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A website template is ready to ship only when its configured production version—not just its preview—has passed checks for real visitor journeys, accessibility, indexing, privacy, security, and recovery. Use the checklist below as a release control: record what you tested, where you tested it, and what remains unchecked. It reduces avoidable failures; it does not guarantee legal compliance, security, accessibility conformance, search rankings, or uptime.
1. Define what this release is supposed to support
Set the boundaries before testing so a pass has a clear meaning. Record the production URL, pages included, expected visitor actions, supported browsers and devices, and any known exclusions. Assign a release owner and identify who handles failures after launch.
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- List critical actions such as navigation, form submission, sign-in, booking, checkout, search, and downloads, where those features are present.
- Mark each check as pass, fail, or not checked. Include the environment, evidence, and responsible person; an unchecked item is not a pass.
- If the template is a starting point rather than a finished site, state what the site owner must provide, such as domain configuration, final content, privacy disclosures, and form destinations.
2. Verify the configured production site
Test the actual production hostname and intended release. Staging may not use the same URLs, assets, environment settings, redirects, or third-party services.
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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →- Confirm the preferred canonical URL and that HTTP requests reach the intended HTTPS version. Check alternate hostnames if the site is configured to use them. The Deploy Checklist includes canonical production URL and HTTPS redirect checks.
- Check that production settings are present and that development credentials, debug output, sample data, and placeholder integrations are not exposed. Review the relevant platform or deployment configuration as well as the rendered pages.
- Search source and visible pages for localhost addresses, staging or preview hostnames, test content, placeholder text, empty links, broken images, and unfinished controls.
- Open representative page types on the production host. Check that the expected release appears and that its navigation, assets, and error pages load.
3. Test the journeys visitors actually need
A homepage rendering correctly does not prove that the site works. On desktop and mobile, complete each critical action from start to finish, including its destination or confirmation.
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- Navigate through the main menus and key internal links. Follow external links, redirects, media, and embeds that the site depends on.
- Submit forms with valid, invalid, empty, and boundary-case input. Verify that the information reaches the intended destination and that both success and failure states are understandable.
- Where applicable, complete sign-in, booking, purchase, search, and download flows. Check that each successful action ends at the intended page or result.
- Trigger an error or invalid state where practical. Confirm the page explains what happened and how a visitor can proceed, rather than exposing technical details.
- Repeat the critical journeys on the deployed release after launch; the final host and integrations can behave differently from staging.
Broad launch checklists also call out forms, links, browser and device checks, and post-launch review, including the MarketingPipeline website launch checklist and Prelumen website launch checklist.
4. Review accessibility against a specific target
For a new accessibility checklist, use WCAG 2.2 as the target version: W3C’s WCAG 2 Overview identifies it as the latest WCAG 2 version it encourages people to use. WCAG is organized around perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust content, with testable success criteria at Levels A, AA, and AAA. WCAG 2.2 became a W3C Recommendation on 5 October 2023 and added nine success criteria relative to WCAG 2.1, as W3C WAI’s WCAG 2.2 announcement explains.
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Use practical checks to find problems, but do not treat this short list as a complete WCAG audit:
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- Review semantic headings and controls, text alternatives for meaningful images, and labels and error messages for form fields.
- Check text contrast, zoom and reflow, and the states of interactive controls.
- Combine automated checks with manual review and, where feasible, assistive-technology and user testing. A scan alone cannot establish conformance.
If you make a conformance claim, name the WCAG version and level, pages and content covered, and evaluation date and scope. Do not use a logo as proof that W3C assessed the site: W3C’s guidance on adding WCAG conformance logos says its logos do not represent W3C or WAI review or validation.
5. Check whether search engines can find the intended pages
Review discovery controls on the production host, not only in a preview. A staging safeguard can become a launch blocker if it ships accidentally; removing safeguards too early can expose unfinished pages.
- Inspect page titles, descriptions, canonical URLs, sitemap, robots directives, and whether intended public pages are indexable.
- Confirm production does not retain staging-only noindex directives, password restrictions, or robots rules that block intended discovery. Check that staging remains appropriately restricted.
- For a redesign or URL change, inventory old URLs and test the intended redirects on the production hostname.
These checks help catch configuration mistakes; they cannot guarantee a search ranking or a particular indexing outcome.
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6. Inspect security and privacy behavior
Review the site as it is actually configured, including services and scripts supplied by the template owner or site owner. A template checklist cannot establish a universal legal-compliance result.
- Confirm HTTPS and certificates work. Review security configuration, exposed administrative surfaces, platform and dependency updates, secrets, and error verbosity in light of the technology used.
- Inventory scripts, cookies, local storage, analytics, advertising, embeds, and data recipients. Check that notices and any consent behavior reflect what the deployed site really does.
- Back up relevant content and configuration, and identify how to restore or roll back if a release breaks the site.
- Assign responsibility for production alerts and incident response. Consider what could fail, how it would be noticed, and who acts on it.
Applicable privacy and security duties depend on jurisdiction and actual site behavior. Do not claim legal compliance unless the relevant obligations and evidence support that precise claim.
7. Measure performance and plan for ongoing operation
Do not infer speed from a polished preview or from the template’s appearance. Check representative pages on relevant devices and measure the configured site.
- Review image weight, fonts, JavaScript, caching, and compression. Investigate assets or scripts that are unnecessary for the pages being shipped.
- Decide how production errors, failed forms, and availability problems will be detected, and name the person or process responsible for responding.
- Repeat relevant checks after changes to dependencies, integrations, content systems, or hosting.
8. Record the release decision and communicate limitations
Keep a release record with each check’s status, evidence, environment, and owner. Fix blockers before release or disclose them clearly, and provide a support route and known limitations. Claims such as “fully accessible,” “secure,” or “legally compliant” should appear only when evidence supports that wording for a defined scope.
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