Key takeaways
- Most launch problems come from a handful of missed settings, not from the design.
- The two costliest misses are a site still hidden from Google and old page addresses with no redirects.
- Test every form and checkout yourself, on a real phone, before anyone else does.
- Set up security, offsite backups and monitoring before launch day, not after the first problem.
A website launch checklist is the list of checks to run before a new or redesigned site goes live. It covers content, mobile and speed, forms, search engines, security, backups and analytics. Work through the 30 items below in the week before launch, and you’ll catch the mistakes that otherwise surface as lost leads or lost Google rankings.
The list is written for WordPress sites, but almost every item applies to any platform.
Content and design checks
- Proofread every page. Read it aloud, or have someone who didn’t write it read it. Check names, prices and spelling of your own suburb.
- Remove placeholder content. Search for “lorem ipsum”, “sample page” and demo products or posts that came with the theme.
- Confirm contact details. Phone numbers should be tappable on mobile, and email links should go to an inbox someone checks.
- Size and describe images. Resize large photos before uploading, and add alt text that describes each image for screen readers.
- Add a favicon and a sharing image. The small tab icon and the image shown when someone shares your page on social media both make the site look finished.
Mobile and speed checks
Australian web traffic is now split almost evenly between mobile (48.6%) and desktop (48.5%) (StatCounter, Oct 2026), so a site that only works well on your office screen is half finished.
- Test on real phones. Use at least one iPhone and one Android, on mobile data. Check menus, buttons and text size.
- Test in several browsers. Chrome, Safari, Edge and Firefox can all display the same page slightly differently.
- Check speed. Run key pages through PageSpeed Insights. Google’s “good” targets are Largest Contentful Paint within 2.5 seconds, Interaction to Next Paint within 200 milliseconds and Cumulative Layout Shift of 0.1 or less (web.dev).
- Check basic accessibility. Can you move through the page with the Tab key? Is text readable against its background? Do buttons say what they do?
Forms and functions
- Submit every form. Contact, quote, booking and newsletter. Confirm each message arrives in the right inbox, and not in spam.
- Check where emails come from. Website emails should be sent through a proper mail service for your domain, or they’re more likely to be filtered as spam.
- Test the checkout. If you sell online, run test orders through every payment method, then check the order emails and stock levels.
- Click every link and set up a 404 page. Check the menu, footer and buttons. Make sure a helpful “page not found” page exists, with a way back to your main pages.
Search engine checks
This is where launches lose the most money. A redesign without redirects can wipe out years of Google rankings overnight.
- Let search engines in. In WordPress, go to Settings, then Reading, and untick “Discourage search engines from indexing this site”. It’s usually ticked during the build and often forgotten. WordPress’s Site Health screen also reports it.
- Check for stray noindex tags. Your SEO plugin can hide individual pages from Google with a “noindex” setting (Google). Make sure only pages such as thank-you pages are hidden.
- Write page titles and descriptions. Each important page needs a unique title and a description that makes someone want to click.
- Use clear headings. Every page should have one main heading that says what the page is about, with sub-headings below it.
- Redirect old addresses. If you’re replacing a site, list every old page address and map it to the best new one. Google recommends permanent (301) redirects and keeping them for at least a year (Google).
- Set up Search Console and submit a sitemap. Verify the site in Google Search Console, then submit your XML sitemap in its Sitemaps report (Google).
- Update your other listings. Make sure your Google Business Profile, social profiles and directory listings point to the right pages.
Security checks
A new site is a target from the day it goes live. In 2025, heavily targeted WordPress flaws were mass-exploited within a median of five hours of becoming public (Patchstack).
- Force HTTPS everywhere. The SSL certificate should be active, and any http:// address should redirect to https://. Check for “mixed content” warnings on pages with images or embeds.
- Lock down logins. Use strong, unique passwords, avoid “admin” as a username, and switch on two-factor login for every administrator.
