Going live is the milestone most small businesses are working towards, but it is not the end of the project. A site that goes live without proper checks is one that will quietly lose leads to broken forms, fail to appear in Google, or get compromised by a security gap that should have been closed before the URL went public.
This checklist covers the practical checks that belong in the final week before launch and the first thirty days after it. It is not about perfection: it is about making sure the basics are in place so the site can actually do its job.
Before you go live
Content and contact details
- All placeholder text removed. Every page contains real content, not lorem ipsum or "coming soon" copy.
- Business name, phone number, and email address are correct on the contact page and in the footer.
- If you have a physical address, it matches your Google Business Profile listing exactly.
- Service descriptions are accurate and reflect what you actually offer and at what price point, if you publish pricing.
- Team bios and photos are current, with correct names and titles.
- Legal pages are in place: privacy policy and terms of service, even minimal ones, are required for most businesses collecting contact data.
Mobile and browser checks
- Test the site on a real mobile device, not only a browser dev tools preview. Load the homepage, navigate to a service page, and go to the contact page. Note anything that doesn't work or looks broken.
- Check that buttons are easy to tap without zooming. A 44px minimum tap target is the practical standard.
- Check that the site renders acceptably in at least two major browsers: Chrome and Safari cover the majority of South African users.
- Images load without breaking the layout on narrow screens.
- The navigation is usable on mobile: hamburger menu opens and closes cleanly, and links are easy to reach.
Forms and email routing
This is the most commonly skipped check, and the most consequential. Fill in every contact form on the site and confirm the submission reaches the correct inbox. Do this from an address that is not connected to the site's own domain, so you can confirm the full email journey.
- Contact form submissions arrive in the correct inbox.
- Any auto-reply or confirmation email is sent and looks correct.
- Form validation works: required fields catch empty submissions, and email format is validated.
- If a form confirmation page is shown after submission, it is clear and reassuring.
- If the site uses WhatsApp or a phone link as a contact option, test those on mobile.
Analytics and Search Console
- Google Analytics 4 is installed and tracking. Confirm by visiting the site in one browser while watching the Realtime report in another.
- Google Search Console is set up, the site is verified, and the sitemap URL is submitted.
- If GTM is used, the container is firing correctly and the GA4 tag is triggering on all pages.
- Any conversion events (form submissions, button clicks, phone link clicks) that should be tracked are being recorded correctly.
Metadata and sitemap
- Every page has a unique, descriptive title tag. Avoid titles that are just your business name. Include the service and location where relevant.
- Every page has a unique meta description. This appears in search results and affects click-through rate.
- The sitemap.xml exists, is accessible at /sitemap.xml, and contains all the pages you want indexed.
- Robots.txt is set to allow indexing. Confirm the site was not accidentally left in "no-index" mode from development.
- Check the homepage Open Graph tags so the site looks correct when shared on social media and WhatsApp.
Backups and basic security
- An SSL certificate is installed and active. The site loads at https://, and http:// redirects correctly to https://.
- Backup coverage is in place from day one. Daily backups should be confirmed before launch, not scheduled as something to sort out later.
- For WordPress sites: all plugins and themes are updated to their latest versions. Remove any plugins that are not in active use.
- The admin password on the CMS is not "password", "admin123", or any variation your hosting provider set as default.
The 30-day review
A month after launch is the first point where the site has real data to work from: Analytics showing how visitors actually move through the pages, Search Console showing which queries are surfacing the site, and form submissions showing the quality of leads coming in. This review is not optional if you want the site to improve rather than just sit there.
At 30 days, check the following:
- Traffic sources. Where are visitors arriving from? Organic search, direct, social, referral? This tells you which channels are already working and which need attention.
- Exit pages. Which pages have the highest exit rates? A page where most people leave without taking action is a page that needs review.
- Search queries. Which search terms is Google showing the site for? Are they relevant to what the business sells? Any gaps suggest content or page copy that needs improving.
- Contact form conversions. How many form submissions came in, and what was the quality of those leads? If traffic is arriving but few enquiries are coming in, there is a conversion gap worth diagnosing.
- Search Console errors. Check for any new indexing issues, mobile usability errors, or Core Web Vitals failures that appeared after launch.
If the 30-day review surfaces problems with conversion or content gaps, the next step is usually targeted improvements to copy, CTAs, or page structure — not a full rebuild. See the guide to diagnosing conversion problems for a structured approach.
If the review surfaces SEO gaps or low search visibility, that is the point to consider whether an ongoing SEO plan makes sense. A site that is just launched rarely has enough data before 30 days to commit to a direction with confidence. The SEO/AEO review is designed to start at exactly this point.
Launching a new site soon?
White Cat Studios builds and launches websites for South African businesses with analytics, Search Console, and schema set up as part of the launch, not as an afterthought. Care Essential from R499/mo keeps the site secure and monitored from day one.
See website design packages or ask about care plans for your site.
Common questions about launching a website
What should I check before my website goes live?
The key checks are: all content is real and accurate, contact forms route to the correct inbox, the site works properly on mobile, Google Analytics and Search Console are installed and tracking, and backups are in place from day one. SSL should be active so the site loads at https://. Robots.txt should allow indexing, and every page should have a unique title tag and meta description.
How long should I wait before reviewing site performance?
Thirty days is the standard first review point. Google needs time to crawl and index the site, and Analytics needs time to accumulate enough data to be meaningful. At 30 days you have traffic sources, exit pages, Search Console queries, and form conversion data — enough to make useful decisions about what to improve.
Do I need Google Analytics and Search Console straight away?
Yes, from day one. Analytics and Search Console should be installed before the site goes public so data collection starts from the first visitor. Trying to understand site performance without historical data is significantly harder. The 30-day review is only useful if tracking has been running since launch day.
What is a care plan and do I need one from launch?
A care plan covers managed hosting, scheduled backups, platform and plugin updates, and basic support for small fixes or questions. The risk of something going wrong is not lower just because the site is new — in some cases it is higher, while DNS propagates and integrations are freshly configured. Care Essential at R499/mo covers the basics from day one. Care Pro at R1,250/mo adds priority support and broader maintenance for sites that actively support enquiries or ecommerce.