The Business Website Launch Checklist: 10 Things to Get Right Before You Go Live

A website launch rarely fails because of one big mistake. It fails because of a handful of small ones nobody checked: a contact form that sends to the wrong inbox, a page that looks broken on a phone, or a setting that quietly tells Google to ignore the whole site.

This checklist covers the ten areas we review before a business website goes live. It works whether you are building a new site, rebuilding an old one, or checking what a developer delivered.

1. Decide what the site must achieve

Before checking anything technical, write one sentence: “what should a visitor do after reading this site?” For most businesses the answer is one of three things: call you, request a quote, or buy something.

Then check that every page points toward that action. The contact button should be visible without scrolling on a phone, your phone number should be tappable, and the page that explains your main service should link directly to your enquiry form.

2. Check it properly on a phone

Most people will meet your site on a phone first, so test there before you test on your desktop. Google also indexes the mobile version of your pages, so a poor mobile page affects how the site is understood in search.

• Text is readable without zooming, and buttons are easy to tap with a thumb.
• Nothing scrolls sideways, and tables or images don’t overflow the screen.
• Menus open, close and link to the right pages.
• Forms are usable with the on-screen keyboard open.

3. Measure speed with Core Web Vitals

Google measures real visitor experience with three metrics called Core Web Vitals. They are scored at the 75th percentile of real visits, so a site has to feel good for most people, not just on your fast office connection.

You can test any public page for free with Google’s PageSpeed Insights. For a brand-new site there may not be enough real-visitor data yet, so use the lab results as a guide, then check Search Console’s Core Web Vitals report a few weeks after launch.

The usual culprits are oversized images, heavy third-party scripts and fonts that load late. Resize and compress images, give each image a fixed width and height so the layout doesn’t jump, and remove tools you don’t actually use.

4. Secure the basics

• HTTPS everywhere. Every page should load over https, and the plain http address should redirect to it.
• One version of your address. Pick either www or non-www and redirect the other, so search engines see a single site.
• Strong, unique logins for hosting, domain and the site’s admin area, with two-step verification switched on where it’s offered.
• Backups. Know where backups are stored, how often they run and who can restore them.
• Software kept current, including any plugins, themes or libraries the site depends on.

5. Write titles and headings people actually search for

Each page needs its own title, its own short description and one clear main heading. Think about what a customer would type to find that page, then say it plainly: “Laptop screen repair in Johannesburg” beats “Our Solutions”.

• Give every page a unique title, ideally under about 60 characters so it isn’t cut off in results.
• Write a unique description that tells a searcher what they will find. It doesn’t directly improve rankings, but it can improve clicks.
• Use one main heading per page, with sub-headings in a logical order.
• Give meaningful images descriptive alt text. Skip it for purely decorative ones.

6. Make sure search engines can find the site

This is where launches most often go wrong. Developers commonly block search engines on a test site, and the block is sometimes left behind when the site goes live.

1. Check the live site’s pages for a “noindex” tag, and check that your robots.txt file isn’t blocking the whole site.
2. Publish an XML sitemap that lists only the pages you want indexed, and make sure it returns a normal 200 response.
3. Add the site to Google Search Console and submit the sitemap.
4. Make sure each page has a canonical address that points to itself, and that old addresses redirect to their new equivalents.
5. Link to your important pages from the main navigation or footer, so they are easy to discover.

7. Show real contact details and real proof

Visitors and search engines both look for signs that a real business is behind a site. Show your business name, physical or service area, phone number and email on the contact page, and keep them identical everywhere they appear online.

Only publish testimonials and reviews that come from real customers, with their permission. Placeholder or invented reviews damage trust and can breach advertising rules. If you have none yet, leave the section out until you do.

8. Cover privacy and legal pages (POPIA)

If your site collects personal information, for example through a contact form, newsletter sign-up or online shop, South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) applies to how you handle it.

• Publish a privacy policy that explains what you collect, why, who you share it with and how people can ask for access or correction.
• Tell people at the point of collection why you are asking for their details.
• Add terms of service, and refund and returns terms if you sell anything.
• Have the final wording checked against how your business really operates.

We aren’t a law firm and this isn’t legal advice, but the principle is simple: say what you do with people’s information, then do exactly that.

9. Cover the accessibility basics

Accessible sites are easier for everyone to use, including people on small screens, slow connections or in bright sunlight. A quick pass catches the most common problems:

• Text has enough contrast against its background.
• You can reach every link, button and form field using only the keyboard, and you can see where focus is.
• Every form field has a visible label, not just placeholder text.
• Link text makes sense on its own. “Read our pricing” is better than “click here”.

10. Test everything, then plan what happens next

Do a last full pass as if you were a customer. Submit every form and confirm the message arrives in the right inbox. Click every menu link and footer link. Open a page that doesn’t exist and check that it shows a helpful 404 page rather than a blank screen.

• Send a real test enquiry and check the confirmation message and the notification email.
• Click every link and look for broken pages, missing images and leftover placeholder text.
• Confirm any analytics you use is working, and that it respects your privacy policy.
• Agree who handles updates, backups and security fixes after launch. This is often covered by a separate maintenance agreement.

The short version

A good launch is mostly preparation: a clear purpose, a site that works on phones, fast enough pages, a secure setup, discoverable pages, honest content and a final round of testing. None of it is glamorous, and all of it prevents expensive problems later.

If you would rather have a team handle this, take a look at how we approach business websites, or get in touch and tell us what you need.