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Small-business website launch checklist.

Use this before publishing a new site or signing off on a redesign.

Content and trust

  • Business name, services and service area are clear.
  • Contact information is easy to find.
  • Claims can be verified and do not rely on fake badges, reviews or statistics.
  • Each important page answers a distinct customer need.

Mobile and usability

  • Navigation works by touch and does not depend on hover.
  • Text is readable without zooming.
  • Forms have visible labels and sensible field sizes.
  • Buttons and phone links are easy to tap.

Search and technical basics

  • Every indexable page has a descriptive title and meta description.
  • There is one clear H1 and a logical heading hierarchy.
  • Canonical URLs are correct.
  • Important pages are reachable through normal HTML links.
  • Structured data only describes facts visible or true on the site.

Before and after launch

  • Test forms on the real hosting environment.
  • Check missing pages and redirects.
  • Compress large images and confirm dimensions are set.
  • Run accessibility and performance checks on mobile.

Pre-launch checks that catch expensive mistakes

A website should be reviewed as a customer would use it, not only page by page in a desktop browser. Test the main tasks on a real phone: opening the menu, calling the business, filling out the form, finding prices or policies, reading long sections and moving between related pages.

Technical checks

  • Confirm one preferred hostname and consistent canonical URLs.
  • Test redirects from old URLs before they disappear from the server.
  • Validate the sitemap, robots rules and custom 404 page.
  • Check image dimensions, compression and lazy loading below the fold.
  • Verify form delivery, spam protection and success/error states.
  • Review title tags, meta descriptions, H1s and obvious duplicate content.
  • Run accessibility and performance tests, then inspect the specific failures rather than chasing the score alone.

Finally, read the site as a customer. Technical perfection does not rescue confusing copy, missing prices where buyers expect them, or a navigation system that hides the most important service.