- Remove build leftovers. Delete unused plugins and themes, test user accounts and any staging copy that’s publicly reachable.
- Update everything. Launch with the latest WordPress, theme and plugin versions, and make sure premium licences are registered in your business’s name so updates keep coming.
- Turn on a firewall and login protection. These block automated password guessing and known attacks before they reach WordPress.
Backups, hosting and monitoring
- Set up offsite backups and test one. Take a full backup just before launch, store it away from your server, and prove it restores. The 3-2-1 rule (three copies, two kinds of storage, one offsite) is a good standard (Backblaze).
- Turn on uptime monitoring. Someone should get an alert if the site goes down, before customers notice.
- Check your hosting. Make sure the plan suits your expected traffic and that you know who to call. Managed hosting means the server side is looked after for you.
Analytics and legal
- Install analytics and check it records. Add Google Analytics or your preferred tool, then visit the site and confirm your visit appears. Set up conversion tracking for forms and sales.
- Publish your policies. If your forms collect personal information, publish a privacy policy. Some obligations depend on your business. For example, the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme covers businesses with turnover over $3 million and all private health service providers (OAIC).
What should launch day look like?
Launch day goes smoothly when the risky steps happen in a set order. This is the sequence we follow.
What happens after launch?
Launch is the start of a website’s life, not the end of the project. From the first day, plugins need updates, backups need checking and content needs to stay current. Our guide to website maintenance explains what ongoing care involves.
Decide before launch who will do that work. If it’s you, put a routine in your calendar and use our website health check each quarter. If you’d rather hand it over, compare our Maintain & Protect website care plans, read how to choose a website care plan, or check typical website maintenance cost in Australia first.
Frequently asked questions
What should I check before launching a website?
Check content and contact details, test on real phones and browsers, submit every form, run test orders, and make sure search engines are allowed in. Set up redirects from old page addresses, force HTTPS, lock down logins, configure offsite backups and monitoring, and confirm analytics records visits. The 30-point list above covers each step.
Why isn’t my new website showing on Google?
The most common reason is the WordPress setting “Discourage search engines from indexing this site”, left ticked after the build. A stray noindex tag can also hide pages. Untick the setting, verify the site in Google Search Console and submit your sitemap. New sites can still take some time to appear.
Do I need redirects when I launch a new website?
Yes, if you’re replacing an existing site and any page addresses change. Map each old address to its best new page and set permanent 301 redirects. Google recommends keeping them for at least a year. Without them, visitors and Google hit dead pages and you can lose rankings you spent years building.
How long before launch should I start testing?
Allow at least a week. That gives time to fix what you find and test again. Content, forms and mobile checks can happen on the staging site. Search settings, HTTPS and live forms must be checked again on the real address straight after launch, because some settings change during the switch.
Who should maintain my website after launch?
Decide before launch. You can do it yourself if you’re comfortable with updates, testing and backups. Your developer may offer ongoing support. Or a care plan can cover updates, security, backups and monitoring for a fixed monthly fee. What matters most is that someone is clearly responsible from day one.
Sources
- Desktop vs Mobile vs Tablet Market Share Australia, StatCounter, October 2026
- Web Vitals, Google web.dev, accessed 13 Nov 2026
- PageSpeed Insights, Google, accessed 13 Nov 2026
- Site Health screen, WordPress.org, updated 12 Jul 2026
- Block Search Indexing with noindex, Google Search Central, accessed 13 Nov 2026
- How to move a site, Google Search Central, accessed 13 Nov 2026
- About Search Console, Google, accessed 13 Nov 2026
- Build and submit a sitemap, Google Search Central, accessed 13 Nov 2026
- State of WordPress Security in 2026, Patchstack, accessed 13 Nov 2026
- The 3-2-1 Backup Strategy, Backblaze, accessed 13 Nov 2026
- Quick reference guide for responding to data breaches, OAIC, accessed 13 Nov 2026