To be honest, after launching uncountable amount of websites, I still use this checklist to make sure the website is 100% ready to be launched. It is better to make sure everything works fine before the launch than fixing problems latter when they occur. I always go the extra mile and never let “what ifs” worry me.
The website launch checklist to make sure it works flawlessly:

Set up

• You own the domain & it is all set up;
• You have the hosting & it’s is suitable for your website (I actually like to have a bit more than I need. Just in case);
• Your business’s emails have been set up & working (make sure they have the right security certificates, otherwise your email will be sent directly to spam);
• Social media accounts are set up & updated with your business information;
• All relevant social media accounts are added to your website and their links are not broken;
• Google Analytics (GA) tag is inserted and the data collection is working;
• Website’s goals in GA & events are set up;
• Relevant IPs are excluded from your data collection;
• GA and Google Search Console are synchronised;
• Yandex Metrica counter code is inserted (I highly recommend using Yandex Metrica for heatmaps & visitors tracking);

SEO

• Dynamic XML sitemap is created;
• XML sitemap is submitted to search engines;
• Your pages’ SEO is in place:
  • all pages have enough written content;
  • meta titles and descriptions are unique;
  • images have alt tags;
  • paragraphs, lists & headings are formatted properly;
  • meta:og tags are properly placed for content sharing;
  • URLs are set and reflect your pages’ content & website’s information architecture;
• Your 404 redirect pages are set up and working;
• 301 redirects are in place (if needed);
• Rel=”nofollow” tag is added where necessary;

Content

• Copywriting has been proofread;
• The most important content is correctly listed & work properly;
• Lorem impsum has been removed from all pages;
• You have a “Contact us” page (in my personal experience, you won’t believe how many people actually forget this part);
• All information in your “Contact us” page is correct;
• Footer includes copyright;

Functionality

• All contact forms work;
• All subscribe forms work;
• “Thank you” messages are shown correctly;
• Auto response emails are properly sent;
• All downloadable content work properly;
• Social media share buttons are working;
• Integrations with any third party tools are working properly;
• Perform a media checkup and make sure there are no broken image links;
• Perform link checkup to make sure there are no broken links;

Design

• Website is compatible across all browsers;
• Website is compatible across all devices;
• HTML & CSS pass validation;
• CSS is optimised;
• Images are optimised;
• Your website has a favicon;
• Company logo is linked to the homepage;

Security

• Website monitoring is set up;
• Passwords are stored securely;
• Backup of website has been made;
• New content copies are being created;

Legal

• Visitors are informed that you are using cookies (necessary in some countries);
• You have usage rights for all content you used (images, code, fonts and etc.)
• You have “Terms and privacy policy” and it is visible to visitors.

Have an easygoing website launch!

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