Resource · Checklist

Website relaunch checklist: 48 checkpoints.

Four phases, 48 points. The list deliberately includes the unspectacular points, because relaunches fail on them more often than on design.

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Compiled by Proxfon Media Last updated 28 September 2026

The four phases

Before the project, during planning, before launch, afterwards.

01 · Before the project 12 points

Goal of the relaunch stated in one sentence, as a commercial goal
Responsible person in the company named, with decision-making authority
Positioning clarified: three executives give the same answer
Separate budget planned for copy, in addition to design and technology
Existing rankings and landing pages documented
Complete list of all existing URLs exported
Access to existing analytics and Search Console data secured
External links to the current site recorded
Decision on multilingual support made before the architecture
Realistic timeframe of 6 to 12 weeks agreed
Approval process defined: who approves what within which timeframe
Date for the follow-up review four weeks after launch already set

02 · Planning and architecture 12 points

Site map follows the buying process, not the org chart
A dedicated, indexable page per core service
A dedicated page per use case or industry where it makes sense
Each page assigned exactly one search intent
URL structure defined: descriptive, lower case, without parameters
Redirect plan created for all existing URLs
Pages to be merged identified, with deliberately planned ranking consequences
Content inventory: what ranks stays; what nobody visits goes
Conversion paths defined, staged by buying stage
Form fields defined, including qualifying questions
Decision on the content management system made
Accessibility target set (recommendation: WCAG 2.2 level AA)

03 · Before launch 16 points

All copy final and approved by subject matter experts
Every page has exactly one H1 and a sensible heading hierarchy
Title and meta description set individually per page
Alt texts present for all content-bearing images
Structured data (JSON-LD) added for organisation, services, FAQs
Canonical tags correct on all pages
Redirects fully tested, with a sample of at least 50 URLs
404 page designed and linked to sensible next steps
Load time checked: Largest Contentful Paint under 2.0 s on mobile
Display checked on mobile, tablet and desktop
Forms tested: submission, confirmation, receipt in inbox and CRM
Legal texts up to date: legal notice and privacy policy checked
Cookie and tracking situation clarified; if tracking, then with consent
Search engine block removed from the staging environment
robots.txt and sitemap.xml present and correct
Favicon, Open Graph image and manifest in place

04 · After launch 8 points

Sitemap submitted in Google Search Console
Indexing spot-checked after 48 hours
Coverage report checked for errors
Server log checked for 404 errors, redirects added
Load times measured in live operation
Form completions in the first week tracked
Rankings of the ten most important terms documented (baseline)
Follow-up review after four weeks: rankings, load time, enquiries, error pages

Most common mistakes

Where things usually go wrong.

What goes wrong most often
Mistake	Consequence	Item in the list
No redirect plan	Months of lost rankings	Planning, item 6
Copy only after design	Delays of weeks to months	Before the project, item 4
Search engine block left active	Site is not indexed	Before launch, item 14
No follow-up review	Errors go unnoticed	After launch, item 8
Position not clarified	Structure and copy stay vague	Before the project, item 3

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