The Ultimate Website Launch Checklist

96 comments

1. Keeran said... 17th Feb 2009, 14:45

   Great list Dan, thanks! I think the only things I'd add would be SMS/email alerts for exception notifications and server monitoring. K

2. Carl Morris said... 17th Feb 2009, 14:45

   Unique title tags for each page... Partly for deep SEO. And partly because I just favourited this on Delicious and it didn't automatically have the title of your post! Thanks - very useful.

3. Dan Zambonini said... 17th Feb 2009, 14:58

   @Carl Morris - Argh, can't believe these posts don't have unique titles! They should have; will get that fixed asap. @Keeran Ta, will definitely add that, and sort out the URL issue...

4. Alex said... 18th Feb 2009, 12:03

   You don't really need to submit to search engines - they will find you thru the link. And never pay to have your site submitted to "1000 search engines"

5. Pierre Far said... 18th Feb 2009, 12:07

   For consistency: 1. Full stops (periods) at the end of list items. 2. UK/US spelling for English. Also, make sure there is a copyright statement in the footer, with the correct year (I still see copyright statements for 2008.) Pierre

6. Karan Bhangui said... 18th Feb 2009, 12:11

   I think a good addition would be "Set up detailed server logging at all points of failure (database, web server, etc)". I think it's a very important think in case something goes wrong live, if you haven't already done so during production. It's also a nice complement to front-end analytics (as already listed)

7. Fernando said... 18th Feb 2009, 13:36

   An "Availability" section: - Set up external web site monitoring (uptime)? - Set up an internal measuring tool too (cacti, nagios, monit etc) not only for alerts but to get some graphs for better optimization

8. Mark Alves said... 18th Feb 2009, 13:59

   Validate your site in Google Webmaster Tools. This includes running diagnostics, turning on enhanced image search, verifying any Google sitelinks and confirming your sitemaps status.

9. Dan Zambonini said... 18th Feb 2009, 14:08

   Thanks all for more great suggestions; I'll wait until the initial Hacker News traffic has calmed, then aggregate the suggestions and update the list. Keep them coming!

10. Simon said... 18th Feb 2009, 14:28

    I would add checking your contact form works. We just moved servers and it took us a couple of days to realise we didn't update the mail settings!

11. Leroy Fernandes said... 18th Feb 2009, 14:29

    Thanks for this list. Also thanks to all those who have added their own points to the list. It really helps to have such kind of information in one place. -- Leroy Fernandes www.fuelmediaworks.com

12. Timothy said... 18th Feb 2009, 15:00

    Awesome! Def gonna use this

13. James said... 18th Feb 2009, 15:41

    Checklist as PDF or ODS?

14. Matt said... 18th Feb 2009, 17:17

    would be great to have this as a PDF

15. Carlos Kirkconnell said... 18th Feb 2009, 17:40

    http://gettingreal.37signals.com/ch04_Ignore_Details_Early_On.php

16. Dan Zambonini said... 18th Feb 2009, 17:54

    Carlos Kirkconnell: I kind-of agree (we still have a list of about 30 items left to 'refine' for this website which we launched last week), but I'm personally all-for obsessing over every detail. Jonathan Ive is known for 'obsessive passion ... about attention to detail' (http://www.jonathanive.com/biography/), and I know whose products I prefer between Apple and 37S.

17. Kweek said... 18th Feb 2009, 19:26

    Great list! Maybe you can add a .PDF version?

18. Jason Bartholme said... 18th Feb 2009, 20:34

    Great... Could have used this last week. Oh, well. I have it now for future projects. It is truly a great list, especially for team projects.

19. alexvega said... 18th Feb 2009, 21:24

    Thanks to creators and contributors. I made it into a Google Docs: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=ajjgrhjmhnt4_135dk27bcfj You can download a PDF version, print or whatever from there.

20. Dan Zambonini said... 18th Feb 2009, 23:19

    Thanks all. Wow, loving the Google Docs version! Will possibly do another update tomorrow depending on number of new suggestions. (PS This is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial Share Alike http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/)

21. k srivatsa iyengar said... 19th Feb 2009, 00:18

    hi there are, to my mind, many more points to be covered in the check list.. off hand i'm listing just a few which i comes to mind now.. ( based upon my own experience in a corporate ): 1. arrangements with the service provider..be it your own leased line or hosted server.. security of the server, the possibility of running applications on the server ( database access, mailing lists, newsletters etc.etc.) 2. the arrangements for any payment gateways, their terms and handling of sales etc. 3. organising for updating the content from time to time 4. organising and setting up standards for handling the visitors emails and complaints of non working of certain functions 5. payment gateway arrangements ( where applicable ) regarding security, ssl digital signatures etc.. 6. whether the site should be in other languages, if so the managing of the fonts etc.,

22. ricardoe said... 19th Feb 2009, 08:43

    I hope this doesn't bother you: http://www.sharefile.org/showfile-745/weblistlaunch.pdf Its a PDF version.

