Launch day is a state change
Before launch, every mistake is fixable in private. After launch, each one has a URL, and some of them get indexed.
The list, in launch order
before the dns change
1. the production build ran from the commit you intend to ship
2. one canonical host answers, the other redirects
3. the sitemap lists the pages you expect, and no staging urls
4. an error page returns the right status
5. the certificate covers every host you will serve
on launch day
6. dns points at the host, apex and www
7. home page, one service page and one article open on a phone
8. a form submits, and the response is stored
9. the notification arrives, from an authenticated domain
10. the analytics tag fires exactly once
11. the search property is verified
12. the sitemap is submitted
13. robots.txt is served at the root, with the sitemap line
14. no staging host is publicly resolvable
within the first week
15. confirm impressions are arriving before judging pages
16. open the site on the slowest connection you can find
17. submit a second test form and read the stored response
18. write the handover note
A completed run
Meridian Landscaping, launched 2026-09-18.
1 to 5 passed before the dns change, 09:00
6 dns changed at 09:35, both hosts resolving by 10:05
7 three pages opened on a phone, one image fixed
8 test submission stored, receipt id recorded
9 notification arrived in 40 seconds
10 tag counted once in the built html
11 to 14 all passed. the staging host was blocked at 10:20
week one
15 impressions present by day 3, low as expected
16 home page 2.1s on a 3G profile, acceptable for now
17 second test response stored
18 handover note written, accounts listed
two things found and fixed on the day
- the contact page had two h1 elements from the template
- the footer still carried the old phone number
Acceptance: the launch is done when
- every item is marked passed, or converted to a task with an owner
- a real form submission is stored, not just sent
- one canonical host answers, and the other redirects
- no staging host resolves publicly
- the property and the sitemap are both live
- the handover note names every account and its owner
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Both hosts serve the site | No redirect rule | Add it at the host, then recheck |
| Form mail never arrives | The domain has no authentication | Fix the sending records before blaming the form |
| Two tags on one page | The layout and a plugin both inject one | Count the tag in the built html |
| Staging pages in search | The preview host is reachable | Block it, then request removal |
| Impressions, then nothing for a week | Normal for a new site | Read pages, not totals |
Limits
This assumes a static or server-rendered site with a repository. A site with a database needs its backup and restore tested separately.
A launch is not the end of the work. The first refresh is the beginning.