Website
pre-launch checklist.
The website pre-launch checklist is a list of checks you go through with your team before the website goes live. Launch doesn’t end when the files are uploaded to the server. Go through content, functionality, security, and operational readiness with a technician. Check off what’s done, and skip the checks that don’t apply to your project.
What to verify before launching a website.
Content and functionality
- Content is approved against the acceptance criteria agreed before work began.
- Forms validate input on the server too, and messages actually reach the person who handles them.
- Contacts, links, and language versions have been checked, and no link leads to a deleted or unfinished page.
- Key visitor paths are tested on mobile and desktop and can be completed with a keyboard.
- Editors are trained and have tried entering, editing, and publishing content themselves.
Visibility and measurement
A few terms first. A redirect works like mail forwarding after you move: the old address leads to the new one.
A sitemap is a floor plan of the website for search engines. The robots.txt file is a sign at the entrance that tells crawlers (bots that browse websites automatically) where they may go.
A canonical URL is the main address when the same content appears in several places, like a company’s headquarters among its branch offices.
Noindex is a “do not list” label that goes on an unfinished website during testing.
- Old addresses redirect to the new ones, and a page that doesn’t exist shows a clear 404 error.
- The sitemap and robots.txt exist, are in the right place, and match what you want to appear in search engines.
- Titles, descriptions, canonical URLs, and structured data match the content of each page.
- Test access protection and the indexing block (noindex) have been removed from the live website.
- You’ve decided in robots.txt which AI crawlers may visit the website, because their purposes differ.
- llms.txt, a proposal rather than a widely accepted standard, has been checked: it exists and contains nothing secret, or you’ve left it out on purpose.
- Measurement respects the visitor’s choice in the cookie banner, and consent can be changed later.
- Performance is measured on the agreed pages with one chosen tool on a mobile device, and the result is recorded.
Security and operations
- Backups have a tested restore: someone has actually restored the website from one, and you know how long it took.
- A plan for restoring the previous version exists before you need it, including what happens to the database. Deployment with symlink releases
- DNS, the address book for domain names, points to the live server, and the HTTPS certificate is valid for the address with and without www.
- Monitoring covers availability and errors, and escalation contacts (who calls whom) are written down.
- Accounts and permissions match roles, and test or unused accounts are deleted.
Abbreva Standard: backups, deployment, and restoring the previous version
Handover and launch
- The website owner has access and documentation and knows where to find the steps for everyday situations.
- The first-day plan defines who goes through the key paths, error reports, and measurement, and when.
A candid note on AI crawlers and llms.txt.
AI crawlers differ in purpose: some read websites for training, others for search or at a user’s request. The website owner decides what to allow.
The llms.txt file is a proposal that isn’t yet a widely accepted standard, and search engines and AI tools don’t require it. You’re checking what the website offers. We don’t promise it will have any effect.
Want to go through your website together?
In a free consultation, we’ll go through what’s ready and what still needs attention. We’ll be in touch within one business day.