The Ultimate Website Launch Checklist

Launching your website is exciting… but if you’ve ever found yourself lying awake at 2am wondering whether you’ve forgotten something important, you’re definitely not alone.

Between domains, SEO, blogs, forms, and all the little bits happening behind the scenes, there’s a lot to think about before you hit publish.

The good news? You don’t need to remember it all. Use this checklist to make sure your website is launch-ready and avoid those dreaded “why isn’t this working?!” moments later.

1. Finalise your website design

Add those finishing touches and check every page on desktop, tablet, and mobile. Make sure spacing, images, and layouts look right across all devices.

It’s also worth clicking through your site as if you were a first-time visitor. Is it easy to navigate? Can you find important information quickly? If not, now’s the time to tweak it.

2. Set up your blog

If you’re planning to have a blog, make sure it’s connected and styled properly before launch.

If you’re moving from another platform, migrate your existing posts. If you’re starting from scratch, try to launch with at least three helpful blog posts already live. Not only does this make your website feel more established, it also gives visitors and Google something to explore.

3. Get your SEO foundations in place

You don’t need a full-blown SEO strategy before launch, but covering the basics will give your site the best possible start.

Check that you’ve added:

• Page titles and meta descriptions
• Keywords naturally throughout your copy
• A clear heading structure (H1, H2, H3)
• Alt text for your images
• SEO-friendly image file names
• A favicon and social sharing image

Remember, SEO is a long game. You don’t need to have everything perfect on day one.

4. Check your forms and integrations

Before you launch, test every form, button, and connected tool on your site.

Make sure:

• Contact forms are submitting correctly
• Email opt-ins are connected
• Booking systems are working
• Social media links go to the right place
• Any automations or workflows are running as expected

There’s nothing worse than finding out three weeks later that nobody could actually get in touch with you.

5. Proofread everything

Take one final pass through your website and check for spelling mistakes, missing images, broken layouts, or anything else that could make your site feel unfinished.

If you can, ask a friend or family member to look through it as well. Fresh eyes are brilliant at spotting the things you’ve looked at a hundred times and no longer notice.

6. Test that everything works

Now it’s time to click every button and test every page.

Look out for:

• Broken links
• Slow-loading pages
• Mobile display issues
• Missing images
• Plugin or integration errors

If you’re using Showit’s Advanced Blog, it’s also worth checking that your WordPress plugins are updated.

7. Connect your domain

Point your domain to your website and double-check that everything is working correctly.

Domain changes can sometimes take up to 48 hours to fully connect, so try not to leave this until the very last minute if you’re working towards a launch date.

8. Set up your analytics

Before people start visiting your site, make sure you have your tracking in place.

At a minimum, I’d recommend:

• Google Analytics
• Google Search Console

That way, you can start collecting data from day one and see how your website performs over time.

9. Check your legal pages

It’s not the most exciting part of launching a website, but don’t forget the essentials.

At the very least, make sure you have:

• A Privacy Policy
• A Cookie Policy
• Terms and Conditions (where relevant)

Also check that your cookie banner and any consent settings are working properly.

10. Plan your launch

Don’t spend weeks building a beautiful website only to quietly press publish and hope somebody notices.

Instead, think about where you’re going to share it. Schedule a few social posts, prepare an email for your list, update your profile links, and tell people about it. You’ve worked hard on this, so let people celebrate with you.

11. Hit publish and celebrate 🎉

Once everything’s checked and you’re happy with the final result, it’s time.

Hit publish, pour yourself a coffee (or something stronger), and celebrate. Launching a website is a huge achievement, and it’s worth taking a moment to enjoy it before moving onto the next thing.

Still feeling overwhelmed?

The truth is, most people don’t launch a website every day. It’s completely normal to feel like there are a million moving parts.

If you’d rather have someone in your corner, I can help with everything from technical setup and template customisation to full website launches and post-launch support. So if you’re feeling stuck, get in touch. I’d love to help.