Website launch checklist

Homepage is reachable without a crawler error

Confirm the homepage returns a successful response for the configured scan target.

Evidence: Latest scan shows no homepage_unavailable issue.

Coverage: Scan check · Directly checked in crawl flow.

Coverage requirement: All plans · Rule IDs: homepage_unavailable

No server 5xx responses on crawled pages

Fix failing endpoints or server-side errors before launch.

Evidence: No http_5xx findings in the current scan.

Coverage: Scan check · Directly checked for fetched pages.

Coverage requirement: All plans · Rule IDs: http_5xx

No critical 4xx responses on required pages

Resolve broken internal paths and missing documents discovered by the crawl.

Evidence: No blocking http_4xx findings for launch-critical pages.

Coverage: Scan check · Directly checked for fetched pages.

Coverage requirement: All plans · Rule IDs: http_4xx

Internal links resolve without errors

Repair or remove broken internal links and retest.

Evidence: No broken_internal_links findings.

Coverage: Scan check · Checked on discovered links within crawl limits.

Coverage requirement: All plans · Rule IDs: broken_internal_links

External links sampled by the scan are healthy

Review reported outbound-link failures and decide fix or accepted exception.

Evidence: No unresolved broken_external_links findings for sampled links.

Coverage: Partly checked · Only sampled outbound links are tested.

Coverage requirement: All plans · Rule IDs: broken_external_links

Redirect behavior has no loops or long chains

Flatten redirects and remove environment-crossing jumps.

Evidence: No redirect_issues findings.

Coverage: Scan check · Directly checked on visited redirect paths.

Coverage requirement: All plans · Rule IDs: redirect_issues

HTTPS is valid and mixed-content issues are cleared

Fix certificate or protocol issues and remove insecure asset URLs.

Evidence: No https_and_mixed_content findings.

Coverage: Scan check · Directly checked from crawler and TLS probes.

Coverage requirement: All plans · Rule IDs: https_and_mixed_content

Required static assets are present

Restore missing scripts, styles, and images referenced by pages.

Evidence: No missing_assets findings.

Coverage: Scan check · Directly checked for discovered asset references.

Coverage requirement: All plans · Rule IDs: missing_assets

URL slash and duplicate URL variants are controlled

Normalize duplicate URL variants and canonical slash handling.

Evidence: No duplicate_and_slash findings.

Coverage: Scan check · Directly checked from crawled URL variants.

Coverage requirement: All plans · Rule IDs: duplicate_and_slash

Security-header baseline is reviewed

Review HSTS/CSP/frame protections and confirm intended policy.

Evidence: security_headers finding state is reviewed and accepted.

Coverage: Partly checked · Rule is advisory and does not prove policy correctness for every route.

Coverage requirement: All plans · Rule IDs: security_headers

Staging authentication and bot-protection behavior are launch-safe

Verify staging credentials, crawl allow-listing, and bot-protection impact on real launch pages.

Evidence: Recorded operator verification in release notes.

Coverage: Manual · Scanner cannot guarantee third-party security-control behavior.

Coverage requirement: Manual operator verification

Production secrets and env overrides are audited before release

Manually review deployment env values, especially plan/page-limit and integration variables.

Evidence: Signed checklist entry with environment audit result.

Coverage: Manual · Scanner cannot read deployment secrets or environment overrides.

Coverage requirement: Manual operator verification

Every key page has a descriptive title

Fix missing or invalid titles for indexed pages.

Evidence: No unresolved titles findings.

Coverage: Scan check · Directly checked on crawled pages.

Coverage requirement: All plans · Rule IDs: titles

Meta descriptions exist and avoid obvious duplicates

Add concise descriptions and remove accidental duplication.

Evidence: No unresolved meta_description findings.

Coverage: Scan check · Directly checked on crawled pages.

Coverage requirement: All plans · Rule IDs: meta_description

Primary headings and canonical links are present

Ensure each important page has an H1 and a valid canonical URL.

