Launching a website without a checklist in 2026 = guaranteed regret. This 60-item list covers tech, SEO, content, accessibility, legal, analytics, and day-of-launch protocol. AI can audit 45 of the 60.
A launch checklist is a pre-flight document ensuring every critical item — from SSL certs to meta tags to privacy policy — is in place before traffic hits your new site.
| Metric | Without Checklist | With Checklist |
|---|---|---|
| Day-1 critical bugs | 3.4 | 0.4 |
| SEO rank drop after launch | 22% lose rankings | 4% |
| Hours to stabilize | 18 | 2 |
| Support tickets week 1 | 42 | 8 |
Source: Smashing Magazine 2025, Google Search Central.
Launch scanner
Crawl and output a table of launch-readiness issues across these categories: technical, SEO, accessibility, legal. Rank by severity.
Alt-text gap finder
Scan this page HTML. List every img missing alt attribute, along with src URL. Suggest alt text for each. HTML:
Legal pages check
Review this Privacy Policy for GDPR + CCPA readiness. Flag missing clauses and propose additions. Policy:
| Tool | Use Case | Free Tier | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Search Console | Indexing, errors | ✅ Yes | Everyone |
| PageSpeed Insights | Core Web Vitals | ✅ Yes | Performance |
| axe DevTools | Accessibility | ✅ Yes | WCAG audits |
| Screaming Frog | Pre-launch crawl | ✅ (500 URLs) | Launch day |
A: First pass 2 weeks out. Final pass T-24 hours. Smoke test T-1 hour.
A: Forgetting 301 redirects from old URLs on a migration. Causes rank collapse.
A: Lower to 300s 48 hours before launch. Roll back TTL after 72 hours stable.
A: Yes. Serve a 503 with Retry-After header during switch.
A: Document DNS, server IPs, last-known-good commit. Test rollback once before launch day.
A: No. Tuesday–Wednesday morning. Friday = on-call weekend.
Checklists turn launch stress into launch routine. Run this every time — your future self thanks you.
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