Website Launch Checklist

Meta Tags

Unique title tag on each page (50-60 characters) Meta description on each page (150-160 characters) Canonical URLs set correctly Open Graph tags for social sharing Twitter Card meta tags

Content & Structure

Single H1 tag per page Proper heading hierarchy (H1-H6) Alt text on all images Internal linking structure No broken links (404 errors)

Technical SEO

XML sitemap created and submitted robots.txt configured correctly Schema.org structured data Google Search Console setup Mobile-friendly test passed

Visual

Color contrast ratio meets WCAG AA (4.5:1) Color is not the only way to convey information Text resizes up to 200% without loss of content Focus indicators visible on all interactive elements

Navigation & Interaction

Full keyboard navigation support Skip to main content link No keyboard traps Logical tab order

Content & Semantics

ARIA labels where needed Semantic HTML elements used Form inputs have associated labels Error messages are clear and accessible Language attribute set on HTML element

Media

Meaningful alt text for images Captions for video content Transcripts for audio content No auto-playing media with sound

HTTPS & SSL

Valid SSL certificate installed HTTP to HTTPS redirect enabled HSTS header configured No mixed content warnings

Security Headers

Content Security Policy (CSP) header X-Frame-Options header X-Content-Type-Options header Referrer-Policy header Permissions-Policy header

Data Protection

Input validation on all forms XSS protection measures CSRF protection for forms No sensitive data in URLs or logs

General Security

Dependencies updated and secure Secure error handling (no stack traces) Backup strategy in place Security vulnerability scan completed

Images & Media

Images optimized and compressed Modern image formats (WebP, AVIF) Lazy loading for images Responsive images (srcset) Video files optimized

Code Optimization

CSS minified JavaScript minified HTML minified Unused CSS/JS removed Code splitting implemented

Loading & Caching

GZIP/Brotli compression enabled Browser caching configured CDN for static assets Critical resources preloaded Non-critical JS async/deferred

Core Web Vitals

LCP under 2.5 seconds FID under 100 milliseconds CLS under 0.1 Lighthouse performance score 90+

Analytics & Tracking

Google Analytics configured Conversion tracking setup Event tracking for key actions Heatmap tool installed (optional)

Social Media

Social media profile links Social sharing buttons Social preview images tested Facebook Pixel (if using ads)

Content & Branding

Favicon and app icons Custom 404 error page Contact information visible Clear call-to-action buttons Testimonials or social proof

Legal & Compliance

Privacy policy page Terms of service page Cookie consent banner (GDPR) Copyright notice in footer

Email Marketing

Newsletter signup form Email service integration Welcome email configured