Evidence: No unresolved headings_canonical findings.

Coverage: Scan check · Directly checked on crawled pages.

Coverage requirement: All plans · Rule IDs: headings_canonical

robots/sitemap/noindex signals match launch intent

Resolve accidental noindex, robots blocking, or missing sitemap coverage.

Evidence: No unresolved robots_sitemap_noindex findings.

Coverage: Scan check · Directly checked from fetched robots/sitemap/pages.

Coverage requirement: All plans · Rule IDs: robots_sitemap_noindex

Social card essentials and orphan-page hints are reviewed

Fix missing social metadata and investigate orphan-page warnings.

Evidence: social_alt_orphans findings are resolved or explicitly accepted.

Coverage: Partly checked · Orphan detection is heuristic and crawl-bounded.

Coverage requirement: All plans · Rule IDs: social_alt_orphans

Structured data blocks are valid where required

Validate JSON-LD syntax and required schema blocks.

Evidence: jsonld_schema findings reviewed and accepted.

Coverage: Partly checked · Advisory check; semantic correctness can still need manual review.

Coverage requirement: All plans · Rule IDs: jsonld_schema

Open Graph completeness is acceptable for launch

Ensure critical pages have required OG fields for link previews.

Evidence: og_completeness findings reviewed.

Coverage: Partly checked · Advisory check across crawled pages only.

Coverage requirement: All plans · Rule IDs: og_completeness

hreflang implementation is coherent for localized pages

Correct hreflang conflicts and missing x-default where applicable.

Evidence: hreflang findings reviewed.

Coverage: Partly checked · Advisory check; only discovered locale links are evaluated.

Coverage requirement: All plans · Rule IDs: hreflang

llms.txt visibility signal is present where desired

Add or adjust llms.txt based on AI visibility policy.

Evidence: ai_visibility findings reviewed.

Coverage: Partly checked · Advisory signal only; not ranking or placement proof.

Coverage requirement: All plans · Rule IDs: ai_visibility

Indexing and Search Console submission is complete

Submit sitemap/indexing checks in provider consoles and verify ownership.

Evidence: Operator record with timestamped submission confirmation.

Coverage: Manual · Scanner cannot access search-engine consoles.

Coverage requirement: Manual operator verification

At least one analytics signal is detected

Ensure baseline analytics instrumentation is present on launch pages.

Evidence: No unresolved analytics_presence 'no_analytics' findings.

Coverage: Scan check · Directly checked from captured markup/scripts.

Coverage requirement: All plans · Rule IDs: analytics_presence

Duplicate trackers are removed

Deduplicate tags that fire multiple times on the same page.

Evidence: No duplicate analytics findings from analytics_presence.

Coverage: Scan check · Detects duplicates in fetched markup/signals.

Coverage requirement: All plans · Rule IDs: analytics_presence

Expected integrations configured for this project are present

Set expected integrations in project settings and confirm scan alignment.

Evidence: No expected_integration_missing findings.

Coverage: Partly checked · Only works when expected integrations are configured.

Coverage requirement: Paid plan with expected integrations configured · Rule IDs: analytics_presence

Consent-gated analytics behavior is confirmed in browser

Manually verify consent gating and tag firing order in real browser sessions.

Evidence: Recorded browser validation with accepted and rejected consent paths.

Coverage: Manual · Scanner cannot execute full consent-interaction flows.

Coverage requirement: Manual operator verification

Conversion events are mapped to business goals

Confirm launch KPIs have matching conversion events and destinations.

Evidence: Event mapping document linked in release checklist.

Coverage: Manual · Business KPI mapping is outside scanner scope.

Coverage requirement: Manual operator verification

Analytics workspace credentials and secrets are valid

Verify measurement IDs, API secrets, and deployment env wiring.

Evidence: Operator sign-off that analytics credentials are current.

Coverage: Manual · Scanner cannot read provider credentials.

