Before you start
You need the domain, one person who can approve access, and the name of whoever built the site. You do not need write access on the first visit.
The runbook
1. add the domain and let the crawl finish
2. read the detection result: what the site is built on
3. ask for Search Console access, read-only, and connect it
4. ask for Analytics only if a conversion question exists
5. submit one real form response and find where it is stored
6. record the baseline before you change anything
7. write the first note: what was found, missing, and next
A filled onboarding
Foxglove Bakery, onboarded 2026-09-24, 65 minutes.
client: Foxglove Bakery
domain: foxglovebakery.example
built with: static build, no repository given yet
approver: Sam, owner
connections
- crawl done, 18 pages, 2 skipped behind a redirect
- search console connected 09:40, domain property, read-only
- analytics not requested: no conversion question yet
- forms one endpoint, tested, response stored at 09:52
missing
- analytics access, if a conversion question appears
- repository access, needed before any code change
baseline, recorded before any change
pages 18 indexable
impressions 412, last 28 days
clicks 9
click rate 2.18%
known issues 3: two missing descriptions, one thin archive
first refresh 2026-10-08, 14 day cycle
Why the baseline matters
It is the only way a later claim can be honest. Without one, every change becomes an argument about what the site used to look like.
Acceptance: onboarding is complete when
- the crawl finished, and skipped pages are named
- at least one measurement source is connected
- a test form response is stored, and you know where
- the baseline is written down with dates
- the missing access has a named owner
- the first refresh date is agreed
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The crawl is far short of the sitemap | Links are client-rendered | Render the crawl, or ask for a sitemap |
| Search Console access stalls | The client’s Google account is unclear | Ask for one named person, not “the team” |
| The form posts nowhere readable | Email-only form | Fix it before promising anything |
| Two people “own” the site | No approver was named | Name one, in writing |
| The onboarding takes a week | Access is spread across people | Book one call, and get all of it at once |
Limits
One visit will not find everything, and a crawl sees only public pages.
An onboarding with two missing sources is still complete, as long as both are named with an owner.