23. Mike said... 19th Feb 2009, 09:50

    Just sent your post around the office - as an SEO guy I'll expand upon the bit about search engines but I think the idea is great.

24. Daniel said... 19th Feb 2009, 10:29

    Nice check list, and one I'll get our team to refer to. Just wanted to echo a previous comment that there's no need (or benefit) from submitting your site to search engines any more. Just get some other sites to link to it and the search engines will find it in days (if not hours). I'd add a post-launch/marketing point to include a linking strategy - especially if you want to rank strongly on Google.

25. Bassy said... 19th Feb 2009, 14:23

    Thanks . its very nice list.i gonna use this.

26. Wiktor said... 19th Feb 2009, 20:02

    Great stuff. For those familiar with git/github, here is a forkable version: http://github.com/netguru/checklist

27. Dave Quested said... 20th Feb 2009, 02:59

    Great list Dan, some additions: 1. Configure Windows Live Webmaster Tools 2. Submit the Sitemap you've created (Google/Yahoo/Windows Live/Ask)

28. Ryan Roberts said... 20th Feb 2009, 14:06

    Good idea. Dan I can email you a checklist I use if you want? It's relatively extensive and based on checklists gathered by other web designers. If you are then let me know if I should use the main contact form or a specific email.

29. Dan Zambonini said... 20th Feb 2009, 14:07

    Ryan, that would be amazing, thank you! My name is 'dan' and I work '@' 'boxuk.com', so if you add those together you should get my email address... Thanks!

30. Nick said... 20th Feb 2009, 14:19

    Wow, great list! I've bookmarked this for future reference and all other webmasters should!

31. tommythewolfboy said... 20th Feb 2009, 15:38

    If this is supposed to be an 'ultimate' list should it not break out points like Accessibility into relevant checks? You certainly go down to this level for SEO etc.

32. Prashant said... 20th Feb 2009, 16:07

    before beginning, there could be a couple of points regarding hosting details, files/folders that have read-write access, etc.

33. B Moore said... 22nd Feb 2009, 07:02

    Thank you for making this list!

34. Anthony Sutton said... 22nd Feb 2009, 07:23

    What an awesome list - you should get a PDF version online before others steal it. Also, you have great website - illustrations are beautiful.

35. Malcolm said... 22nd Feb 2009, 18:48

    Cool This is an amazing compilation. Many Thanks :)

36. Spider said... 22nd Feb 2009, 19:14

    maybe SQL injection test :)

37. Dan Zambonini said... 23rd Feb 2009, 09:24

    Thanks all. We'll be uploading a PDF later this afternoon; in the meantime you can get it on Scribd: http://www.scribd.com/doc/12692424/The-Ultimate-Website-Launch-Checklist I'll also update the checklist later this week with any new suggestions.

38. Mike Archibald said... 23rd Feb 2009, 09:29

    Handy list. Can't say I do everyone when I launch a website, but I try to do most!

39. francis_dierick said... 24th Feb 2009, 01:19

    Should 'Check in text-based browser (e.g. Lynx)' be added to the Ultimate Website Launch Checklist? Why? It's a great and simple accessibility check. Plus, it uncovers tabbing problems for people who like to keyboard-browse your site.

40. Monika said... 24th Feb 2009, 06:05

    Hi Dan great list, i would like to include one more point to the list which is checking browser compatibilty and internal linking of all pages so that they can get crawled easily.

41. Abhinav Gulyani said... 24th Feb 2009, 19:07

    Thanks an awesome list. Really useful.

42. Heidi Cool said... 25th Feb 2009, 10:24

    Nice list. I particularly like that you focus on content first (so many people seem to forget that.) When possible I'd set up things like Google Analytics and search engine submissions as early as possible. (1-2 weeks pre-launch) If using a testing server during pre-launch this isn't doable, but for new sites/domains that can publish pre-launch it can give you a leg up. I recently did this with a new site and found it helpful that Google had indexed the pages by the time I announced the launch. That said, obviously this can't be done until you have a preponderance of pages created, and can't be done if you need to keep site secret until the launch, but it's nice to get a bit of a head start.

43. Kevin Hemsworth said... 26th Feb 2009, 14:58

    Great list. Didn't read all the comments to know if anyone's suggested adding checking DNS records (mail forwarding, etc.) when moving to a new host environment, but it's not so great when you hit the switch and your client loses their email access!"But look how great your new site looks!" never seems to go over particularly well in those instances.

