Website launch checklist: 25 things to test before you go live

Most website problems are not discovered by the people who built the site. They are discovered by customers, usually on a phone, usually at the worst moment. This is the checklist I use as a tester before a site goes live. Work through it yourself, or hand it to whoever built your site.

Forms and contact

• Send a test message through every form and confirm it actually arrives.
• Submit each form empty, with a wrong email address, and with very long text.
• Check the thank-you message or page appears after sending.
• Tap every phone number and email link on a phone.
• Check WhatsApp or chat buttons open the right conversation.

Mobile and browsers

• Open every page on an iPhone (Safari) and an Android phone (Chrome).
• Check nothing is cut off or scrolls sideways on a small screen.
• Make sure buttons are big enough to tap with a thumb.
• Test on desktop in Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Edge.
• Rotate a tablet and check the layout still works.

Bookings, shop and payments

• Complete a real booking or order from start to finish.
• Test the payment methods your customers use most, including on a phone.
• Check confirmation emails arrive and contain the right details.
• Try cancelling, changing quantities and using a discount code.
• Check prices, VAT and shipping costs are correct for each country you sell to.

Speed and links

• Load the homepage on mobile data, not just office Wi-Fi.
• Make sure images are compressed and not several megabytes each.
• Click every link in the menu and footer; look for 404 pages.
• Check the site loads with https and shows no security warnings.
• Make sure old addresses redirect to the new pages if you replaced a site.

Google and the legal basics

• Every page has its own title and description.
• A sitemap exists and is submitted in Google Search Console.
• Images have alt text so screen readers and Google understand them.
• A cookie banner appears if you use tracking or marketing cookies.
• Your privacy page, company details and contact information are easy to find.

After launch

Test again after every bigger change. A new plugin, a theme update or a new payment method can quietly break a form that worked yesterday. A short regression check before each release costs far less than lost bookings.