Before You Launch a Website: 10 Things to Check Beyond Design

A website can look finished and still be incomplete.

The design is signed off, the pages are built, and everything looks right in the preview. Then the site goes live — and within a week someone notices that the contact form was never tested, the phone number on the contact page belongs to an old office, or the booking link points at a page that no longer exists.

None of those problems show up in a design review, because they are not design problems. They are launch problems.

Here are ten checks worth working through before a new website goes live, or before a redesign replaces the existing one. Each one takes minutes, and each one is far cheaper to fix now than after customers have found it.

1. Contact forms work correctly

Why it matters: Your enquiry form is often the only route a serious customer has to reach you.

How to check: Send a genuine test enquiry using a real email address, then confirm it arrives — and check the spam folder. Look at what the visitor sees afterwards: a clear confirmation, an error message, or nothing at all. If your site promises a confirmation email, make sure it actually arrives.

If something is wrong: Test again from a different device and browser before assuming the form itself is broken. If it still fails, treat it as the highest-priority item on this list.

2. Phone numbers, email addresses and important links work

Why it matters: A number that does not dial, or an email address with a typo, silently loses customers who were ready to get in touch.

How to check: Tap every phone number on your phone. Click every email link and check the address that opens. Follow booking links, messaging links, map links and payment links all the way to the end.

If something is wrong: Correct the underlying detail and test again on a phone, where these links matter most.

3. Navigation and page links are correct

Why it matters: Broken links send people away, and search engines notice them too.

How to check: Walk through the main menu on every type of page. Follow the footer links, the buttons in the middle of pages, and any external link. Look for links that still point to an old address, an old service name, or a placeholder.

If something is wrong: Correct the destination rather than hiding the link. If people expect a page that no longer exists, it is worth rebuilding.

4. Key pages are usable on mobile

Why it matters: More people will reach your website on a phone than on a desktop, and small screens expose problems that are invisible elsewhere.

How to check: On your own phone, open the homepage, one service page and the contact page. Look for text that needs zooming, menus that are hard to open, buttons too close together, images that push content down, and forms that are awkward to complete.

If something is wrong: Note the specifics. These are usually small, local fixes rather than a redesign.

5. Pages load reasonably well

Why it matters: People do not wait long for a page to become useful, especially on mobile data.

How to check: Load the main pages on a phone using mobile data rather than office wi-fi. Watch how long it takes before you can read something meaningful. Look for images far larger than they need to be, and content that appears only after everything else has loaded.

If something is wrong: Start with the heaviest images and the elements that block the page. Compression and resizing usually solve most of it.

6. Basic search-engine information is in place

Why it matters: This is how search engines understand and describe your pages.

How to check: Look at the browser tab — does each page have its own descriptive title? Is there a sensible description for each important page? Does every page have one clear main heading? Check that valuable pages are not accidentally set to be hidden from search, and that a sitemap exists and includes the pages you want found.

If something is wrong: Titles and descriptions do not need to be clever, only accurate and specific to each page.

7. Images and basic accessibility have been checked

Why it matters: Some visitors use screen readers, some need larger text, and many read in bright sunlight.

How to check: Add descriptive alternative text to images that carry meaning, and leave decorative images empty. Check that text is readable against its background. Check that buttons and links can be reached and used with a keyboard, and that form fields are labelled.

If something is wrong: Fix what you can and be honest about the rest. A basic check improves a site; it does not make it fully accessible in the formal sense, and a business with legal or compliance obligations may need specialist help.

8. Business information and content are accurate

Why it matters: Visitors act on what your website says, and so do search engines.

How to check: Read the whole site as a customer. Verify contact details, opening hours, service areas, service names, displayed pricing, and anything you have promised. Read it aloud to catch awkward sentences, and check spelling and grammar across every page.

If something is wrong: Correct it before launch. Content errors are the easiest problems to fix and the most embarrassing to leave.

9. Analytics and important actions are measurable

Why it matters: Without measurement you will not know whether the new site is working.

How to check: Confirm that analytics is installed and recording visits. Then check that the things that matter are counted — a completed enquiry, a booking, a phone tap — as events rather than only page views.

If something is wrong: Start with the one action that matters most. More tracking is not the goal; measuring the right thing is.

10. The launch itself has been prepared

Why it matters: For a redesign or a migration, the launch is where avoidable damage happens.

How to check: If addresses are changing, confirm there are redirects from the old pages to their new equivalents. Open the site in the browsers your customers actually use. If your platform offers backups or recovery options, check they are in place, and confirm that the version you are looking at is the version being published.

If something is wrong: Fix redirects first — they protect the search visibility you already have.

A pre-launch checklist to work through

• A test enquiry was submitted and reached its destination
• Phone, email, booking and messaging links all work on a phone
• Menu and footer links point to the right pages
• Homepage, a service page and the contact page were checked on mobile
• Main pages load acceptably on mobile data
• Every important page has its own title, description and main heading
• Informative images have alternative text and text is readable
• Contact details, services and promises are accurate
• Analytics records visits and your most important action
• Redirects, backups and the published version have been confirmed

Some of these depend on the type of website you run. A five-page brochure site does not face the same redirect questions as a shop with hundreds of products, and not every site needs backups or event tracking.

Just as importantly, this list is about readiness, not certification. It is not a substitute for specialist security testing, accessibility auditing or performance engineering where those are genuinely needed — but it will catch the problems that most often reach customers unnoticed.

The takeaway

The last ten per cent of a website project is where the visible work slows down and the invisible work matters most. Testing forms, checking links, reading the site as a customer and preparing the launch properly rarely feels like progress. It is the difference between a website that is finished and a website that works.

If you are close to launching and would like another pair of eyes on the details, we are happy to help. You can also see how we handle this stage in our case studies.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a website launch check take?

Most of it can be done in an afternoon. The ten checks here are deliberately short, and the point is simply that they happen before customers find the problems rather than after.

What should I test first?

Contact forms. If an enquiry cannot reach you, little else on the list matters much. Then test the phone number and the other contact links, because they are the next most likely route to a lost customer.

Does a website need to be perfect before launch?

No. A website that answers customers honestly and works reliably is worth far more than one that waits for perfection. Fix what would cost you a customer, launch, and keep improving from there.