch pages we scanned. It was missing on 28% of pages scoring 70 or more and 64% of pages under 50. Across all scanned pages, those with it averaged 57.9 points out of 100; those without it, 43.2.
6. Performance and mobile
Many launch visitors arrive on a phone from a social post. Check the site on a real phone over a mobile connection, not just in a desktop browser.
- No horizontal scrolling on a 390-pixel-wide screen
- Tap targets large enough to hit with a thumb
- Images compressed and sized; videos under about 10 MB with a poster
- Largest content loads in about 2.5 seconds on mobile
- Fonts load without a long flash of invisible text
7. Accessibility
Accessibility checks also catch a lot of general quality problems. Run an automated checker, then do a quick manual pass with the keyboard.
- Alt text on meaningful images
- Text contrast meets WCAG AA
- Every interactive element reachable and visible with the keyboard
- Form fields have labels
- Page language set
8. Analytics and tracking
Install analytics before announcing the site. You cannot recover launch-day data later. Verify with a real visit that pageviews and key events arrive. A static scan like ours often cannot see analytics that load through JavaScript, so check it by hand.
- Analytics installed and a test visit recorded
- Events on primary CTA, form submit and purchase
- UTM-tagged links ready for each channel
- Cookie consent set up where your visitors require it
9. Security and reliability
A few quick checks prevent the most common embarrassing failures.
- HTTPS everywhere, with a valid certificate
- Custom 404 page that links back home
- Admin, staging and preview URLs not public or not indexed
- Uptime monitoring with alerts to someone who will see them
- Backups or version history for the content
10. Legal and trust pages
Buyers and payment providers expect these to exist. They do not need to be long, but they do need to be accurate.
- Privacy policy
- Terms of service
- Refund policy, if you sell
- Contact page or support email that works
- Company or owner name visible
11. Keep it alive after launch
A blog, changelog or news page shows the site is maintained, and gives you a reason to share it again. Strong sites in our data usually have one.
- Blog, changelog or updates page with a first dated entry
- A plan for the next three updates
How launch pages score on this item (Blog / changelog / updates): missing on 59% of 237 launch pages we scanned. It was missing on 23% of pages scoring 70 or more and 85% of pages under 50. Across all scanned pages, those with it averaged 62.8 points out of 100; those without it, 42.2.
Launch day
On the day, re-check the homepage, the main form and the share preview once more, submit the sitemap if you have not, and keep an eye on errors and the inbox. Then announce. If the website is the front door of a product launch, the product launch checklist covers the rest of the launch, from positioning to the week after.
To run the content, share and conversion checks on this page automatically, paste your URL into the free landing page analyzer. It checks 13 launch items and scores the page out of 100.
FAQ
What is the most commonly missed item on a website launch checklist?
Of the items our scanner checks, a demo video is missing most often (90% of sites), followed by a blog or updates page (59%), a clear primary call to action (55%) and product screenshots (52%).
Do I need a sitemap for a small website?
It is not strictly required for a site with a few pages, but it is quick to add and helps search engines discover new pages faster. Submit it in Google Search Console after launch.
How do I check how my link looks when shared?
Paste the URL into a private chat or a draft post on the platform you plan to use. If the card is wrong after you fix the tags, use the platform's own preview or debugging tool to refresh its cache.
Check your launch page in a minute
The free analyzer runs the same 13-item launch checklist behind the numbers on this page, scores your page out of 100 and names the one gap to fix first. No account needed.
Numbers are aggregates from launch pages people scanned with LaunchBuddy; we never publish which sites were scanned. Items marked found or missing come from a static read of one page, so content that only appears after JavaScript runs can be missed.