A Website Launch Checklist for Small Businesses and Ministries

After weeks or months of work, your new website is almost ready. It is tempting to flip the switch and celebrate. But a few overlooked details, like a contact form that sends to nobody or an old page that now leads nowhere, can quietly undo a lot of that effort.

This checklist is organized by timing. Work through it with at least one other person, since fresh eyes catch what familiar ones miss.

One to two weeks before launch: content and function

• Proofread every page, including headings, buttons and footers.
• Confirm contact details match everywhere: address, hours, email and phone on the site, in your search listings and on social profiles.
• Test every form. Submit each one and confirm the message arrives where it should, that the person who submitted it gets a confirmation if intended, and that spam protection is on.
• Test payment, donation and registration flows in a test mode first, then with one small real transaction if appropriate.
• Click every link, including navigation, footer links and buttons.
• Check legal and policy pages, such as your privacy policy and any terms that apply.
• Confirm image rights. Make sure you have permission to use every photo and graphic.

Mobile and accessibility

• Test on real phones of different sizes. Can you read text without zooming? Are buttons easy to tap?
• Add meaningful alt text to informative images.
• Use headings in order, so the page structure makes sense to screen readers.
• Check color contrast for text and buttons.
• Try navigating with only a keyboard, using Tab to move through links and forms.
• Add captions to videos.

Search engines and redirects

If you are replacing an existing website, this section protects the search visibility and links you have built over the years.

• List the important pages on the old site, especially ones that get visitors from search or are linked from elsewhere.
• Set up permanent (301) redirects from each old address to the best matching new page. A changed page address without a redirect leads people to an error page.
• Write a unique title and description for each important page.
• Remove any "discourage search engines" or noindex setting left on from development. This is one of the most common launch mistakes and can hide your whole site from search.
• Make sure a sitemap exists, which most platforms generate automatically.

Technical checks

• HTTPS works everywhere, and http addresses redirect to https. Our guide to HTTPS and SSL certificates explains what to look for.
• Run a speed test on key pages and fix major issues. Our checklist for speeding up a slow website can help.
• Backups are set up and running, with a copy stored away from your host. See our guide to backing up a website.
• Analytics are installed, configured respectfully and in line with your privacy policy and any consent requirements.
• A helpful 404 page exists, pointing visitors to your main sections or search.
• Admin accounts are individual, with strong passwords and two-factor authentication.

Prepare a rollback plan

Things occasionally go wrong at launch even with careful preparation. Decide in advance what you will do if the new site has a serious problem:

• Keep the old site and its hosting available for at least a few weeks.
• Write down the exact DNS settings for the old site so you can switch back quickly.
• Take a full backup of the new site just before launch.
• Agree who has authority to decide to roll back, and how you will tell your team.

Having this plan written down makes launch day calmer, because the worst case already has an answer.

Launch day

• Plan the timing for a quieter day, not right before a big event or a holiday weekend.
• Change DNS carefully if you are moving to a new host. Changes can take time to reach everyone, so keep the old site available until the new one is confirmed working.
• Protect your email. If your domain's email records are managed in the same place as your website records, make sure the email settings are carried over exactly. A launch that breaks email is a very bad day.
• Test from different devices and networks, including a phone on mobile data.
• Submit a test form one more time on the live site.

The first week after launch

• Submit your sitemap to Google Search Console and check for crawl errors.
• Watch for error pages and add redirects for old links people still use.
• Ask a few people outside your team to complete common tasks, like finding service times or making a donation, and listen to where they struggle.
• Update links in your email signatures, social profiles and printed materials.
• Schedule ongoing care. Our website maintenance plan breaks it into simple routines.

A careful launch respects your visitors' time and protects the trust you have built. Celebrate, then keep listening.