Website pre & post launch checklist

Content

• All text free from spelling errors
• Page and content formatting appropriate on all pages
• Placeholder text removed
• All pages have content
• Privacy Policy included
• Print stylesheet exists and tested
• Favicon created and displays correctly (retina included) https://realfavicongenerator.net/
• Device icons created and display correctly
• Footer includes copyright statement
• 404 page exists and informative
• Correct author is attributed to pages and posts (as required)

SEO & Analytics

• Page titles are descriptive and SEO friendly
• All page titles are unique
• Meta data included and appropriate
• H1s used for page titles and only one H1 per page
• XML sitemap has been generated and added to root of website
• robots.txt is generated and added to root of website
• 301 redirects for existing website are prepared and in place
• Website can be accessed by search engines (remove noindex, nofollow for pages)
• Google Analytics and relevant analytics/tracking tools installed

Social

• Open Graph tags included across website and appropriate? (including images where possible)
• Social accounts integrated, linking to correct URLs and use API for integrations

Markup

• HTML has passed validation (or known issues noted)
• CSS has passed validation (or known issues noted)
• Bonus: CSS tested on CSS Lint (to hurt your feelings)
• Site links have been tested and resolve correctly
• JavaScript is error free

Accessibility

• Website meets appropriate level of WCAG compliance
• ARIA Landmark Roles specified
• Semantic headings and structure used
• Links are clearly recognisable and have :focus state
• Images use appropriate ALT text
• Alternatives provided for users with Javascript disabled
• Forms have logical layout
• Associated label for all form controls
• Colour contrast tested
• Website accessibility has been checked with Total Validator Pro or WAVE and issues resolved (exceptions noted)

Rendering

• Displays & functions correctly in Firefox (Windows)
• Displays & functions correctly in Firefox (Mac)
• Displays & functions correctly in Chrome (Windows)
• Displays & functions correctly in Chrome (Mac)
• Displays & functions correctly in Safari (Mac)
• Displays & functions correctly in Safari (iOS – Mobile)
• Displays & functions correctly in Safari (iOS – iPad)
• Displays & functions correctly in Chrome (iOS – Mobile)
• Displays & functions correctly in Chrome (iOS – iPad)
• Displays & functions correctly in Chrome (Android – Mobile)
• Displays & functions correctly in Chrome (Android – Tablet)
• Displays & functions correctly in stock browser (Android)
• Displays & functions correctly in Microsoft Edge
• Displays & functions correctly on large resolutions

Functionality

• Forms have been tested and processed correctly
• Required fields have been tested
• Review input validation (min/max lengths, character limits)
• Forms send to the correct recipient
• Forms have confirmation URL or event tracking so submissions can be tracked
• Forms process correctly with JavaScript disabled
• Website search and search results function correctly

Optimisation

• Images have been optimised
• CSS is minified and combined
• JavaScript is minified and combined (as much as possible)
• Enable gzip compression
• Ensure only necessary fonts, weights and character sets are installed
• Run Google speed test and optimise accordingly (record score and known issues)
• Run Web page test and optimise accordingly (record results)
• Incorporate CDN / Caching as required

Security

• Secure areas are locked down and not accessible by search engines
• Default CMS login URL is changed
• Default CMS username is changed
• SSL Certificate is requested

Post Launch

• Ensure site is visible to search engines
• SSL certificates successfully installed
• Images, media and links reference live URL
• Webfonts integrated and working correctly on live site
• Webfonts set to production (as required)
• 301 redirects are in place and working correctly
• Website URL has been submitted to Google
• Generate a new sitemap.xml and upload to root
• Site added to Google Webmaster tools and sitemap submitted
• Analytics has been setup and integrated into website