Website Launch Checklist

Colour Contrast Checked Body text has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against its background, and large text at least 3:1. Use our Contrast Checker
Works With A Keyboard Every link, button, and field can be reached with the Tab key, shows a clear focus style, and nothing traps the keyboard. WCAG quick reference (opens in a new tab)
Images Have Alt Text Meaningful images describe what they show. Decorative images use empty alt text so screen readers skip them.
Headings Are In Order Each page has one H1, and headings follow a logical order without skipping levels.
Forms Are Labelled Every field has a visible label, required fields are marked, and error messages explain how to fix the problem.
Motion Can Be Reduced Animations respect the reduced motion setting, and nothing flashes more than three times a second.

Placeholder Content Removed No lorem ipsum, sample images, or “coming soon” text is left anywhere on the site.
Spelling & Grammar Proofread Every page has been read through carefully, with short paragraphs that are easy to scan.
Contact Details Are Correct Phone numbers, email addresses, locations, hours, and social links are accurate and consistent everywhere.
Links Are Clear & Working Link text says where it goes, and links to other websites open safely with rel="noopener".
Legal Pages In Place A privacy policy, terms, and cookie consent are in place where your region requires them (e.g. PIPEDA or GDPR).
Custom 404 Page A friendly “page not found” screen points visitors back to the main sections of the site.

Titles & Meta Descriptions Written Every page has a unique title (around 60 characters) and meta description (around 155 characters).
Search Console & Analytics Connected Google Search Console and your analytics tool are set up, so you can see how people find and use the site. Open Search Console (opens in a new tab)
XML Sitemap Submitted An up-to-date sitemap lists every public page and has been submitted to the search engines.
Robots.txt Checked Robots.txt points to the sitemap, and any “noindex” rules from the staging site have been removed.
Canonical URLs Set Each page has one main address (https, with or without www) and every other version redirects to it.
Old URLs Redirected If this replaces an older site, its old pages permanently (301) redirect to the matching new pages.
Social Sharing Previews Added Open Graph titles, descriptions, and images make links look good when they’re shared.
Structured Data Added Structured data describes your business and pages, so search engines can show richer results. Test with Rich Results (opens in a new tab)

Tested In Major Browsers The site looks and works right in Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge, on desktop and mobile.
Responsive On Every Screen Layouts hold up on every screen size, from small phones (360px wide) to large desktop monitors.
Forms Send & Confirm Every form has been submitted for real: messages arrive, spam protection works, and visitors see a confirmation.
Mobile-Friendly Inputs Fields use the right input type (email, tel, number), so phones show the right keyboard.
Favicon & App Icons Added The site has a favicon and home screen icons, so it’s easy to spot in tabs and bookmarks. Generate favicons (opens in a new tab)
Integrations Working Booking tools, maps, payments, and newsletter sign-ups have been tested end to end.

Images Compressed & Sized Images use modern formats like WebP or AVIF, are sized for how they’re shown, and lazy load below the fold. Compress with Squoosh (opens in a new tab)
Fonts Kept Lean Only the font weights you use are loaded, as WOFF2 files with font-display: swap.
Scripts Deferred & Minified JavaScript and CSS are minified, and scripts load with defer or async so they don’t block the page.
Caching & Compression On The server compresses files (Brotli or Gzip) and sends cache headers so repeat visits load faster.
Page Weight Checked Pages stay light, with few third-party scripts and requests, so they load quickly on mobile data.
Core Web Vitals Pass Key pages pass Google’s Core Web Vitals for loading, responsiveness, and visual stability. Run PageSpeed Insights (opens in a new tab)

HTTPS Everywhere An SSL certificate is installed, http redirects to https, and there’s no mixed content. Test your SSL (opens in a new tab)
Security Headers Set Headers like Content-Security-Policy, Strict-Transport-Security, and X-Frame-Options are in place. Check your headers (opens in a new tab)
Software Up To Date The CMS, plugins, and themes are on their latest versions, and anything unused has been removed.
Logins Locked Down Accounts use strong, unique passwords and two-factor sign-in, and old test accounts are deleted.
Backups & Recovery Plan Automatic backups are running, and you know how to restore the site if something goes wrong.

Website Launch Checklist.