The Pre-Launch Website Checklist: 15 Things to Fix Before You List
Before you submit anywhere, spend an hour on these. They're the difference between a listing that converts and one people bounce from.
You can have the best product on the runway and still lose visitors in the first five seconds if the landing page isn't ready. Before you submit anywhere, spend an hour on this list. None of it is hard; all of it compounds.
The essentials (do these first)
- A clear headline. Say what it is and who it's for in one line, above the fold.
- One obvious call to action. Above the fold, hard to miss, one primary action.
- Fast load. Compress images; a slow page loses people before they read a word.
- Mobile layout. Most launch traffic is mobile. Check it on a phone, not just a resized window.
- Analytics installed. You can't improve what you can't see. Google Analytics (or similar) before launch day, not after.
The SEO and sharing layer
- Unique page titles and meta descriptions on every page.
- A social share image (Open Graph) so shared links look credible.
- Alt text on meaningful images.
- A sitemap and robots.txt so search engines can crawl you.
- Descriptive, readable URLs.
The trust and polish layer
- A privacy page (and terms, if you collect data or payments).
- A custom 404 page so broken links don't dump people on a dead end.
- A thank-you or confirmation state after sign-up, so people know it worked.
- A visible way to contact you. Even just an email builds trust.
- A response-time promise if you offer support ("we reply within a day").
Don't let the list paralyze you. Nail the five essentials, launch, then work down the rest. A live product with a clear CTA beats a perfect page that never ships.
Then give it a home
Once the page is ready, the next step is discovery. Line up your free launch channels, and give your product a permanent, indexed listing so the work you just did keeps paying off. List free on The Runway when the checklist's done.