What to check after your website launches

Launch is the start of operating a website, not the end of the work. A small monthly check can catch broken contact routes, out-of-date details and access problems before they become expensive. Assign a person to each check, even when a provider handles the technical work.

This checklist is designed for a small service-business site. Adapt it to the site's actual features; a booking system or online shop needs additional checks.

Check the customer journey

Open the live site on a phone. Start from the homepage, find a relevant service, look at the supporting work and follow the primary contact action. Check that page links, phone numbers and email links point to the right place.

Submit a clearly marked test enquiry if the form allows it. Confirm both sides: the visitor sees a sensible confirmation and the right person receives enough information to reply. If no message arrives, investigate before assuming customers have simply been quiet.

Check what the contact action actually does. Some sites prepare an email for the visitor to send; others submit to a form service. In the first case, check the draft and its instructions. In the second, test form acceptance and inbox delivery separately. A visible success message alone cannot tell you that the right person received the enquiry.

Review opening hours, service coverage, prices, team details and any time-sensitive claims. The page should match what the business currently offers. Record any change with an owner, rather than relying on someone remembering it later.

Check ownership and access

Know who can access the domain account, hosting, website source, analytics and enquiry inbox. Remove access that is no longer needed and make sure the business owner can still reach the important accounts. A website is harder to maintain when the only login belongs to a former contractor.

If a provider manages the site, ask how backups are made, how a restore would work and who is responsible for an outage. A backup is more useful when its recovery route is understood. The responsibilities for any site should be written in its agreement; a monthly fee by itself does not explain them.

Keep a short dated record

You do not need a long report. A useful monthly note can be:

If you use Search Console or analytics, review meaningful changes in discovery and enquiries over a sensible period. A single day's movement is rarely enough to justify rewriting a page. Record the question you are trying to answer before changing content.

The goal is straightforward: the site should still say the right things, help people take the next step and reach someone who can respond. Explore the website service if you want ongoing care to be part of the arrangement.