How is the launch readiness score calculated?

Each item has a weight. Checked items add to your score; skipped optional groups (such as ecommerce) are excluded. The result is a 0–100 score, with critical gaps listed first.

Do I need a perfect 100 before launch?

No. Ship when the critical items are honest. The “fix first” list is there so you do not polish alt text while checkout or HTTPS is still open.

Can SquartUp run a full launch audit?

Yes. This checklist is a self-serve starting point. A full audit covers technical SEO, performance, accessibility, analytics, and the conversion path — then we help you fix what matters.

Website Launch Checklist | SEO, Performance & Go-Live

01

SEO basics

Search engines need crawlable pages, unique titles, and a clear heading structure.

Unique title and meta description on every indexable page Critical Titles should describe the page, not repeat a brand-only string.
One clear H1 that matches the page intent Critical Visitors and crawlers should understand the topic immediately.
Canonical URLs that ignore tracking query strings Critical Prevents duplicate-content dilution from UTM links.
robots.txt allows important pages and points to a sitemap Critical Block admin, checkout, and account URLs — not CSS, JS, or images.
XML sitemap submitted in Search Console Include published pages only; skip noindex and thank-you URLs.
Descriptive alt text on meaningful images Skip empty decorative images; describe the useful ones.
Open Graph and social share tags Title, description, and a 1200×630 image keep shares on-brand.

02

Performance

Slow pages lose both rankings and conversions, especially on mobile networks.

Largest Contentful Paint under 2.5 seconds on mobile Critical Optimize the hero image, fonts, and render-blocking CSS.
Compressed images in modern formats Use WebP or AVIF, sized to the layout, with lazy-loading below the fold.
Minified, cached CSS and JavaScript Versioned assets and a CDN cache policy prevent stale or oversized files.
Fonts load without a jarring layout shift Preload the primary face and use font-display: swap.
Mobile viewport, tap targets, and readable type Critical Check the real device width, not only a resized desktop window.

03

Analytics

If you cannot measure the funnel, you cannot improve it after launch.

Analytics or tag manager installed on all public pages Critical Exclude admin and staging, or you will pollute the data.
Key conversion events are tracked Forms, checkout steps, demo requests, or newsletter signup.
Google Search Console (or equivalent) verified Catch coverage errors before they become traffic losses.
404 and broken-link monitoring Log not-found URLs and fix high-traffic misses.

04

Legal & privacy

Trust and compliance belong in the launch plan, not a week after traffic arrives.

Privacy policy covering actual data you collect Critical Forms, analytics, cookies, and processors should be named.
Cookie / tracking consent where required Critical EU visitors typically need a choice before non-essential tags fire.
Terms of use or customer terms Especially important for SaaS, membership, and ecommerce.
Company identity and contact details are easy to find Name, location, and a real email or phone build trust.

05

Ecommerce & checkout

Skip this group if you are not selling or taking payments.

HTTPS on every checkout and account page Critical Mixed content or an insecure thank-you page will cost trust.
Low-friction checkout (guest checkout or short account flow) Every extra field is a drop-off risk.
Clear payment and validation error states Failed cards and missing fields should explain the next step.
Order confirmation emails send reliably Test spam folders and the from-address reputation.
Product structured data where relevant Price, availability, and name help search listings.

06

Hosting & CDN

Infrastructure should be boring on launch day: encrypted, cached, and recoverable.

HTTPS site-wide with a valid certificate Critical Redirect HTTP to HTTPS and avoid mixed-content warnings.
CDN (or equivalent edge cache) for static assets Images, CSS, and JS should be served close to visitors.
Automated backups you have tested restoring Critical A backup that has never been restored is only a hope.
Staging environment for last-minute fixes Never test payment or content experiments only in production.

07

Monitoring

Launch is when traffic, bots, and real users start finding the holes.

Uptime monitoring with an on-call path Critical Someone should know if the site is down at 02:00.
Application error tracking Capture 500s and client exceptions, not only server logs.
Alerts for form or checkout failures Silent form failures are expensive and easy to miss.

Know what to fix before you launch.

Critical gaps outrank nice-to-haves