Webflow Pre-Launch Checklist

<aside> 👋 Hello there, fellow Webflow creator!

Before you hit that 'Publish' button and send your fantastic new website into the world, you should run through a final check to ensure everything is in tip-top shape.

That's where this handy Webflow Pre-Launch Checklist comes into play.

This list covers everything from design details and content to SEO, functionality, accessibility, and backend settings.

– Ondrej

</aside>

<aside> 📨 Subscribe to Flowletter and join 160+ Webflow developers

I know the challenges of going out on your own - from landing that first client to scaling a sustainable business.

I started Flowletter as the advice newsletter I wish I had when I was starting out as a Webflow freelancer.

Here, you'll find a supportive community and practical guidance to navigate the ups and downs of building a Webflow freelance practice.

</aside>

🎨 Design & Layout

[ ] Ensure responsive design across all screen sizes (desktop, tablet, mobile)
[ ] Mobile menu (hamburger or similar) works on the appropriate viewports
[ ] The site doesn’t have unwanted horizontal scroll in all viewports
[ ] Ensure all animations and interactions are working as expected. Make sure interaction speeds don’t delay your users.
[ ] Check page loading speed
[ ] All heading tags have been styled to match the design
[ ] Rich text elements are all styled (headings, paragraphs, ordered & unordered lists, links, quotes)
[ ] Consistent color pallet set in global swatches
[ ] Form elements are styled to match the design (all used input types and buttons)
[ ] Typography is consistent and there’s a logic for how it’s used (italics, bold etc)
[ ] Fallback fonts are set
[ ] All link have a hover state, elements that can’t be clicked don’t have a hover state
[ ] Check cross-browser appearance (Google Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. You should also check Opera and Microsoft Edge)

✍️ Content

[ ] Proofread all text for spelling and grammar errors
[ ] Check all images and multimedia (videos, gifs, etc.) for quality and loading times. Webflow automatically scales and compresses your images. Make sure you upload all your images at 2x size.
[ ] Ensure all placeholder content has been replaced
[ ] Check all internal links are linking to a page
[ ] Check that all external links open in a new tab

🔎 SEO

[ ] Check all pages have SEO-friendly titles and descriptions
[ ] Ensure all images have alt text for SEO and accessibility
[ ] Check that URLs are SEO-friendly
[ ] Turn on “Automatically Generate a Sitemap”
[ ] Enable Search Console on your site
[ ] Enable Google Analytics tracking
[ ] Add HTML5 semantic tags for even greater SEO
[ ] Set your Open Graph settings and image
[ ] Add Schema Markup to your homepage
[ ] Test your site for speed on GTMatrix - you should have an A score

🛠️ Functionality

[ ] Test all forms and ensure they are capturing and sending data correctly
[ ] Use a link crawler to check for broken links. Use W3C Link Checker, the Chrome plugin Check My Links, or Screaming Frog.
[ ] Check that any eCommerce functionality (like a shopping cart or checkout process) works correctly

🧩 Integrations

[ ] If your site integrates to third party services (for example CRM via Zapier) check the integrations work properly
[ ] Check how your RSS feed looks

🤗 Accessibility

[ ] Ensure website is accessible for all users (check color contrast, font sizes, keyboard navigation, etc.)
[ ] Check that all multimedia has appropriate captions or descriptions

💻 Custom Code

[ ] Check all custom code snippets for errors
[ ] Ensure custom code works across all browsers

⚙️ Back-End Settings

[ ] Check that the 404 error page has been customized and is working
[ ] Set up and test any necessary redirects
[ ] Favicon and Web Clip is set
[ ] Language code is set to appropriate language
[ ] Advanced publishing options are set for optimal performance: Enable SSL, Minify HTML, CSS, JS & Use Secure Frame Headers

🌎 Domain & Hosting

[ ] Disable .webflow domain from search indexing
[ ] Ensure the domain is properly connected
[ ] Set up any necessary email accounts
[ ] Ensure the website's SSL certificate is active for secure connections

🧐 Soft Launch

[ ] Have others test the website and provide feedback