# Checklist before launching a new website

> Content, SEO, speed, forms, emails, cookies, security and accessibility. What to check before launch, so your new website doesn’t lose customers on day one.

Simplix · websites, seo, launch

Launch day for a new website is full of excitement. And often of small mistakes that cost: a form that sends nothing, a website invisible to Google, old addresses leading to pages that no longer exist.

We’ve gathered them all in one list. Some take a minute, others need help from whoever built the website. All of them are worth checking before you announce the launch.

## Content

- texts are proofread, with no typos and no forgotten “Lorem ipsum” anywhere;
- phone, email, address and opening hours are correct everywhere, including the footer;
- every link goes where it should, including those to social networks;
- images are optimized and have alternative text;
- the legal pages are there: terms and conditions, privacy policy, cookie policy;
- the small logo in the browser tab (favicon) and the image shown when someone shares a link are yours, not the defaults.

## Google and SEO

- **the website is no longer blocked for search engines.** It’s the most common mistake: during development the site is hidden from Google, and the setting stays on after launch;
- every page has its own title and description;
- there is a sitemap and a correct robots.txt file;
- **old addresses lead to the new ones.** If you had a website before, every important old page must be permanently redirected (301) to its new one. Otherwise you lose your Google rankings and the visitors coming from old links;
- the website is added to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, and the sitemap is submitted.

## Speed and phones

- the main pages pass the test in [PageSpeed Insights](https://pagespeed.web.dev/), on mobile; we explained what the results mean in our [article on Core Web Vitals](/en/blog/core-web-vitals/);
- the website is checked on real phones, not just on a computer: the menu, forms, buttons, text that doesn’t spill off the screen;
- it works in the main browsers: Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge.

## Forms and emails

- **every form is tested end to end:** fill it in, send it and check the message arrives, at the right address;
- emails sent by the website don’t land in spam. Gmail requires every sender to authenticate their domain with SPF or DKIM, and high-volume senders with DMARC too[^1];
- there is spam protection that doesn’t get in real people’s way;
- automatic confirmations (for the customer) have the right text and details.

## Cookies and analytics

- analytics and marketing scripts load **only after the visitor consents**, not before;
- the cookie banner has clear “accept” and “reject” buttons and lets people change their choice at any time;
- if you use Google Analytics or Google Ads, the consent of visitors from the European Economic Area must also be passed on to Google (Consent Mode); otherwise some measurement and advertising features stop working for those visitors[^2];
- analytics correctly record visits and conversions (a submitted form, an order).

## Security and backups

- the website works only over HTTPS, and http addresses redirect to https automatically;
- the security certificate renews automatically;
- admin accounts have strong passwords and, ideally, two-factor authentication; test accounts are deleted;
- the platform, theme and plugins are up to date;
- **backups are automatic** and you have checked, at least once, that a restore actually works.

## Accessibility

- text has enough contrast and can be enlarged without breaking the page;
- the website can be used with the keyboard alone;
- images have alternative text, and forms have clear labels.

It isn’t just common sense: since 28 June 2025, the European Accessibility Act (transposed in Romania by Law no. 232/2022) requires e-commerce services to be accessible, except for microenterprises providing services[^3].

## On launch day and after

1. **Plan the domain switch.** If the domain moves from one server to another, the change takes a few hours to propagate. Schedule it at a low-traffic time.
2. **Check the forms again** on the live website, not just on the test one.
3. **Watch Search Console** for the first few weeks: pages not found (404), indexing problems.
4. **Turn on monitoring**, so you find out immediately if the website stops responding.
5. **Only then announce the launch.**

## How we do it

Every point above is part of launching any website we build. Many we check automatically, on every page: titles and descriptions, links, redirects, speed, accessibility, display on screens from phone to large monitor. The rest we check by hand, together with you, before we press the button.

[See how we build business websites](https://www.simplix.ro/en/services/websites/)

[^1]: Google, [Email sender guidelines](https://support.google.com/a/answer/81126).
[^2]: Google Ads Help, [Updates to consent mode for traffic in European Economic Area (EEA)](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/13695607).
[^3]: Law no. 232/2022, transposing the European Accessibility Act. See, for example, [AmCham Romania’s analysis](https://www.amcham.ro/business-intelligence/new-accessibility-obligations-how-law-no-2322022-will-affect-economic-operators-starting-june-28-2025).