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Website launch day: what you check and do before, on and after

A launch is the one moment when a small oversight becomes public. Nothing goes live without your approval on a preview link, so you hold the final say, and this list tells you what to look at before you give it. It also covers what to do on the day and in the two weeks after, when the real-world problems tend to appear.

8 min read · Updated 2026-10-17

When to use this

Use it from about a week before a new website, redesign or domain move goes live, and keep it open through the first two weeks afterward.

A week before: approvals and content

  • Open the preview link your project manager sent and read every page, out loud if you can, from top to bottom.Reading aloud catches wrong names, old phone numbers and sentences that sound off. See approve work before launch.
  • Check every fact against its source: prices, addresses, opening hours, team names, certifications, service areas.
  • Click every button, menu item and link on the preview and note any that lead nowhere.
  • Send all feedback in one consolidated message, listing page, what is wrong and what it should say. See how to give feedback.One organized round is much faster to apply and check than ten separate ones.
  • Confirm in writing to your project manager that you approve launch, and name the date you want.Work is checked by a second person before you see it, but the final approval is yours and nothing goes live without it.
  • Confirm that any photos of people and any client logos are approved for use.

A week before: forms, email and tracking

  • Submit every form on the preview and confirm the right person gets the message.Forms are the most common thing to break during a launch, and the cost is lost enquiries. See change a contact form.
  • Check that the phone number on the site is the one that should ring, and that it is tappable on a phone.
  • If your email runs on the same domain, ask your project manager whether the move touches email records, and read email and your domain.Changing domain settings carelessly can interrupt email, so we confirm the email records first.
  • Agree which actions should count as conversions: form sent, call tapped, booking made. See what counts as a conversion.
  • Ask for your analytics and Google Search Console access to be confirmed, and check you can open both.

A week before: redirects and search

  • Ask for the list of old addresses and where each will point, and look at it with your own eyes.Old pages that earn visits and links need a redirect, or that traffic and ranking value is lost. See redirects after a redesign.
  • Check that your best-known old pages, such as services, location pages and top blog posts, are on the list.
  • Check that the preview site is blocked from Google, and ask who will remove that block at launch.A site left set to hide from search after launch is a classic and costly mistake. Learn more in why isn't my page on Google.
  • Review titles and descriptions on your five most important pages. See titles and descriptions.

The day before

  • Take screenshots of your current site and your Google Business Profile, as a record of the starting point.
  • Ask for a backup of the current live site to be confirmed, and note the time.
  • Tell your team the launch window so nobody edits the old site or changes content in the meantime.
  • Confirm who is reachable on launch day and how, and how to send a ticket through the support form.
  • Hold announcements until the site is confirmed live. Draft them now and send nothing yet.If the launch slips by a day, nobody sees a half-live site or a broken link in an email.

On launch day: verify it is live and correct

  • Open your domain in a private window on your phone and on your computer, and confirm the new site appears.Domain changes spread across the internet at different speeds, so some people can see the old site for a while. See what is DNS.
  • Check the padlock on the homepage and an inner page, and confirm there are no browser warnings.
  • Type the old address of three important pages and confirm each lands on the right new page, not the homepage or an error.
  • Submit each form once more on the live site, and confirm each arrives.
  • Open the GA4 Realtime report while you browse the live site and confirm you appear.It is the quickest proof that tracking survived the move. It can lag a few minutes. See GA4 basics.
  • Send any problem as one ticket with screenshots, the page address and the time. See before you send a ticket.

On launch day: tell people

  • Update your email signature, social profiles and Google Business Profile website link if the address changed. See update your business details everywhere.
  • Send your announcement email or post only after the live checks above pass.
  • Tell your staff what changed, so they can answer customer questions and know where to send problems.
  • Update any paid ad destinations, QR codes and printed materials that point to old addresses.A QR code on a printed flyer cannot be corrected later, so decide early whether the old address will be redirected.

In the two weeks after launch

  • Check your enquiries daily for the first week and compare the volume with a normal week.Real visitors find problems that testing misses. If enquiries drop sharply, check the forms first.
  • Open Google Search Console and look at the Page indexing report for new errors. See Search Console basics.
  • Expect some movement in rankings while Google processes the change, and do not make panic edits. See how long does SEO take.
  • Gather a list of small fixes from your team and customers and send them in one batch.
  • Re-read the key pages at the end of week two with fresh eyes, and review the first numbers in your monthly report.

Questions people ask

Who decides when my website goes live?

You do. Nothing goes live without your approval on a preview link, and the work is checked by a second person on our team before you see it. Give your approval in writing to your project manager and name the date you want. If anything on the preview is unclear, ask before you approve.

Why can I still see my old website after launch?

Your browser, your internet provider or the domain system may still hold the old version for a while. Open the site in a private window or on mobile data to see the current one. If the old site is still showing after a full day, send us a ticket with the address and what you see.

Will my Google rankings drop when the new site launches?

Some movement is normal after a redesign, and nobody can promise your rankings will hold. The best protection is a complete redirect list from old addresses to new ones, plus unchanged titles on pages that already perform. Read redirects after a redesign.

Should I announce the launch before or after it goes live?

After. Draft the announcement beforehand, but send it only when you have confirmed the live site loads, the forms work and the old addresses redirect. That way nobody lands on a broken page from your email, and a one-day delay costs you nothing.

What do I do if something breaks on launch day?

Take a screenshot with the address bar visible, note the time, and send one ticket through the support form with the page address and what you expected. Do not send passwords. Our before you send a ticket list covers exactly what to include.

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