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SEO Website Launch Checklist
The pass to run before you submit a new site for indexing. Published in full below — no email required, and no download file, so nothing is promised that does not exist.
Before you publish
- Every page has a defined purpose and a target query group.
- Content is original, verified and specific — no placeholder text left anywhere.
- Unique title and meta description on every page.
- Exactly one H1 per page, matching the page's purpose.
- One clear primary action per page.
- Images compressed, sized for mobile, with meaningful alt text.
Crawling and indexing
- Each page returns meaningful HTML in the server response.
- One self-referencing canonical per page; none set site-wide.
- One trailing-slash convention used in links, canonicals and the sitemap.
- Sitemap lists only live, canonical, indexable pages.
- robots.txt allows the pages you want found.
- No development noindex left in place.
Status codes
- Live pages return 200.
- A non-existent URL returns a real 404, not a 200 homepage.
- Any moved URL returns a single 301 to the closest relevant page.
- One hostname is canonical and the other redirects to it.
Conversion path
- Form asks only what the recipient needs to respond.
- Real labels, visible focus states, clear required-field marking.
- Server-side validation as well as browser validation.
- Honest success and failure states — never a success message without a saved submission.
- Marketing consent is a separate, unticked option.
- The page says who receives the enquiry.
Mobile
- Layout works from 360 pixels wide with no horizontal scroll.
- Tap targets large enough and not overlapping.
- Menus and dropdowns fully keyboard-operable.
- Text readable without zooming.
After you publish
- Search Console property verified and sitemap submitted.
- Page indexing report checked a week later for coverage problems.
- Analytics recording real events with no personal data included.
- A dated note of what you launched, to compare against later data.
For the reasoning behind each group, read the technical SEO guide.
Planned course
The full QA process is Module 04
The masterclass adds the indexing troubleshooting sheet and a worked QA log. Coming soon; the waitlist is free.