Website SEO Checklist: 25 Things to Check Before You Launch

Before you launch a website, check that search engines can crawl and index it, that every page has a unique title, description and H1, that it's fast on mobile, that old URLs redirect properly, and that analytics and Google Search Console are set up from day one. Get those basics right and you give every page a fair chance to rank. Miss one, such as a forgotten "noindex" tag, and the best design in the world won't show up in Google.

This is the checklist I run through before every site I launch. It works whether you've built on Framer, Webflow, WordPress, Shopify or custom code.

Crawling and indexing

If search engines can't access your pages, nothing else on this list matters. Start here.

1. Remove the staging "noindex"

Most builders hide unfinished sites from Google with a noindex tag or a "disable indexing" setting. It's the single most common launch mistake I see: the site goes live and the setting stays on. Check the page source of your live homepage for noindex and turn it off in your platform's settings.

2. Check robots.txt

Visit yourdomain.com/robots.txt. It should allow crawling of public pages and point to your sitemap. Make sure it doesn't contain Disallow: /, which blocks your entire site.

3. Generate an XML sitemap

Your sitemap lists the pages you want indexed. Most platforms create one automatically at /sitemap.xml. Check that it includes your real pages (including CMS items like blog posts) and excludes thank-you pages, drafts and test pages.

4. Set canonical tags

A canonical tag tells Google which version of a page is the "real" one. Every page should have a self-referencing canonical, and duplicate or filtered versions (for example, URLs with tracking parameters) should point to the main page.

5. Choose one domain and force HTTPS

Your site should load on exactly one version: either www or non-www, always over HTTPS. Every other version should 301-redirect to it. Test all four combinations in a browser.

6. Use clean, descriptive URLs

/services/web-design beats /page?id=482. Keep URLs short, lowercase, hyphen-separated and readable. Decide them before launch, because changing them later means more redirects.

On-page essentials

These are the signals that tell search engines (and people scanning results) what each page is about.

7. Write a unique title tag for every page

Put the main keyword near the start, keep it to roughly 50–60 characters so it isn't cut off, and add your brand name at the end. Duplicate titles across pages confuse search engines and searchers alike.

8. Write meta descriptions that earn the click

Google doesn't rank on meta descriptions, but it often shows them in results. Aim for about 140–160 characters, include the main keyword naturally, and tell people what they'll get by clicking.

9. Use one H1 and a logical heading structure

Each page needs one H1 that matches its topic, followed by H2s and H3s in order. Don't choose heading levels for their font size; style them with CSS instead.

10. Match each page to one search intent

Give every important page a single primary topic. If your services page and your homepage both target "web designer Lagos", they compete with each other. Map one main keyword to one page.

11. Build internal links

Link between related pages with descriptive anchor text, not "click here". Your navigation and footer should reach every important page within a few clicks of the homepage, and no page should be orphaned.

12. Set up social previews

Add Open Graph and X (Twitter) card tags with a title, description and a share image of around 1200 × 630 px. It's not a ranking factor, but it makes shared links look trustworthy, which brings more clicks.

Structured data and content quality

13. Add Organisation or LocalBusiness schema

Structured data (JSON-LD) helps search engines understand who you are: your name, logo, social profiles and, for local businesses, address, phone and opening hours.

14. Add schema for your page types

Use Article for blog posts, Product for store items, BreadcrumbList for navigation and Event for events where it fits. Validate everything with Google's Rich Results Test before launch.

15. Replace placeholder and thin content

Search the site for "lorem ipsum", "coming soon" and template text. Pages with only a heading and two sentences rarely rank. Either expand them or keep them out of the index until they're ready.

Performance and Core Web Vitals

Speed affects rankings and conversions. Google's Core Web Vitals give you clear targets.

16. Pass Core Web Vitals on mobile

Test key pages in PageSpeed Insights. Google's "good" thresholds are LCP under 2.5 seconds (main content loads), INP under 200 milliseconds (the page responds to taps) and CLS under 0.1 (nothing jumps around as it loads). Test the mobile results, not just desktop.

17. Optimise every image

Use modern formats like WebP or AVIF, serve images at the size they're displayed, lazy-load anything below the fold and set width and height to prevent layout shift. Give every meaningful image descriptive alt text, which helps accessibility and image search.

18. Audit fonts and third-party scripts

Limit font families and weights, and preload the one used above the fold. Then review every script: chat widgets, heatmaps, multiple analytics tags. Each one slows the page down, so keep only what you'll actually use.

19. Check the site on real phones

Test on an actual mid-range phone over mobile data, not just a resized desktop browser. Text should be readable without zooming, buttons easy to tap and nothing should scroll sideways.

Redirects and broken links

20. Redirect every old URL

If you're replacing an existing site, every old URL that had traffic or backlinks needs a 301 redirect to its closest new equivalent. This is the biggest SEO risk of any relaunch, and I've covered it step by step in website redesign without losing SEO.

21. Fix broken links and set up a helpful 404 page

Crawl the site with a tool like Screaming Frog (free for smaller sites) to find broken internal links and redirect chains. Your 404 page should return a real 404 status code and help people find their way with links to key pages.

Analytics and Google Search Console

You can't improve what you can't see. Set this up before launch day, not weeks after.

22. Install analytics with conversion events

Install Google Analytics 4 or a privacy-friendly alternative, and track what actually matters: form submissions, bookings, purchases and clicks on email or WhatsApp links. Page views alone won't tell you whether the site is working. Check your cookie consent setup where the law requires it.

23. Verify Google Search Console and submit your sitemap

Verify your domain in Search Console, submit your sitemap and use the URL Inspection tool to request indexing of your most important pages. Search Console is where Google tells you about indexing problems, so check it weekly for the first month.

24. Add Bing Webmaster Tools

It takes five minutes, and you can import your setup straight from Search Console. Bing also powers several other search experiences, so it's worth the small effort.

Local SEO

If you serve customers in a specific city or area, local search is often where the quickest wins are.

25. Set up your Google Business Profile and keep your details consistent

Claim and verify your Google Business Profile, choose accurate categories, add photos, opening hours and your website link, and ask happy customers for reviews. Make sure your business name, address and phone number match exactly across your website, Google, social profiles and directories. If you serve several areas, create a genuinely useful page for each rather than copying one page and swapping the city name.

How I handle SEO on client builds

On-page SEO, performance and analytics are part of every site I build, not an add-on. On multipage websites that means a sitemap and content strategy up front, CMS fields for titles, descriptions and social images on every page and post, and Search Console set up before handover. On landing pages, it means SEO and social previews plus analytics and pixels wired in from day one.

The platform matters less than the setup: Framer, Webflow and custom code can all rank well when configured properly. If you're still choosing, my comparison of Framer vs Webflow covers the SEO differences.

If you're planning a new site and want it launch-ready for search from day one, book a 30-minute call. I'll send a fixed-price proposal within a day.