Updated on 5/18/23

Setting up a website is an exciting endeavor, but before you hit that publish button, it’s essential to ensure everything is in order for a successful website launch.

From design and functionality to optimization and security, our comprehensive checklist covers all the vital steps to take before unveiling your website to the world.

By meticulously reviewing and completing each item on this checklist, you’ll be well-prepared to launch a polished and high-performing website that engages visitors, ranks well in search engines, and delivers an exceptional user experience.

Get ready to check off those boxes and make your website launch a resounding success!

Scroll to the bottom to download the checklist

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something.

Website Launch Checklist

Check for Broken Links

• make sure your website links all navigate to the correct place
• to check for broken links, go to brokenlinkcheck.com

Link Your Goggle Analytics

• Google Analytics lets you track visitor data, such as website traffic, user behavior, and conversions
• for Showit users: click on “SITE SETTINGS”, click “THIRD PARTY” and add your Google Analytics ID

Set Up Lead Magnet

• use an email marketing platform such as Flodesk to create email sign up forms, workflows, and to send emails out to your subscribers

Get 50% off your Flodesk subscription

Test Contact Forms & Email Sign Up Forms

• make sure your contact form and email sign up forms are working correctly by testing them out with your own email
• remember to take out any placeholder text/elements if you’re using a website template

SEO Settings

• go through your website pages and make sure you’ve added SEO titles, meta descriptions, and share images
• make sure all images throughout your website have SEO titles
• set up text tags, learn how to here
• consider creating a sitemap and submitting it to search engines for indexing

Legal Pages

• ensure your website complies with relevant laws and regulations, such as GDPR or CCPA
• review and update your privacy policy, terms of service, and any disclaimers to reflect current practices and protect your users’ data and rights

RELATED READING | “Tips for Designing a User-Friendly Website”

Secure Website

• install an SSL certificate to enable HTTPS encryption, protecting sensitive data and building trust with visitors
• new Showit users will automatically have SSL applied to their website/blog as they switch over
• current Showit users can message the support team to request SSL be applied

Responsiveness

• test your website’s functionality across different browsers, devices, and screen sizes to ensure it displays properly and functions as intended

Social Sharing

• enable social sharing buttons on your website and blog pages to encourage visitors to share your content on their social media platforms, this can help increase your website’s visibility and reach

URL Redirects

• if you’re launching a new website and have existing web pages that are changing URLs or being removed, set up redirects to ensure a smooth transition, this will help maintain your search engine rankings and redirect users
• learn how to do this with Showit here

Image Optimization

• compress images used on your website for faster load times