# Launch readiness & Core Web Vitals checklist

- Source: https://simeoncreatives.com/resources/launch-readiness-checklist
- Hub: Website Design & Development

Technical and content checks before go-live: crawlability, performance, forms, monitoring, and a sane first-week ops plan.

## Content & information architecture

- [ ] Every key template has one clear H1 that matches search intent
- [ ] Primary navigation labels match real page titles (no mystery labels)
- [ ] Primary conversion path is obvious on home, service, and contact paths
- [ ] Custom 404 exists and links back to useful destinations

## Crawl, index, and metadata

- [ ] robots.txt allows important paths and points to the XML sitemap
- [ ] Sitemap lists live URLs only (hubs, posts, case studies as applicable)
- [ ] Canonical tags and titles/descriptions are unique on money pages
- [ ] JSON-LD matches visible content (Organization, WebSite, article types as needed)
- [ ] Staging / preview hosts are noindex; production is indexable

## Core Web Vitals & media

- [ ] LCP candidate is optimized (compressed hero, correct dimensions, priority where needed)
- [ ] Images and embeds reserve space (width/height or aspect-ratio) to limit CLS
- [ ] Heavy scripts are deferred or trimmed; third-party tags are reviewed
- [ ] Marketing images ship as modern formats (WebP/AVIF) at sensible sizes
- [ ] Lab check (PageSpeed/Lighthouse) run on key templates; Search Console field data watched after launch

## Forms, security, and ops

- [ ] Lead forms submit successfully end-to-end (including mobile)
  Verify CRM/email delivery, not only the thank-you UI.
- [ ] HTTPS everywhere; mixed-content warnings cleared
- [ ] No secrets in client bundles; env vars differ for preview vs production
- [ ] Database/content backup or PITR path is enabled and tested
- [ ] Uptime or synthetic checks cover homepage + critical form/API routes
- [ ] Team knows how to roll back the last production deploy

## Related guides

- [Modern web maintenance blueprint](https://simeoncreatives.com/blog/modern-web-maintenance-blueprint)
- [Technical SEO beginner's guide](https://simeoncreatives.com/blog/technical-seo-beginners-guide)
- [How to plan a website that grows your business](https://simeoncreatives.com/blog/how-to-plan-a-website-that-grows-your-business)