Coverage requirement: Manual operator verification

Tag manager previews are clean on launch templates

Run tag-manager preview on key templates and remove unexpected tags.

Evidence: Preview screenshots or notes attached to release evidence.

Coverage: Manual · Scanner does not run provider debug tooling.

Coverage requirement: Manual operator verification

Post-launch analytics dashboard checks are ready

Prepare first-week dashboard checks and alert owners.

Evidence: Named owner and first-week dashboard checklist.

Coverage: Manual · Operational readiness is a human process.

Coverage requirement: Manual operator verification

At least one conversion path exists where expected

Confirm required lead/contact forms are present.

Evidence: No unresolved forms_and_ctas 'no_forms' findings where forms are expected.

Coverage: Scan check · Directly checked from page markup.

Coverage requirement: All plans · Rule IDs: forms_and_ctas

Form actions do not point to localhost or staging

Fix form endpoints before launch.

Evidence: No unresolved forms_and_ctas action-target findings.

Coverage: Scan check · Directly checked from form action attributes.

Coverage requirement: All plans · Rule IDs: forms_and_ctas

Every key form has submit controls and labels

Add missing submit buttons and accessible labels.

Evidence: No unresolved forms_and_ctas submit/label findings.

Coverage: Scan check · Directly checked from rendered/fetched markup.

Coverage requirement: All plans · Rule IDs: forms_and_ctas

CTA links do not point to broken or local targets

Repair malformed mailto/tel links and broken CTA destinations.

Evidence: No unresolved forms_and_ctas CTA link findings.

Coverage: Scan check · Checked for discovered links and CTA patterns.

Coverage requirement: All plans · Rule IDs: forms_and_ctas

Critical journeys complete end-to-end in browser

Manually execute lead, signup, and checkout-style journeys.

Evidence: Recorded journey runbook with pass/fail notes.

Coverage: Manual · Scanner does not submit forms or execute full workflows.

Coverage requirement: Manual operator verification

Form submission delivery reaches intended inbox/CRM

Send real test submissions and confirm delivery.

Evidence: Timestamped delivery confirmation in evidence log.

Coverage: Manual · Scanner cannot verify downstream delivery systems.

Coverage requirement: Manual operator verification

Error and success states are user-friendly

Manually check inline validation, blocked states, and success feedback copy.

Evidence: Browser QA record with screenshots.

Coverage: Manual · Scanner cannot judge live interaction quality.

Coverage requirement: Manual operator verification

Post-submit redirects and thank-you pages work

Verify expected thank-you destinations and event triggers after submit.

Evidence: Manual test notes and URLs visited.

Coverage: Manual · Requires interactive submission.

Coverage requirement: Manual operator verification

Rate limiting and spam controls are confirmed

Validate anti-spam behavior and abuse safeguards in production-like conditions.

Evidence: Operational anti-spam test outcome logged.

Coverage: Manual · Scanner does not simulate abuse traffic.

Coverage requirement: Manual operator verification

Journey owners approve final conversion experience

Collect stakeholder sign-off for each business-critical journey.

Evidence: Owner approval list attached to release checklist.

Coverage: Manual · Business approval is outside scanner scope.

Coverage requirement: Manual operator verification

Placeholder and lorem content is removed

Replace unfinished copy and temporary placeholders.

Evidence: No unresolved placeholder_and_dummy findings for placeholder text.

Coverage: Scan check · Directly checked from visible text and comments.

Coverage requirement: All plans · Rule IDs: placeholder_and_dummy

TODO/test copy does not appear on public pages

Remove development markers from production content.

Evidence: No unresolved placeholder_and_dummy TODO/test-copy findings.

Coverage: Scan check · Directly checked for known patterns.

Coverage requirement: All plans · Rule IDs: placeholder_and_dummy

Links to localhost/staging/example domains are cleared

Replace non-production references in visible content.

Evidence: No unresolved placeholder_and_dummy environment-link findings.

