A website launch checklist for the week before and the month after

Which ten launch checks matter most?

Most launch problems come from a short list of things nobody tested on the live address. If you only have an hour, check these ten, on a phone as well as a laptop:

1. Every form sends, and the email actually arrives in the right inbox.
2. WhatsApp, LINE and phone buttons open the correct chat or number.
3. The "discourage search engines" or noindex setting from the staging site is switched off.
4. Old page addresses redirect to their new equivalents.
5. The site loads over HTTPS with no security warnings.
6. No placeholder text, dummy prices or test products are left.
7. The Thai and English versions switch to the matching page, not the homepage.
8. The cookie consent banner appears and the privacy notice is linked.
9. On a store, a real test order completes with each payment method.
10. A fresh backup exists and you know how to restore it.

The rest of this checklist fills in the detail, in the order you will need it. It works for a brand-new site and for a website redesign alike.

What should you check a week before launch?

Check four areas a week out: every page in both languages, every form and chat button, test orders and shipping rates if you sell online, and the technical basics such as SSL, mobile speed and backups. A week gives you time to fix what you find without moving the date. Split the work so one person owns each area.

Content

• Read every page in Thai and in English. Ask a native speaker to check the Thai, especially headings, buttons and prices.
• Search the site for "lorem", "test" and "TBC".
• Click every internal link and every link in the menu and footer.
• Check images are sharp, not stretched, and have short alt text describing them.

Forms and contact

• Submit each form with a real email address you can check, then confirm the notification reaches the team inbox and not spam.
• Tap the WhatsApp and LINE buttons on an actual phone; confirm they open the business account.
• Check the phone number, address and opening hours match everywhere they appear.

E-commerce

• Place test orders with PromptPay, card and cash on delivery, then refund or cancel them.
• Check shipping rates for Bangkok and upcountry addresses with each courier you use, such as Thailand Post, KEX Express (formerly Kerry Express) or Flash Express.
• Confirm order emails, stock levels and tax invoice details are correct.

Technical

• SSL certificate active on the final domain, with and without "www".
• Pages load quickly on mobile data, not just office Wi-Fi.
• A helpful 404 page, a favicon, and automatic backups running.

SEO and analytics

Search settings are easy to get wrong because the site looks perfect while being invisible to Google. Check these on the live domain:

• Titles and meta descriptions. Each page has its own, in the right language, describing what that page offers.
• Indexing allowed. Staging sites are often blocked from search engines; make sure that block is removed on the live site.
• Sitemap and robots.txt. The XML sitemap lists live pages only, and robots.txt does not block anything you want found.
• Redirects. If you are replacing an old site, every old address that had visitors or links should redirect to the closest new page. Test a sample by hand.
• Language tags. Thai and English versions point to each other, so each audience lands on the right version.
• Analytics and Search Console. Install your analytics tag (our GA4 setup guide for small businesses covers it), verify the domain in Google Search Console and submit the sitemap, as our Google Search Console setup guide explains. Google's own SEO Starter Guide explains the basics clearly.

Launch is the final gate, not the moment to rethink navigation. If you find the menu or page list still feels wrong, that is a sign the structure was not settled earlier; our guide on how to plan your website structure covers that step. Likewise, if the "site" is really one campaign page, read the difference between a website and a landing page before you launch, because the checks differ.

PDPA and legal pages

Thailand's Personal Data Protection Act B.E. 2562 (2019) has been fully in force since 1 June 2022, and a website is often the first place a business collects personal data. Before launch, check three things:

• Cookie consent. The banner appears on first visit, lets people accept or refuse non-essential cookies, and analytics or marketing tags do not fire before consent where consent is required.
• Privacy notice. A page in Thai and English that says what data you collect, why, how long you keep it and how people can contact you about it. Link it from the footer and from every form.
• Form consent. Forms ask only for what you need. If you want to send marketing messages, use a separate, unticked checkbox rather than bundling it with the enquiry.

The regulator, the Personal Data Protection Committee, publishes guidance on its official site. This checklist is practical advice, not legal advice; for anything unusual, such as health data at a clinic, ask a Thai lawyer to review your notice.

If the launch also introduces a new name or logo, run through the extra steps for rebranding your website as well, from email signatures to social profiles.

How should launch day run?

Pick a quiet day when the people who built the site and the people who run the business are both available. For many Bangkok businesses that means a weekday morning, not the Friday before a long weekend or the week of Songkran, when you will not want to chase problems.

Order of work

1. Take a full backup of the old site and of the new one.
2. Freeze content edits on both until launch is done.
3. Point the domain or switch the site live, then confirm HTTPS works.
4. Remove the search engine block and check robots.txt.
5. Switch on redirects and test ten of the most visited old addresses.
6. Repeat the ten most important checks from the top of this page on the live domain.
7. Submit the sitemap in Search Console.

Rollback plan

Agree in advance what would make you switch back, for example orders failing or forms not arriving, and who decides. Keep the old site's backup and DNS settings written down so reverting takes minutes, not a day of guessing.

Launch is where design and build meet reality: a layout can look right while a form silently fails. Our explainer on web design vs web development shows why testing both sides matters. Who performs which of these tasks should also be written into your agreement; our web design contract checklist covers handover and launch clauses.

What should you check in the first 30 days?

A site is not finished the moment it goes live. Use the first month to catch what testing missed.

• Week one: check form submissions and orders daily against what reaches your inbox. Ask staff answering LINE and WhatsApp whether customers mention anything broken.
• Week two: open Search Console and look at the Pages report for errors, blocked pages or redirects that lead nowhere. Fix and resubmit.
• Week three: review page speed on real phones. Google explains the measures it uses, known as Core Web Vitals, on web.dev.
• Week four: compare enquiries or sales with the old site for the same period, and list small content fixes for a single round of updates.

After day 30, the work becomes routine upkeep: updates, backups and content changes on a regular schedule.

The full checklist

Copy this list into your project tracker and tick each line on the live domain, not the staging copy.

• Content in both languagesThai and English proofread, no placeholder text, menu and footer links work.
• ImagesSharp, correctly sized, with short descriptive alt text.
• FormsEvery form tested; notifications arrive in the team inbox.
• Chat and call buttonsWhatsApp, LINE and phone links open the right account on a phone.
• Store checkoutTest orders with PromptPay, card and COD; shipping rates and tax invoice details correct.
• Security and speedHTTPS on the final domain, fast on mobile data, 404 page and favicon in place.
• BackupsAutomatic backups running and a restore tested.
• Search settingsUnique titles and meta, indexing allowed, sitemap and robots.txt checked.
• RedirectsOld addresses lead to their closest new page.
• AnalyticsTag installed, Search Console verified, sitemap submitted.
• PDPAConsent banner, privacy notice in both languages, consent on forms.
• Launch planOrder of work agreed, rollback trigger and owner named.
• First 30 daysDaily form and order checks, weekly Search Console review.

Need a hand

You can run this checklist yourself, and you should, even if a supplier does it too. When we build a site, testing and launch are part of the project, and our E-commerce package includes staff training and a launch checklist so your team knows how to run the store from day one.

If you are planning a new site or replacing an old one, see how our website development service works from brief to launch, or check our pricing for the Starter, Business and E-commerce packages. Prices are indicative starting points; the written quote sets the final scope.

Sources

• Google Search Central: SEO Starter Guide
• web.dev: Web Vitals
• PDPC Thailand: Personal Data Protection Committee

Reviewed by Litesh DhirCo-founder, SEO and web development

Builds and ranks the websites: the systems behind the 17 client sites whose Search Console numbers we publish. This guide was written by the Website Development Bangkok team. More about us