Interactive pre-launch tool
Website QA Checklist
Catch broken links, mobile issues, form failures, SEO gaps, accessibility problems, tracking mistakes, security risks, and launch-day errors before publishing.
Short answer
What should a website QA checklist include?
A complete website QA checklist covers setup safety, visual layout, responsive design, links, forms, SEO, accessibility, performance, analytics, security, browser testing, launch-day smoke tests, post-launch monitoring, and rollback. The fastest useful version checks the path from first visit to conversion on both desktop and mobile.
Interactive checklist
Run the QA pass before you publish
Each item has a priority, owner, and practical way to test it. If you are not sure, mark it unresolved and assign an owner instead of guessing.
Setup and safety
Start from a recoverable workspace so a simple QA fix does not become a production incident.
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Setup and safety
Start from a recoverable workspace so a simple QA fix does not become a production incident.
Visual layout
A page can technically load while still feeling broken because spacing, hierarchy, or content states are wrong.
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Visual layout
A page can technically load while still feeling broken because spacing, hierarchy, or content states are wrong.
Responsive and mobile
Most launch embarrassment happens on the screen size nobody checked last.
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Responsive and mobile
Most launch embarrassment happens on the screen size nobody checked last.
Links and navigation
Broken links waste launch traffic and make a polished site feel unfinished.
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Links and navigation
Broken links waste launch traffic and make a polished site feel unfinished.
Forms and conversions
A launch can look successful while every lead, signup, or sale silently disappears.
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Forms and conversions
A launch can look successful while every lead, signup, or sale silently disappears.
SEO and indexing
Search issues often come from tiny launch settings: noindex, wrong canonicals, missing redirects, or thin metadata.
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SEO and indexing
Search issues often come from tiny launch settings: noindex, wrong canonicals, missing redirects, or thin metadata.
Accessibility
Accessible pages are easier to use, easier to QA, and less likely to break for keyboard and assistive-tech users.
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Accessibility
Accessible pages are easier to use, easier to QA, and less likely to break for keyboard and assistive-tech users.
Performance and Core Web Vitals
Speed affects user trust, paid traffic efficiency, and search performance.
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Performance and Core Web Vitals
Speed affects user trust, paid traffic efficiency, and search performance.
Analytics and tracking
Without tracking QA, you cannot tell whether launch traffic worked or where it leaked.
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Analytics and tracking
Without tracking QA, you cannot tell whether launch traffic worked or where it leaked.
Security and privacy
Launch QA should catch exposed secrets, mixed content, missing consent, and risky browser-visible code.
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Security and privacy
Launch QA should catch exposed secrets, mixed content, missing consent, and risky browser-visible code.
Browser and device testing
A site is not launched just because it works in the builder or your favorite browser.
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Browser and device testing
A site is not launched just because it works in the builder or your favorite browser.
Launch day
Launch day is mostly coordination: final checks, ownership, redirects, monitoring, and fast escalation.
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Launch day
Launch day is mostly coordination: final checks, ownership, redirects, monitoring, and fast escalation.
Post-launch monitoring
Some issues only appear after real traffic, crawlers, ads, emails, and integrations hit the site.
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Post-launch monitoring
Some issues only appear after real traffic, crawlers, ads, emails, and integrations hit the site.
Rollback
A calm rollback plan makes teams braver because the failure mode is already named.
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Rollback
A calm rollback plan makes teams braver because the failure mode is already named.
Choose the right depth
Quick QA, full QA, or handoff QA
15-minute quick QA
- Open the site on desktop and phone.
- Click top nav, footer, main CTA, and key landing pages.
- Submit forms and confirm notifications.
- Check noindex, title, meta description, canonical, and analytics realtime.
- Confirm rollback owner before publishing.
60-minute full QA
- Complete every interactive checklist category.
- Run browser, mobile, accessibility, speed, schema, link, and form checks.
- Document critical fixes, owners, and retest evidence.
- Smoke-test after deployment and keep monitoring open.
Agency/client handoff QA
- Share owners for content, design, SEO, development, analytics, and approval.
- Export the checklist as Markdown and attach screenshots for high-risk items.
- Get written approval for remaining risks and rollback triggers.
AI-safe workflow
Copy this Codex prompt before editing a site
This keeps AI work scoped: inspect first, protect secrets, preserve routes and tracking, report risks, then implement only approved fixes.
/goal QA this website before launch. First inspect the current site, source, routes, forms, analytics, SEO metadata, schema, accessibility, mobile layout, build setup, and deployment path. Do not edit yet. Work safely: - Use a branch, staging site, preview deployment, or backup. - Do not expose secrets, tokens, API keys, customer data, or private analytics. - List files/settings that should not change. - Preserve existing brand, routes, tracking conventions, and CMS content unless a change is required. Run checks for: visual layout, responsive/mobile, links/navigation, forms/conversions, SEO/indexing, accessibility, performance/Core Web Vitals, analytics/tracking, security/privacy, browser/device behavior, launch-day smoke tests, 7-day monitoring, and rollback. Return a prioritized punch list with Critical, High, Medium, and Optional. Implement only approved fixes, then rerun the relevant checks and summarize rollback steps.
WordPress
Ask Codex to inspect theme templates, plugin output, shortcodes, forms, caching, SEO plugin settings, and Custom HTML blocks.
Webflow
Have it review published URLs, breakpoints, interactions, forms, redirects, custom code, and CMS collections.
Shopify
Include product templates, cart, checkout handoffs, apps, tracking pixels, discounts, redirects, and theme backups.
Next.js/Vercel
Ask for route, metadata, schema, env exposure, build, preview deployment, Core Web Vitals, and rollback checks.
Static HTML
Focus on links, forms, metadata, assets, responsive CSS, security headers, hosting config, and deploy rollback.
Common launch failures
Tiny misses that create expensive fixes
Rollback template
Know how you will undo a bad launch before you need to
| Risk | Trigger | Rollback action | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forms fail | Submission does not arrive or autoresponder fails. | Restore previous form, disable campaign traffic, or route to backup form. | Growth / Ops |
| Indexing accident | Production is noindex, canonicalized wrong, or missing sitemap URLs. | Fix metadata, resubmit sitemap, request recrawl, and monitor coverage. | SEO |
| Revenue path breaks | Checkout, booking, pricing, or payment handoff fails. | Revert deployment or theme, pause ads/email, publish status note. | Developer |
Resources
Keep this connected to the rest of the build workflow
FAQ
Website QA checklist questions
What is website QA?
Website QA is the pre-launch and post-launch process of testing whether a site works for real users: layout, mobile behavior, links, forms, SEO, accessibility, performance, analytics, privacy, and rollback.
How long should website QA take?
A small site can get a useful 15-minute smoke test, but a full launch QA pass usually takes 60 minutes to several hours depending on forms, checkout, content volume, integrations, and migration risk.
What should I test before launching a website?
Test the first screen, navigation, mobile layout, forms, conversion paths, redirects, metadata, indexing, accessibility, page speed, analytics events, privacy notices, browser compatibility, and rollback plan.
Can AI or Codex run website QA for me?
AI can inspect code, run automated checks, generate test plans, and find many issues. A human still needs to approve publishing, verify real business flows, and make judgment calls about design, claims, privacy, and customer impact.
What is the most common website launch mistake?
The most expensive mistakes are usually hidden: forms that do not send, conversion events that do not fire, noindex left on production, broken redirects, exposed keys, and mobile layouts nobody tested on a real phone.
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