You have spent weeks - maybe months - building your website. The design looks great, the copy is written, and you are ready to show the world. But before you flip the switch, run through this checklist. Fixing problems before launch is far easier than scrambling to correct them after customers have already seen them.
Content and Pages
All essential pages are complete. At minimum: Home, About, Services or Products, Contact. If you sell anything, you also need a dedicated page for each core offering.
Your contact information is correct. Phone number, email address, physical address if applicable. Click every link. Dial the number if it is listed.
Every link works. Broken internal links damage credibility and hurt SEO. Use a free tool like Broken Link Checker or the Screaming Frog free tier to crawl your site before launch.
Images have descriptive alt text. This matters for accessibility and for search engines. Every meaningful image should have a short description of what it shows.
You have a custom 404 page. When visitors land on a page that does not exist, a helpful 404 page with a search bar or navigation links keeps them on your site instead of bouncing.
All placeholder content is removed. Search for "Lorem ipsum," "TBD," "YOUR NAME HERE," and similar placeholder text. These are embarrassing to leave in.
Technical
SSL is active. Your site must load over HTTPS, not HTTP. In cPanel, confirm AutoSSL has issued a certificate. In your browser, look for the padlock icon. If you see a security warning, resolve it before launch.
The site is mobile-responsive. Test on an actual phone, not just a resized browser window. Use Google's Mobile-Friendly Test tool for an objective assessment.
Page speed is acceptable. Run your homepage through GTmetrix or Google PageSpeed Insights. You do not need a perfect score, but aim for a load time under three seconds on a standard connection.
Forms work end to end. Submit every form on your site and confirm the notification email arrives. Check your spam folder too.
Google Analytics or another analytics tool is installed. You want to understand your traffic from day one.
SEO
Every page has a unique title tag. The title tag appears in browser tabs and search results. It should describe the specific page content and include a relevant keyword where natural.
Every page has a meta description. This is the two-sentence summary that appears under your link in Google. Write something that encourages clicks.
Your site has been submitted to Google Search Console. Create a free account at search.google.com/search-console, verify ownership, and submit your sitemap so Google starts crawling your pages.
Your sitemap is generated and accessible. WordPress sites with Yoast SEO or Rank Math generate sitemaps automatically at yoursite.ca/sitemap.xml. Confirm yours exists.
You are not accidentally blocking search engines. In WordPress, go to Settings > Reading and make sure "Discourage search engines from indexing this site" is unchecked. This setting is often left on during development.
Security
Automated backups are configured. Your hosting provider may include daily backups, but you should also have a backup plugin (like UpdraftPlus) sending copies to an external location such as Google Drive.
Your admin password is strong and unique. Use a passphrase or a password manager-generated password of at least 20 characters. Do not use the same password you use anywhere else.
Two-factor authentication is enabled. For WordPress, plugins like WP 2FA or Google Authenticator add this layer in minutes.
Your WordPress username is not "admin." If it is, create a new administrator account with a different username and delete the default.
Legal
You have a privacy policy. Any Canadian website that collects personal information - including through contact forms or analytics cookies - needs a privacy policy. Free generators exist, but a lawyer can tailor one to your situation.
Email signup forms include consent language. Under Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), you need explicit consent before sending commercial email. Your signup form should clearly state what subscribers are agreeing to receive.
Terms and conditions are in place if you sell anything. If you accept payments, define your refund policy, shipping terms, and any limitations of liability.
Once every item on this list is checked, you are ready. Publish with confidence.
