Launching sites can lead to several sticky situations. There are a lot of moving pieces and things to check off before it’s ready to go, a lot of which doesn’t even include testing! It can be hard to keep track of what has been done and what still needs to be done – that’s where checklists come in handy!
This 15-point checklist will keep you on track for a smooth launch of your Magento site.
One Week Before Launch
1. DNS pre-switch:
- Change DNS Time To Live (TTL) to 300 seconds, or as low as possible.
- Duplicate DNS records on new host (if needed).
2. Set up SSL:
- Ensure the certificate matches the requirements (multi-domain, subdomain, etc.).
3. Set up email:
- Check to ensure the proper MX records are present.
- Prepare to migrate accounts if necessary (user/pass/email, groups, forwards, etc.).
4. Check and verify that SEO is in place and on track:
- Set up any redirects.
- Check title tags & meta descriptions – do they need to be requested/edited/created?
- Verify that all relevant images have alt tags.
- Review any schema markup for accuracy, add it if needed.
Two Days Before Launch
5. Verify design/configuration:
- Custom favicon (in root and in /media/…).
- Review Magento outgoing emails: email logo, store name, contact info (phone number, address, etc.), remove password from registration emails, implement any minor design changes.
- Check Magento contact emails for sales, support, etc. (Config > Store Email Addresses).
- Verify payment methods to ensure they are properly configured (no “Saved CC,” etc.), all methods are “Live,” and all methods have been tested during checkout.
- Check shipping methods to ensure they are properly configured, all methods are “Live,” and also have all been tested during checkout.
- Check that tax rates have been implemented and are accurate.
6. Test Integrations:
- If orders are processed outside of Magento, make sure you test the entire process from start to finish.
- Ensure all APIs are set to live credentials and data source.
7. Optimize your site for speed:
- Clean up JS and CSS, combine them if possible.
- Enable caching.
- Configure CDN if necessary.
- Consider adding block caching to any custom modules.
- Test, test, test! You want to make sure all caching and optimizations work as intended and nothing gets stuck.
One Day Before Launch
8. Set up tracking/analytics:
- Is the Google Analytics account already existing or does one need to be created?
- Check to ensure the code is correct and on all pages of the site.
- Set up conversion tracking.
- Verify that all necessary parties have the appropriate access.
- Ensure all appropriate parties have access to Google Search Console (previously Webmaster Tools) and Bing Webmaster Tools. Set them up, if needed.
9. Verify SEO again and more deeply:
- Ensure all relevant images use alt tags.
- Set up unique title tags as necessary and ensure any custom modules have meaningful title tags.
- Ensure there is a default meta description, at minimum. However, if at all possible, these should be unique to each page as well.
- Ensure products and categories have canonical URLs enabled.
- Check 301 redirects – are they needed for the previous website or store?
- Check the robots.txt file. Ensure everything is set up correctly and robots are not blocked from accessing the site.
- Set up 301 redirects in the .htaccess file for subdomain (www vs non-www).
- Identify & fix any broken links.
- Run a scan on the dev site to ensure all links are valid (images, pages, js).
10. Take steps to improve site security:
- Ensure credentials are strong and unique to the site.
- Consider setting up admin roles to hide advanced or unused functionality.
- Consider setting up htpasswd protection on any admin areas for security.
11. Black out the dev site, if needed, and test under live configuration.
12. Remove test data.
Day Of Launch
13. Launch the site:
- Back up SQL and files.
- Move to the live environment and test – verify cron is running and verify any domain- or folder-specific APIs, settings, or licenses are correct.
- Change DNS.
Day After Launch
14. Check log files for any errors or potential problems and make adjustments as necessary.
15. Verify all integrations are connecting and communicating properly.
Site launches are stressful. With this checklist on your side, they don’t have to be. The countdown has begun – don’t be the one left scrambling at the last minute!