Before you launch
Every page has a unique, descriptive title and meta description
Spelling and phone/email/address are correct on every page
Contact form actually sends — test it and confirm you receive it
All links work (no "page not found"), including the logo and footer
Favicon and social-share image (Open Graph) are set
Mobile & speed
Looks and works right on a real phone, not just a shrunk browser
Images are compressed; the homepage loads in under ~3 seconds
Buttons and tap targets are big enough for thumbs
No horizontal scrolling on mobile
Get found (SEO basics)
A sitemap.xml exists and is submitted to Google Search Console
robots.txt allows search engines (and the AI crawlers)
One clear H1 per page describing what it is
LocalBusiness structured data added (name, address, phone)
Google Business Profile claimed and linked
Trust & legal
HTTPS is on (padlock shows) and http:// redirects to https://
Privacy policy and terms pages exist and are linked in the footer
Real business info in the footer (builds trust + local SEO)
A cookie/consent notice if you use analytics or tracking
After launch
Analytics installed and confirmed collecting data
A backup is running automatically
Ping search engines / submit the sitemap so indexing starts
Set a reminder to review performance in 30 days
Short on time? The three that matter most: the contact form actually delivers, it works on a phone, and HTTPS is on. Miss those and the rest won't help.