Launching a brand-new website or design overhaul can seem like quite a daunting task or it can appear extremely simple if you’re unaware of everything that could go wrong.
That is why a Quality Assurance or Launch Checklist is extremely useful.
It’s simply a list of checks and tests that need to be performed before or after the website has been deployed to ensure everything goes smoothly.
Let’s take a look at the checklist we use at White Peak Digital.
Content
- All text is free of spelling errors
- Page and content formatted on all pages
- Placeholder content removed
- All pages have content
- Print stylesheet exists and tested
- Favicon displays correctly (including retina)
- Footer includes copyright statement
- 404 page created
- Privacy Policy included
- Correct author is attributed to posts (as required)
SEO & Analytics
- Page titles are descriptive and SEO friendly
- All page titles are unique
- Meta data included and appropriate
- H1 tags used for page titles with only one per page
- XML sitemap has been generated and added to root of website
- robots.txt is generated and added to root of website
- 301 redirects for existing website are prepared and in place (as required)
- Website can be accessed by search engines (remove noindex and nofollow)
- Google Analytics and relevant analytics / tracking tools installed
Social Media
- Open Graph tags included across website? (including images where possible)
- Social accounts integrated, linking to correct URLs and use API for integrations
Markup
- HTML has passed validation (or known issues noted)
- CSS has passed validation (or known issues noted)
- Site links have been tested and resolve correctly
- JavaScript is error free
Accessibility
- Website meets appropriate level of WCAG compliance
- ARIA Landmark Roles specified
- Images use appropriate ALT text
- Semantic headings and structure used
- Links are clearly recognisable and have :focus state
- Alternatives provided for users with JavaScript disabled
- Associated label for all form controls
- Colour contrast tested
Compatibility
- Displays & functions correctly in IE11 (IE10 and IE9 optional)
- Displays & functions correctly in Microsoft Edge
- Displays & functions correctly in Firefox (Windows)
- Displays & functions correctly in Firefox (Mac)
- Displays & functions correctly in Chrome (Windows)
- Displays & functions correctly in Chrome (Mac)
- Displays & functions correctly in Safari (Mac)
- Displays & functions correctly in Safari (iOS – Mobile)
- Displays & functions correctly in Safari (iOS – iPad)
- Displays & functions correctly in Chrome (iOS – Mobile)
- Displays & functions correctly in Chrome (iOS – iPad)
- Displays & functions correctly in Chrome (Android – Mobile)
- Displays & functions correctly in Chrome (Android – Tablet)
- Displays & functions correctly in stock browser (Android)
- Displays & functions correctly on large resolutions
Functionality
- Forms have been tested and processed correctly
- Required fields have been tested
- Review input validation (min / max lengths and character limits)
- Forms send to the correct recipient
- Forms have confirmation URL or event tracking so submissions can be tracked
- Forms process correctly with JavaScript disabled
- Website search and search results function correctly
Optimisation
- Images have been optimised
- CSS is minified and combined
- JavaScript is minified and combined
- Enable gzip compression
- Ensure only necessary fonts, weights and character sets are installed
- Run Google speed test and optimise accordingly (record results)
- Run Web page test and optimise accordingly (record results)
- Incorporate CDN and caching as required
Security
- Secure areas are locked and not accessible by search engines
- Default CMS login URL is changed
- Default CMS username is changed
- SSL Certificate is requested
Post Launch
- Ensure site is visible to search engines
- SSL certificates successfully installed
- Images, media and links reference live URL
- Webfonts integrated and working correctly on live site
- 301 redirects are in place and working correctly
- Generate a new sitemap.xml and upload to root
- Site added to Google Webmaster tools and sitemap submitted
- Analytics has been setup and integrated into website
That’s it, you’ve made it to the bottom of our Pre & Post Launch Checklist!
If you’re interested in finding out more about Brisbane web design projects then you should check out our post 7 Phases Of A Web Design Project.
If you have any questions about this launch checklist or your new website please feel free to get in touch with us anytime.
To your success,
Jackson