Launch Checklist for a New Website

Before launch

• Domain registered, auto-renew on, registrar lock on.
• Two-factor authentication on registrar, hosting and admin accounts.
• HTTPS certificate installed and covers www and bare domain.
• Redirects from old addresses mapped and tested.
• Forms tested and delivering to a monitored address.
• Email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) in place.
• Backups running and a restore tested.
• Page caching on, images compressed, PHP current.
• Search engines allowed to index the live site; blocked on staging.
• Analytics or a privacy-respecting alternative installed.
• Legal pages: privacy, cookies, terms where needed.
• Uptime and certificate monitoring set up.

On launch day

Lower the DNS TTL a day earlier. Switch DNS at a quiet hour. Check the site from mobile and desktop, from your office and from a mobile network. Check the error log. Make a fresh backup straight afterwards.

The first week

Watch the search console for crawl errors, the access log for 404s, the uptime monitor, and your inbox for messages from people who found something broken. Fix the broken links and add missing redirects as they surface.

After the first month

Review speed tests, update plugins, and read your analytics for what people actually use. Put a recurring reminder in your calendar for renewals and a quarterly restore test.