Coverage: Scan check · Directly checked from discovered links and text.

Coverage requirement: All plans · Rule IDs: placeholder_and_dummy

Critical pages are not thin or empty

Add meaningful copy and heading structure where content is too thin.

Evidence: No unresolved placeholder_and_dummy thin-content findings on launch-critical pages.

Coverage: Partly checked · Thin-content detection is heuristic.

Coverage requirement: All plans · Rule IDs: placeholder_and_dummy

Image content includes meaningful alt text where needed

Manually review important imagery for accurate alt descriptions.

Evidence: Content/editor review approval attached.

Coverage: Manual · Scanner flags obvious misses, not editorial quality.

Coverage requirement: Manual operator verification

Localized copy is reviewed for launch-critical pages

Run native-language proofreading and consistency review.

Evidence: Reviewer sign-off for each launched locale.

Coverage: Manual · Scanner does not validate language quality.

Coverage requirement: Manual operator verification

Brand and legal naming consistency is approved

Confirm company/product names and legal references are consistent.

Evidence: Legal/brand review checklist completed.

Coverage: Manual · Naming policy checks require human review.

Coverage requirement: Manual operator verification

Final content freeze is acknowledged

Record the content-freeze checkpoint and change-approval process.

Evidence: Release note with freeze timestamp and approver.

Coverage: Manual · Process control is manual by design.

Coverage requirement: Manual operator verification

Homepage performance score is acceptable

Investigate Lighthouse performance score regressions.

Evidence: No blocking performance_signals score findings.

Coverage: Partly checked · Lighthouse runs once per scan and can be unavailable.

Coverage requirement: Pro/Agency or Full Scan coverage · Rule IDs: performance_signals

Core web vitals signals are within launch targets

Address LCP/CLS/TBT regressions flagged by scan.

Evidence: No unresolved performance_signals vitals findings.

Coverage: Partly checked · Homepage-focused synthetic check only.

Coverage requirement: Pro/Agency or Full Scan coverage · Rule IDs: performance_signals

Large images/scripts are reviewed

Optimize heavy resources highlighted by performance findings.

Evidence: No unresolved performance_signals huge asset findings.

Coverage: Partly checked · Flags large resources on checked pages, not all assets site-wide.

Coverage requirement: Pro/Agency or Full Scan coverage · Rule IDs: performance_signals

Render-blocking CSS risks are handled

Reduce or defer blocking CSS where flagged.

Evidence: No unresolved performance_signals render-blocking findings.

Coverage: Partly checked · Heuristic signal from scan snapshots.

Coverage requirement: Pro/Agency or Full Scan coverage · Rule IDs: performance_signals

Real-user performance monitoring dashboard is configured

Prepare RUM/perf dashboards for first-week monitoring.

Evidence: Linked dashboard and owner in release notes.

Coverage: Manual · Scanner does not ingest real-user metrics.

Coverage requirement: Manual operator verification

Performance budget for top templates is reviewed manually

Verify key templates against agreed budget outside automated sample.

Evidence: Manual template budget checklist complete.

Coverage: Manual · Scanner sample may not cover every critical template.

Coverage requirement: Manual operator verification

Fallback plan exists if Lighthouse cannot run at launch

Define a manual fallback check when scan coverage shows Lighthouse not measured.

Evidence: Fallback procedure captured in runbook.

Coverage: Manual · Operational process, not a scanner output.

Coverage requirement: Manual operator verification

Obvious missing alt text is resolved

Fix image alt issues flagged by automated checks.

Evidence: No unresolved automated_a11y missing-alt findings.

Coverage: Partly checked · Automated check catches obvious misses only.

Coverage requirement: All plans · Rule IDs: automated_a11y

Unnamed links and buttons are resolved

Add accessible names to interactive elements.

Evidence: No unresolved automated_a11y unnamed-control findings.

Coverage: Partly checked · Automated check catches common naming issues.

