The failures are boring
An agent-built site rarely fails because the code is exotic. It fails in the same places every other site fails, one week later.
The classes, with a detector
| Class | Detector |
|---|---|
| Metadata written once | Every page has a unique title and a written description |
| Sitemap lists a host you no longer serve | Fetch the sitemap, open five URLs |
| Canonical points at a preview host | Read the canonical on three pages |
| Forms post nowhere readable | Submit one response and find where it landed |
| Analytics installed twice | Count the tag in one built HTML file |
| Images never resized | Open the home page on a phone, slowly |
| A page that only works with JavaScript | Read the page source, not the render |
A filled first month
Meridian Landscaping, launched 2026-09-18, checked on 2026-10-16.
1. metadata 61 pages, 4 with the same description from the template
fix: write four descriptions
2. sitemap 131 urls, all on the live host
nothing to fix
3. canonical three pages checked, all on the live host
nothing to fix
4. forms one test response stored, receipt recorded
nothing to fix
5. analytics tag counted once in the built html
nothing to fix
6. images home page 2.1s on a slow profile, one image 1.8MB
fix: resize, then re-measure
7. javascript every page renders with javascript disabled
nothing to fix
total: three fixes, all under an hour
Why they cluster in week one
Launch day proves the site renders. It does not prove anything downstream, because nothing downstream has run yet.
Impressions, enquiries and crawls all start after launch. So failures in those paths appear in the first month, not before.
Acceptance: the check is done when
- every class has a recorded result, including the passing ones
- each failure has a fix and an owner
- the fixes are re-checked after they ship
- the date of the check is recorded
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Every page has the same description | The template hardcodes it | Fix the template, then re-check |
| The sitemap points at a preview host | The build used an environment value | Set the production origin |
| Two tags on one page | A layout tag and a plugin tag | Remove one, then count again |
| A form posts nowhere | It was built for email only | Move to an endpoint that stores first |
| The site is slow on a phone | Full-size images | Resize, then re-measure |
Limits
These are the classes seen on sites this team operates. Your site may fail somewhere else, and the detectors still find it.
No detector replaces a backup you have restored once.