Website Launch Checklist
Launching a website always feels like you’ve forgotten something. Here’s the checklist we use at Code Smithers, from content and design to speed, testing and what to do after launch.
Launching a website always feels like there's one more thing you forgot. A missing phone number, a photo that looks stretched on mobile, a contact form that goes nowhere. This is the checklist we run through at Code Smithers, written so you can use it whether you're planning a new site or tidying an old one.
Before anything gets built
The best websites are decided on paper first. These questions take an hour or two to answer, and they save weeks of back and forth later.
- What is the site for? Pick one main job. Getting enquiries, selling products, taking bookings, showing your work. Everything else is secondary.
- Who is it for? Write down who you want visiting. A site for local customers looks different from one aimed at overseas clients.
- What should a visitor do next? Call you, WhatsApp you, fill in a form, buy something. If you can't name the action, the site won't push anyone toward it.
- Who decides? Agree up front who signs off on designs and text. Projects slow down fast when three people each want a different version.
- What's your budget and timeline? Be honest about both. Most of our projects take roughly 5 to 13 weeks from planning to launch, depending on scope, content and how quickly feedback comes back.
Get your content ready
If we had to pick the number one reason websites run late, it's content. Not code, not design. Words and photos that arrive halfway through the project, or never.
- A short, clear description of what you do, in your own words
- Your services or products, with the details a customer would ask about
- Your logo and brand colours, if you already have them
- Real photos of your work, your team or your premises. Real beats stock almost every time.
- Testimonials or examples of past work, with permission to use them
- Contact details: phone, WhatsApp, email, address or service area, opening hours
- Links to your social media pages
Don't worry if the writing isn't polished. A rough draft is a perfectly good start, and it's far easier to improve than a blank page.
“A website doesn't need to say everything. It needs to say the right things, clearly, to the right person.”
The basics every site needs
Whatever kind of business you run, these are the pages and features we'd expect to see.
- A clear homepage. Within a few seconds, a stranger should know what you do and where to go next.
- Services or products pages. One place for each thing you offer, so customers don't have to guess.
- An about page. People like knowing who they're dealing with.
- A contact page that works. Test it. Send yourself a message and make sure it arrives.
- Privacy information. If you collect names, emails or use cookies, say so plainly.
Design and usability
- Check it on a phone first. Most visitors will see it on a small screen. Text should be readable without zooming, and buttons easy to tap.
- Keep navigation simple. If people can't find your contact page in two taps, rethink the menu.
- Make the call to action obvious. One clear button beats five competing ones.
- Use readable text and good contrast. Grey text on a grey background looks stylish and is very hard to read.
- Be consistent. Same fonts, same colours, same tone across every page.
Speed, search and technical health
- Compress your images. Huge photos are the most common reason a site feels slow.
- Give every page a proper title and description. It's what people see in search results.
- Add alt text to images. It helps people using screen readers, and it helps search engines too.
- Make sure the site uses HTTPS. The little padlock matters to visitors.
- Look for broken links. Click through every menu item and button before launch.
- Set up analytics. You can't improve what you can't see.
Right before you launch
- Read every page out loud. You'll catch typos your eyes skip.
- Test every form, button and phone number on both desktop and mobile.
- Open the site in a second browser, and ask a friend to look at it too.
- Check that prices, hours and contact details are current.
- Confirm who owns the domain and where the site is hosted, and keep those logins somewhere safe.
- Make a backup of the finished site.
After launch
A website isn't finished the day it goes live. The first few weeks tell you what's working.
- Watch which pages people visit and where they drop off.
- Ask a few customers how they found the site and whether anything confused them.
- Update it when things change: new services, new prices, new photos.
- Keep software and plugins up to date, and review security regularly.
Depending on the project and arrangement, we can provide maintenance, improvements, technical support and additional development after launch, so you don't have to handle it alone.
A word on money and scope
Two things trip people up more than any technical detail: unclear scope and surprise costs. Our approach is to agree scope, timeline and cost before work starts. Some projects ask for an upfront deposit to reserve development time, and we confirm that in the plan we agree with you. If your requirements change midway, tell us early. We can often adjust the scope or give a revised quote, so you always know where you stand.
Not sure where you stand?
If you've read this far and ticked off half the list, that's completely normal. Nobody starts with everything ready. If you'd like a second pair of eyes on your plan or your current site, request a free 15-minute call and we'll go through it together.
Your vision, our code.
