Website Redesign Checklist: Before and After Launch

Before design: establish what must be preserved

• Inventory current URLs and important pages. Record the pages customers use and any known search or campaign landing pages so they are not accidentally removed.
• Back up the existing site and configuration. Confirm that a recoverable copy exists and who can restore it.
• Confirm domain, DNS, hosting, email and analytics access. Identify the people who can approve changes before launch day.
• Review content and assets. Decide what is accurate, what needs updating and who has permission to approve images and copy.
• Define the site’s primary actions. Agree what counts as a useful inquiry and who will receive it.
• Plan URL changes and redirects. Map each replaced page to the closest useful destination rather than sending every old URL to the homepage.

Before launch: test the actual site

• Review mobile and desktop layouts. Check readable text, navigation, buttons and page content at narrow widths.
• Use the keyboard. Verify visible focus, reachable controls and working menus without a mouse.
• Test forms safely. Check labels, required fields, validation, failure handling and confirmations using an approved test mechanism.
• Verify contact details and routing. A correct-looking form is not enough if messages reach the wrong recipient.
• Check status codes, canonical URLs and robots settings. Public pages should be indexable; drafts and thank-you pages should retain their intended treatment.
• Test old URLs and redirects. Preserve meaningful paths and campaign query parameters where appropriate.
• Verify analytics and consent. Distinguish a contact click from a successful submission and check the intended reporting destination.
• Record launch ownership and rollback steps. Agree who can publish, restore and respond to a problem.

After launch: confirm and monitor

• Recheck the live site and key contact paths. A successful preview does not prove the production version is correct.
• Inspect the published sitemap and submit it through the authorized search console. Submission is a notification, not an indexing guarantee.
• Watch for missing pages and broken links. Review important old URLs and resolve errors with appropriate destinations.
• Verify actual message and analytics receipt. Use a designated test record where allowed and avoid real customer-facing test inquiries.
• Review search and inquiry data over time. Compare comparable periods and distinguish traffic changes from changes in qualified inquiries.
• Document updates and support responsibilities. Keep access, renewal dates and the final page inventory available to the business.

How to use the checklist

Assign an owner and due date to the checks that apply. A missing answer is a project dependency to resolve, not a reason to check the box. Save your URL map and test evidence alongside the checklist. For a small informational site, keep the process proportionate; for migrations and integrations, plan additional checks around those systems.