44. facundo said... 26th Feb 2009, 19:01

    great list guys! besides validation, i would pay attention to the site being viewable in Chrome too. it's happened to us recently

45. merzmarkus@goglemail.com said... 27th Feb 2009, 19:05

    I miss 'user tests' and in this context ongoing 'navigation tests'. Another point is 'check landing pages' if affiliate programs or AdWord programs are used to promote the site. Very useful list. Bookmarked and posted to my site.

46. Anne said... 1st Mar 2009, 15:36

    This is a thorough list, excellent! Thanks.

47. Lachelle T. said... 3rd Mar 2009, 05:00

    Excellent list! Too often we have most of these "To-Do" items in our heads but there's no way to get to all of them and more without a checklist such as this. Will definitely be utilizing this for all my future projects.

48. Greg said... 6th Mar 2009, 19:41

    Great list. How about testing your 'web2.0 and social networking features'. I.e. 'user generated content', 'social bookmarks', 'widgets', 'shared/posted links', 'user account set-up/settings', esp. OpenID/Facebook Connect, 'management & admin systems', 'mashup performance', 'embeded content', e.g. YouTube Videos, etc.

49. Stu Collett said... 10th Mar 2009, 13:40

    Love this list. Great work guys! Stu.

50. Eva johnson said... 27th Mar 2009, 10:14

    ok, what do you charge for checking a particlar website before louncing on internet.... Regards Eva

51. mathew llewellyn said... 2nd Apr 2009, 21:05

    I guess your handling 'usability' outside of this model. I don’t think anyone has mentioned functional testing for internal network sites/applications Make sure you test your site/application across the same environment that your customer’s workforce(s) is/are using. Thin client based Citrix environments throw up all sorts of problems outside of standard accessibility testing. Have fun with lists ... Nice to see people working together!

52. Adrian said... 8th Apr 2009, 01:07

    Thanks for the list. this is great.

53. Michael Müller said... 8th Apr 2009, 02:54

    Excellent resource, thank you for sharing!

54. Erick Schluter said... 10th Apr 2009, 23:53

    Mmhh...I have downloaded the .PDF...Sigh...Here goes my weekend!
    Thanks!

55. Joni Mueller said... 14th Apr 2009, 02:47

    And this checklist would also make a very good addition to any checklists or milestones you have created within your preferred Project Management system too. I plan to implement huge chunks of it in my boilerplate web site project template in activeCollab. :)

56. Gustavo Ballve said... 14th Apr 2009, 14:24

    Thanks a LOT!

57. EmmaB said... 23rd Apr 2009, 09:43

    I was wondering if this could be formatted into an Excel checklist? Of course, only if you have the time.

58. Biggs said... 30th Apr 2009, 15:12

    @EmmaB - You can save this page in your browser as html and open it up in excel. You'll have to do a tiny bit of cleanup, but the list is there.
    
    Great list by the way, Dan. I've been thinking of how I can incorporate it to my workflow. Not as a piece of paper on my desk, iykwim.

59. Richard said... 13th May 2009, 12:20

    I wish I had access to such good info when starting out our website. We learned as we went along and cut some corners which were tough to get back around. Nice list.

60. David Radovanovic said... 27th May 2009, 00:10

    Thanks for the great post. It would be great if there were links with the associated list items to either pages with more info or hints. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge!

61. Noah said... 2nd Jun 2009, 02:55

    That is a great checklist indeed.
    
    Under marketing, I'd add 'create an XML site map' and replace 'submit to search engines' with 'begin link building process.'
    
    Doing the social marketing you mention and/or link building will get the site indexed in every search engine, so submitting is not necessary.

62. Brian McManus said... 29th Jun 2009, 05:38

    Hi Dan, that's a really great list. I wondered if you might consider adding a link to my new website, launchly. Launchly is all about getting new websites the feedback they need to succeed and I would love to see it included as an optional step in the launch process!
    
    http://www.launchly.com

63. Raffi Darrow said... 29th Jun 2009, 18:21

    Functionality: Does the logo in the header link back to the domain name?

64. Junagadh said... 3rd Jul 2009, 11:58

    Hi,
    
    here its one of the best needed checklist present.

65. Michael Melen said... 5th Jul 2009, 21:27

    That is a very comprehensive list. Good job!

66. PabloC said... 20th Jul 2009, 20:40

    Thanks, great list.

67. Jonas said... 22nd Jul 2009, 22:23

    How about adding - "Check for color scheme consistancy" to the content and style section.

68. Chris said... 23rd Jul 2009, 17:31

    Wish i had done it before, thanks for the tips

69. Luis Fontes said... 26th Jul 2009, 20:05

    Great work, Thanks... Keep up your work work

70. Link Building said... 10th Aug 2009, 23:09

    Security/Risk is probably most important if you are dealing with sensitive stuff.

