You have built your WordPress site. It looks good. You are ready to go live. Before you hit publish — run through this checklist.
1. Check every page on mobile
Open your site on your phone. Tap every button. Read every section. What looks fine on a desktop often breaks on a 375px screen.
Pay special attention to navigation menus, contact forms, and any images with text overlaid. These are the most common mobile failure points.
2. Test your contact form
Send yourself a test message through your contact form. Check that it arrives. Check that the email doesn’t land in spam.
This sounds obvious. But a significant number of sites launch with broken contact forms — either because the hosting server blocks outgoing email, or the form plugin isn’t configured correctly.
If email delivery is unreliable, configure SMTP via a service like Brevo or Mailgun. Do not rely on WordPress’s default PHP mail.
3. Verify your SSL certificate
Your site should load on https:// with a padlock in the browser. If it shows a security warning — fix it before launch. Visitors will leave immediately.
Also check that http:// redirects to https:// automatically. Most hosting control panels can set this up in one click.
4. Set up Google Analytics and Search Console
Google Analytics tells you who visits your site and how they found it. Google Search Console tells you how your site appears in search results and flags any technical issues.
Both are free. Both take 10 minutes to set up. Both are useless if you add them six months after launch.
5. Check your page speed
Go to PageSpeed Insights (pagespeed.web.dev) and enter your URL. A score below 50 on mobile means something needs attention — usually image sizes or unoptimised scripts.
The most common fixes: compress your images before uploading them, use a caching plugin (LiteSpeed Cache if your host supports it, otherwise WP Super Cache), and remove any plugins you are not actively using.
A well-launched site saves you problems later. If you want someone to run through this checklist with you before your site goes live — get in touch. We offer a pre-launch review as part of our web design service, and as a standalone service for sites built elsewhere.