Launching a new website is a major milestone for any business or individual, but it also comes with its share of challenges. Overlooking key steps in the process can lead to performance issues, harm your SEO rankings, and leave users frustrated. A well-prepared website launch checklist is essential to ensure your site is fast, functional, compliant, and ready to engage users from the very first day.

Why Should You Test Website Functionality Before Launch?

Website functionality testing is one of the most crucial steps in preparing for launch. A visually appealing website is meaningless if key features such as forms, checkout processes, and links fail to work correctly. Functional issues can cost you valuable leads, sales, and ultimately damage your reputation.

Common functionality problems to watch for include:

Forms that don’t submit: A contact form may appear fine, but it might not send emails, leaving users without a way to reach out.
E-commerce cart errors: Miscalculations, such as incorrect shipping fees, especially on mobile devices, can lead to abandoned purchases.
Broken links: Links that lead to error pages can frustrate users and hurt your site’s SEO.

Thorough testing across multiple browsers and devices is essential to catch these issues early. Testing each user journey, from contacting support to purchasing or signing up, ensures every step of the process works as intended. Enlisting a colleague to test the site as a “new visitor” can help identify overlooked issues.

A functional website not only improves user experience but also builds trust, reduces bounce rates, and ensures that visitors have a positive first impression.

How Can You Optimise Website Speed and Performance?

In today’s competitive digital landscape, optimising website speed is critical. Google has made it clear that page speed is a ranking factor, and users are quick to abandon sites that take too long to load. Slow sites not only hinder user experience but can also significantly impact conversion rates.

Key statistics highlight the importance of fast websites:

53% of mobile users abandon a site if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load.
A 1-second delay on mobile can reduce conversions by up to 20%.
Sites with faster load times, under 1 second, convert three times better than those that take 5 seconds to load.

Here are some essential best practices for speeding up your website:

Reliable hosting: Choose hosting with fast servers near your primary audience to reduce latency.
Next-gen image formats: Use image formats like WebP or AVIF to reduce file sizes while maintaining quality.
Minify code: Minimise CSS, JavaScript, and HTML files, removing any unnecessary or unused code.
Enable caching: Caching ensures that repeat visitors experience faster load times.
Content Delivery Network (CDN): Using a CDN like Cloudflare or Amazon CloudFront can serve your site’s content globally, reducing load times.

Real-world results show the importance of speed: Adobe improved its homepage load time from 7.2 seconds to 3.4 seconds, resulting in a 35% increase in user engagement. Similarly, RedBus improved responsiveness by 72%, leading to a 7% boost in sales.

A fast website not only ranks higher on search engines but also enhances user satisfaction and boosts conversions.

What Should Be on Your On-Page SEO Checklist?

On-page SEO is the foundation for making your website discoverable and indexable by search engines. Without optimising key elements before launch, your site may struggle to reach its target audience.

Key on-page SEO tasks include:

Unique meta titles and descriptions: Ensure every page has its own unique and compelling meta tags to drive click-throughs from search results.
Proper heading structure: Use one clear H1 tag per page, supported by logical H2S and H3S to structure your content for both readability and SEO.
Descriptive alt text for images: Adding alt text helps search engines index images and improves your site’s accessibility.
Internal linking: Linking related pages within your site ensures better crawlability and helps users navigate easily.
Keyword integration: Use your main keywords naturally within content and headings to improve relevance and SEO without overstuffing.

These elements help search engines better understand your content, increasing the likelihood of ranking well in search results. Solid on-page SEO practices set your site up for long-term growth and visibility.

Why Must Your Website Be Mobile Responsive?

With Google’s mobile-first indexing, a mobile-responsive website is no longer optional. Sites that aren’t optimised for mobile can suffer from lower rankings and a poor user experience, which directly affects traffic and conversions.

Mobile usage facts illustrate why responsiveness matters:

Around 60-63% of global web traffic now comes from mobile devices.
Mobile bounce rates are typically higher (58-60%) compared to desktop (48-50%).
Mobile pages load much slower than desktop versions, with an average mobile load time of 8.6 seconds versus 2.5 seconds for desktops.