71. anunturi said... 28th Aug 2009, 22:45

    Nice list Dan!
    
    Thanks,
    Regards

72. tocoa.net said... 1st Sep 2009, 12:28

    Good checklist, will use it for my website if the time has come. One small addition to the Security/Risk section should be to check the access rights to the folder/files and to tighten them as much as possible (that is: restrict access to outsiders).

73. Jay - Work At Home Blogger said... 7th Sep 2009, 12:47

    The post you made and the list is awesome. Screen resolution is a must!

74. April said... 7th Oct 2009, 11:10

    Thanks very much for this checklist. I had no idea there were so many different things to look at. I guess you only have one chance to make a first impression so it's worth taking the time from the beginning.

75. Bill Gassett said... 10th Oct 2009, 12:03

    This is quite a comprehensive list. I like the fact that you mention some of the things you are doing to get the site noticed by the search engines. Having great content and good design of course is very important. I would put having an online presence as the next item of importance on the list.

76. Peter Lancaster said... 12th Oct 2009, 09:53

    Everyone absolutely need to follow a list like this when thinking about what their website will be like. Too many time we get caught up in how t will look and what bells and whistles it will have to impress people and show how clever we are. Remember that a website is there for a reason other than to boost your ego. If you want it to do the job you intend it to do successfully do the homework and follow a guideline like this one. It saves a whole lot of work later. Best to do it all first and spend extra time than tear it all down and do it over.
    http://www.barneyslabels.com.au
    

77. stefa said... 3rd Dec 2009, 17:27

    good list! is the pdf version already available??

78. Dwayne said... 4th Dec 2009, 00:33

    Thanx so much, I was doing like 3 projects and got overwhlemed and this list helped me a lot, i tried coming up with one my self then i decided to get one in the rush of time. GREAT. Also remember to check your server limitations, so that u don't run out of allotments such as: max number of database connections and so on. Remember to secure your secret scripts that u use to either monitor or administer ur site! Login area sometimes is not enuff to protect, use a specific URL and only access it fr ur PC or u can remove or change it if u access it elsewhere.
    
    My new site is: http://www.linkshares.net/

79. Bolsa de Trabajo said... 4th Dec 2009, 23:31

    The checklist is really good and detailed.
    How about testing your 'web2.0 and social networking features'. I.e. 'user generated content', 'social bookmarks', 'widgets', 'shared/posted links', 'user account set-up/settings', esp. OpenID/Facebook Connect, 'management & admin systems', 'mashup performance', 'embeded content', e.g. YouTube Videos,

80. prakash said... 14th Dec 2009, 09:37

    I’d been taught that left-aligned labels are preferred, to support the prototypical F-shaped eye-tracking heatmap of web browsing. The idea is that it supports easy vertical scanning.
    
    But this study revealed this to be incorrect!
    IT solution
    

81. Steve said... 4th Jan 2010, 01:52

    What about a comms (communications) strategy?
    Probably not a concern for small sites, but a must for larger, very public sites like Banks etc who need to pre-warn customers their site is changing (so it doesn't look like the sites been hijacked on launch). Therefore, I recommend a complete comms strategy at least 2 months prior to launch for larger corporate sites. This would slot in around 'performance' entry in the above timeline.

82. Neil Webster said... 5th Jan 2010, 01:08

    Great List. A bit short on detail with the performance and load testing. I'd add test performance from major centres. Stress test including leaving sessions open, rapid refresh etc.

83. Clerkendweller said... 19th Feb 2010, 10:39

    I put some thought into information security aspects for website releases and published it here:
    
    http://www.clerkendweller.com/2010/2/19/Website-PreLaunch-Security-Review-Checklist
    
    (Linking back to your great list at the end).

84. joan said... 10th May 2010, 09:43

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85. Satish Chathanath said... 14th May 2010, 12:42

    Hi
    
    Another critical check - whether Home page downloads within 10 seconds on dial-up connection

86. Arpan Dhandhania said... 18th Jun 2010, 04:24

    Hi Dan,
    
    Thanks for this really comprehensive list. I have been looking for something like this for a while. By the way, I came across this awesome web app called LooseStitch that is ideal for sharing checklists with others. So I have created a document on LooseStitch and entered the points from your checklist into it. Here is the link to the document:
    
    http://loosestitch.com/ideas/h393p7hrjalcv9zr/ultimate-website-launch-checklist/

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94. Lex Fitz said... 20th Aug 2010, 16:06

    This is an impressive list.
    
    I've started sending my clients here so they can really put me over the hot coals, and also so they will appreciate how thorough I am with their sites.
    
    Thanks for the list.
    
    Best regards,
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