Website relaunch -
our checklist

Checklist optical representation

To do this, we test the relevant page types and elements such as menu and forms with different

• Browsers (At least: Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge)
• Browser window size (Responses behaviour)
• Devices (desktop from 11" to 24"), tablet and smartphone
• Operating systems (Windows, iOS, Android)

There are online services like browserstack.comwhich simulate the combination of the above components. However, our experience is that the simulation not always to 100% and that there is no substitute for a "real test" with the most important combinations. In addition, there are actually the different versions of browsers and operating systems, but then the possible combinations are of course very numerous.

Checklist technical function

Before the relaunch, we test every website:

• Do the forms work (sending, receiving)?
• Is SPAM protection active on forms
• Are the active WordPress plugins and the theme up to date
• If no deactivated plugins are installed
• If only one default theme (fallback theme) is installed
• Is the PHP version up to date
• Are all demo pages and demo posts deleted

Checklist data protection

The data protection check according to GDPR contains the following test:

• If an SSL certificate is deposited and all URLs are redirected from http to https
• Are all cookies recorded in the Cookie Consent Tool (Cookie Box)?
• Only the necessary cookies are saved if the user wants them to be.
• Are scripts e.g. for Google Maps, YouTube, etc. reloaded if the user wants them to be?
• Are Google Fonts loaded locally
• If no other scripts are loaded without consent
• Is the privacy policy appropriately linked and complete

Performance checklist

Even if the website is not yet running on the final environment, we check before the relaunch:

• Is a caching plugin active and set up
• Are the images compressed
• Is page speed with Lighthouse e.g. here https://pagespeed.web.dev in the green

Checklist Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

• Are the 301 redirects stored
• Is an SEO plugin installed and set up
• Are title tags and meta descriptions correctly adopted or adapted?
• Is the sitemap.xml available and accessible?
• Are the headings (at least H1 - H3) correctly labelled?

Conversion rate checklist

• Are all email addresses and telephone numbers correct
• If these are provided as a link
• Is the tracking installed correctly

Testing after the relaunch

After the website has gone live, all the above checks should be carried out again. Especially if the development environment was previously on another server lag. In addition, the following checks of the website in the live system are useful

• Is the website indexable for search engines
• Are all 301 redirects correct (see tip)?
• If all e-mails are sent, e.g. via contact form
• Does the sign-up work (e.g. for the newsletter)?
• If there are errors in the Search Console (Core Web Vitals) -> It usually takes 2-3 days until these are displayed.
• Is the SPAM protection sufficient