Website Launch Checklist for Small Businesses: Before, On and After Launch Day

How to use this checklist

The checklist runs in six stages, from content to the first month after launch. Most items take minutes, but a few, like rewriting AI-drafted text or gathering real photos, take longer than expected. Start about two weeks before your target date.

It works whatever you build with: Wix, Squarespace, Framer, WordPress or your web host's AI builder. Where a step depends on your platform, look for the matching setting in its help center.

1. Content: make every page earn its place

Give each page one job

For each page, write down the one thing a visitor should do next: call, book, buy, read a case study. If you can't name it, the page probably belongs inside another one.

Remove the leftovers

• Placeholder text such as "Lorem ipsum", "Your headline here" or "Add a description".
• Demo images, sample blog posts and dummy products from the template.
• Pages you started and abandoned. Check the full page list, not just the menu.

Fact-check anything an AI drafted

AI builders are good at structure and unreliable on facts about your business. They will happily invent years of experience, client numbers or glowing reviews. Google's guidance on generative AI content calls it critical to fact-check and review AI-generated content before publishing, and that includes titles, meta descriptions and image alt text, not only the body copy. Delete any sentence you can't stand behind. If you're still drafting, these AI prompts for website copy are designed to flag missing facts instead of inventing them.

Check the details customers act on

• Phone number, email and address are identical on every page and in the footer.
• Opening hours, prices and service areas are current.
• Every testimonial is real, and you have permission to use it.

2. Technical checks: the week before launch

• Domain: your domain is connected, and both the www and non-www versions end up at the same address.
• HTTPS: the padlock shows in the browser, and typing http:// takes you to the https:// version.
• Forms: send a real test through every form and booking link, from a phone and from a computer. Confirm the message arrives, isn't in spam, and that the visitor sees a confirmation.
• Links and buttons: click every one, including the footer and social icons.
• 404 page: type a nonsense address on your domain and check the error page helps people find their way back.
• Mobile: read every page on an actual phone. The menu opens, buttons are easy to tap, phone numbers are tappable.
• Images and speed: compress large photos before uploading, then run your homepage through a speed test such as PageSpeed Insights and fix the obvious issues it flags.
• Favicon and sharing image: add an icon for browser tabs and an image for link previews. Paste your link into a messaging app to see what people will see.
• Privacy and cookies: add a privacy policy, plus a cookie notice if you use tracking. Requirements depend on where you and your visitors are, so check the rules that apply to you.
• Analytics: install your builder's statistics, Google Analytics or a privacy-friendly alternative, and check that it records your own visit.
• Search visibility: many platforms let you hide a site from search engines or put it behind a password while you build. Make sure that is switched off for launch.

Replacing an old website?

List the addresses of your old pages, especially those that get visits or are linked from elsewhere, and set up permanent (301) redirects to the matching new pages. Without them, anyone following an old link or bookmark lands on an error page.

3. SEO basics to finish before you publish

• A unique, descriptive title and meta description for every page.
• One clear main heading per page, with H2 sections underneath.
• Short, readable URLs: /services/kitchen-design, not /page-7.
• Alt text on images that carry meaning.
• A sitemap. Google notes that platforms such as WordPress and Wix already make one available to search engines, so check your platform before building your own.

The small business SEO checklist covers each of these in more depth.

4. Ownership and access

This stage is easy to skip, and it's the one that hurts most when something goes wrong a year later.

• Note where the domain is registered, under whose name and email, and when it renews. Turn on auto-renew.
• Make sure the builder or hosting account belongs to the business owner, not to a freelancer.
• Keep logins in a password manager and switch on two-factor authentication wherever it's offered.
• Take a first backup or export and store it outside the platform.

If you'd rather tick boxes in Notion than keep a document, the AI Website Launch & Care Kit turns this checklist into 41 steps across six phases, from planning to ongoing care, with progress shown per phase.

5. Launch day

1. Publish, then open the live site in a private browser window rather than the editor preview.
2. Send one more test through your main form on the live domain. It takes two minutes and catches surprises.
3. Check the site on your phone using mobile data, not your office Wi-Fi.
4. Submit your sitemap in Google Search Console's Sitemaps report. Google describes a sitemap as a hint that doesn't guarantee crawling, but it helps Google discover your pages, and Search Console will show you any processing errors.
5. Send the link to ten people and ask each of them one specific question, such as "What do you think I do?" or "Was anything confusing?"

6. The first 30 days

• Week 1: fix everything people report, and confirm enquiries are reaching you.
• Weeks 2 to 4: search site:yourdomain.com on Google to see whether your pages are indexed. Google says some changes take effect in a few hours and others take several months, and suggests waiting a few weeks before judging results, so don't panic if you don't appear straight away.
• End of month 1: look at your analytics: which pages people visit, and which ones lead to contact. Then set up a simple website maintenance checklist so the site stays in shape.

The one-page version

Stage	Check	Done when
Content	Placeholder text removed	No "lorem", "your headline" or demo content anywhere
Content	AI text fact-checked	Every claim is true and you can prove it
Technical	Forms tested	Test message received from phone and desktop
Technical	HTTPS	Padlock shows and http redirects to https
Technical	Mobile	Every page read on a real phone
SEO	Titles and descriptions	Unique on every page
SEO	Sitemap	Submitted in Search Console
Ownership	Domain	Auto-renew on, registered to the owner
Launch	Feedback	Ten people asked one question each

Turn the checklist into a system

If you want it ready to use, the AI Website Launch & Care Kit for Notion ($17) includes these launch steps, a library of AI prompts, a page tracker that checks title and description lengths automatically, and a maintenance schedule that works out the next due dates for you. It works on Notion's free plan and with any website builder.

Facts checked on 2 November 2026 against Google Search Central documentation (see sources).