Examples of poor mobile responsiveness include:

Non-functioning hamburger menus: Menus that don’t open on tap make navigation impossible.
Text too small to read: Small text forces users to zoom in, negatively impacting usability.
Too-close buttons: Buttons that are too close together can result in users tapping the wrong one.

Google uses the Googlebot Smartphone crawler to index mobile sites, meaning poor performance on mobile can lead to lower rankings. A mobile-friendly site ensures that users, regardless of their device, have a seamless experience, keeping them engaged longer and improving SEO outcomes.

What legal and compliance requirements should you meet?

In Australia, websites must comply with laws and accessibility standards. Ignoring these can result in penalties and damage your brand reputation.

Examples of compliance essentials:

Publish a Privacy Policy explaining how personal data is collected, stored, and used (required under the Privacy Act 1988).
Meet accessibility standards (WCAG 2.1) by ensuring colour contrast, text alternatives, and screen-reader compatibility.
Add Terms of Use, and for e-commerce, Returns & Refunds pages to manage liability and protect consumers.

👉 Compliance protects your business, improves inclusivity, and builds user trust.

Why Should You Set Up Analytics and Tracking Before Launch?

Launching your site without tracking tools in place means you're flying blind when it comes to understanding user behaviour and site performance. Setting up analytics tools before launch ensures you can track key metrics from day one and make informed decisions based on real data.

Important tools to set up before launch:

Google Analytics: This tool tracks user behaviour, traffic sources, and conversion data, providing insights into how visitors interact with your site.
Google Search Console: Set up Google Search Console to monitor indexing status, fix errors, and track keyword performance.
Call-tracking software: For businesses that rely on phone leads, call-tracking software attributes calls to specific marketing campaigns.

With these tools in place, you can start collecting data immediately, allowing you to make data-driven decisions that improve your website’s performance over time.

FAQ

What is the most important step in a website launch checklist?
Testing functionality is the most important step. Without ensuring that forms, navigation, and checkout processes work properly, even a well-designed site will fail to meet user expectations.

How can I make my site launch SEO-friendly?
Optimise for speed, follow an on-page SEO checklist, and ensure mobile responsiveness. These steps help build a strong foundation for SEO performance from day one.

Do I need a Privacy Policy on my website?
Yes, if you collect personal data on your website, a Privacy Policy is legally required under Australian law. It provides transparency on how user data is collected, stored, and used.

Should I launch without analytics?
No, setting up Google Analytics and Google Search Console before launch is essential. These tools help you track performance and understand user behaviour from the start.

What legal pages should I include at launch?
At a minimum, your site should include a Privacy Policy, Terms of Use, and, for e-commerce sites, Returns & Refunds pages. These pages ensure legal compliance and protect your business.

Summary

Launching a website involves more than just creating an attractive design; it requires thorough preparation to ensure functionality, performance, SEO, compliance, and analytics are all optimised. Each of these areas plays a critical role in delivering a seamless user experience, improving search engine rankings, and building trust with your audience.

First, testing website functionality is essential to ensure that all key features, such as forms and checkout processes, work as expected. Broken forms or links can frustrate users and drive them away. By thoroughly testing these elements, you can improve user trust and reduce bounce rates.

Website speed optimisation is equally important for both user experience and SEO. Slow-loading sites lead to higher bounce rates and decreased conversions. By optimising images, minifying code, and using caching, you can ensure that your site loads quickly, improving both rankings and user satisfaction.

On-page SEO ensures your site is discoverable by search engines. Optimising titles, meta descriptions, and headings improves your visibility in search results, helping attract the right audience.

Mobile responsiveness is a necessity, as more users access websites from mobile devices. Google’s mobile-first indexing makes it crucial for your site to perform well on mobile to avoid losing search rankings and user engagement.

Legal compliance, including a Privacy Policy and adherence to accessibility standards, protects your business and fosters trust with users. Ensuring these policies are in place helps you meet legal requirements and makes your site more inclusive.

Finally, setting up analytics tools before launch allows you to track user behaviour and site performance from day one. This data helps guide future improvements, ensuring continued success.

In summary, a successful website launch hinges on thorough preparation in functionality, speed, SEO, mobile responsiveness, compliance, and analytics. By addressing these areas, you ensure your site is ready to perform well, attract visitors, and support long-term business growth.

What should be on your website launch checklist?