Launch week is exciting, and it’s also when small UX problems slip through. A button that wraps on one phone, a form that rejects valid postcodes, a menu that keyboard users can’t open. None of these are hard to fix, but every one costs trust and conversions once real visitors arrive.
This is the condensed version of the checklist our designers and developers run on every website before it goes live. Use it as-is, or adapt it to your own process.
1. Navigation and structure
- Can a first-time visitor say what you do within five seconds? The headline and first screen should answer “what is this, and is it for me?”
- Every page is reachable in three clicks or fewer from the homepage, and the current page is highlighted in the menu.
- The mobile menu opens, closes and scrolls on small screens, including with long labels.
- Breadcrumbs and back links exist on deep pages, so people never feel stuck.
2. Content and readability
Most visitors scan before they read. Structure content so scanning works:
- One clear H1 per page, with descriptive H2s that tell the story on their own.
- Paragraphs of two to four sentences, and lists for anything that is a list.
- Body text of at least 16px with comfortable line height and line length.
- Calls to action that say what happens next: “Get a quote” beats “Submit”.
If a sentence doesn’t help someone decide, act or understand, it can probably go.
3. Forms and conversion points
Forms are where interest turns into leads, and where most friction hides.
- Ask only for what you need now. Every extra field lowers completion.
- Use the right input types so phones show the right keyboard for email, phone and numbers.
- Show errors next to the field, in plain language, and keep what the user already typed.
- Confirm success clearly, and tell people when they’ll hear back.
- Test every form end to end: does the message actually arrive in the right inbox or CRM?
4. Accessibility
Accessible sites are easier for everyone to use, and increasingly a legal expectation. At minimum:
- Text contrast meets WCAG AA (4.5:1 for body text).
- Everything works with a keyboard alone, with a visible focus style.
- Images have meaningful alt text; decorative images have empty alt.
- Buttons and links have clear names, and touch targets are at least 44px.
- Motion respects the “reduce motion” setting.
5. Performance
Speed is a UX feature. Slow pages lose visitors before they see a single word.
- Images are compressed, correctly sized and lazy-loaded below the fold.
- Largest Contentful Paint is under 2.5 seconds on a mid-range phone.
- Layout doesn’t jump while loading. Reserve space for images and embeds.
- Third-party scripts are audited; anything not earning its place is removed.
6. Launch day
- Analytics and conversion tracking fire correctly on key actions.
- Redirects are in place for every old URL, and the XML sitemap is submitted.
- Page titles, meta descriptions and social preview images are set.
- A 404 page helps people find their way back.
- Someone is on call for the first 48 hours to fix what real users find.
Run through this list and you’ll launch with fewer surprises, and a site that works for the people it was built for. If you’d like a second pair of eyes before your next launch, our team can run a UX audit.