Coverage requirement: All plans · Rule IDs: automated_a11y

Heading-order and ARIA warnings are reviewed

Address or intentionally accept heading/ARIA warnings.

Evidence: automated_a11y findings reviewed in workflow.

Coverage: Partly checked · Automated output still needs human interpretation.

Coverage requirement: All plans · Rule IDs: automated_a11y

Keyboard-only navigation is manually tested

Run keyboard traversal across core journeys.

Evidence: Manual test results attached for key flows.

Coverage: Manual · Scanner does not execute full keyboard interaction.

Coverage requirement: Manual operator verification

Color contrast on branded components is manually verified

Review final design tokens and real content combinations.

Evidence: Contrast audit sign-off in release notes.

Coverage: Manual · Automated scan does not guarantee complete contrast coverage.

Coverage requirement: Manual operator verification

Screen-reader check is completed on core pages

Perform screen-reader walkthrough for key templates.

Evidence: Assistive-technology walkthrough notes.

Coverage: Manual · Scanner cannot emulate full assistive-technology behavior.

Coverage requirement: Manual operator verification

Accessibility exceptions are documented and owned

Document unresolved accessibility risks with owner and remediation timeline.

Evidence: Exception register linked from launch notes.

Coverage: Manual · Governance step outside scanner output.

Coverage requirement: Manual operator verification

Privacy policy and terms links are present

Ensure policy and terms pages are reachable from launch pages.

Evidence: No unresolved compliance_signals policy-link findings.

Coverage: Partly checked · Presence is checked; legal sufficiency is not.

Coverage requirement: All plans · Rule IDs: compliance_signals

Cookie/consent banner is visible where required

Confirm consent banner behavior on targeted locales/routes.

Evidence: No unresolved compliance_signals banner findings.

Coverage: Partly checked · Banner presence check only.

Coverage requirement: All plans · Rule IDs: compliance_signals

Analytics-before-consent warnings are reviewed

Fix or accept consent-order findings with legal owner review.

Evidence: compliance_signals consent-order findings reviewed.

Coverage: Partly checked · Heuristic signal; requires legal and implementation review.

Coverage requirement: All plans · Rule IDs: compliance_signals

Regulatory/legal copy has final human approval

Obtain legal sign-off for updated policies, disclaimers, and claims.

Evidence: Legal approver and date recorded in runbook.

Coverage: Manual · Scanner cannot provide legal advice or compliance certification.

Coverage requirement: Manual operator verification

Consent-record storage and retention process is verified

Confirm operational handling of consent records and retention obligations.

Evidence: Policy/process confirmation captured by owner.

Coverage: Manual · Operational/legal process outside scanner scope.

Coverage requirement: Manual operator verification

Launch-day smoke test is executed on production

Run a final production smoke pass for top journeys and report delivery.

Evidence: Smoke-run timestamp and result summary in launch log.

Coverage: Manual · Requires live production interaction.

Coverage requirement: Manual operator verification

Rollback path is rehearsed and documented

Verify team can execute rollback quickly with current tooling.

Evidence: Rollback drill result and owner acknowledgment.

Coverage: Manual · Rollback rehearsal is an operational procedure.

Coverage requirement: Manual operator verification

Backup/restore readiness is confirmed

Confirm backup integrity and documented restore path before go-live.

Evidence: Backup/restore confirmation record in runbook.

Coverage: Manual · Scanner cannot verify infrastructure backups.

Coverage requirement: Manual operator verification

Launch approval sign-off is explicitly recorded

Capture named approver decision and any accepted launch exceptions.

Evidence: Go/no-go sign-off entry with approver and time.

Coverage: Manual · Approval is a human governance action.

Coverage requirement: Manual operator verification

Handover owner and first-week monitoring rota are set

Assign owners for launch week triage, alerts, and incident response.

Evidence: Published rota with contacts and escalation path.

Coverage: Manual · Team handover cannot be automated by scanner.

Coverage requirement: Manual operator verification