Before the release window
Keep the evidence next to each item too. A checked box without a test is a guess.
- Confirm the page list, canonical URLs, redirects, and navigation with the person who owns the site.
- Review every public claim, price, policy, image right, client name, and contact detail.
- Test forms, booking, payment, email, search, and any connected workflow in the right environment.
- Review mobile layout, keyboard access, zoom, focus, errors, and reduced motion.
- Confirm backups, restore method, credentials, rollback owner, and support contacts.
- Record what must not change, including protected pages or components.
If a required piece is not ready, decide whether the release can exclude it. Do not hide an incomplete form behind a confident CTA.
In the release window
Make the change through the approved process. Track who made it, when, and what version was released. Check that saved source matches the intended copy and configuration. Avoid stacking unrelated last-minute changes into the same release. They make failures harder to diagnose.
After the site is public
Open the live site on desktop and mobile. Follow the main action from landing page to confirmation and internal receipt. Check key URLs, redirects, titles, canonicals, robots directives, images, and visible errors. Confirm analytics events are recorded without sending private form entries into reports. Verify the final version, not only a staging preview.
What would a customer do if the main action failed in the first hour? Make the fallback visible and give one person responsibility for watching it.
Record and follow up.
Log the result of each critical check. If you find a failure, state whether you fixed it, rolled back, or accepted a temporary limitation with an owner and date. Recheck after caches, redirects, and connected systems settle. Schedule a later review for search visibility, performance, and customer feedback. They cannot all be judged at launch minute.
The website audit checklist helps identify broader improvement work. The website care plan checklist helps assign ongoing ownership. If you need release planning and implementation support, read web development.