Speed and Performance (Tests 1-10)
- Page load time under 3 seconds on mobile and desktop.
- Core Web Vitals passing: LCP under 2.5s, INP under 200ms, CLS under 0.1.
- Images optimized: WebP format, compressed, lazy loaded.
- CSS and JavaScript minified with unused code removed.
- Gzip or Brotli compression enabled.
- Browser caching configured with proper headers.
- CDN active for static assets.
- Database queries optimized with proper indexing.
- Third-party scripts audited and unnecessary ones removed.
- Error pages configured with custom 404 and 500 pages.
Security (Tests 11-20)
- SSL certificate installed with all pages over HTTPS.
- No mixed content warnings.
- Security headers configured (X-Frame-Options, CSP, HSTS).
- Forms protected against XSS and SQL injection.
- File uploads validated with type and size limits.
- Admin area protected with strong passwords and 2FA.
- Backup system tested and verified restorable.
- Error pages expose no server information.
- Login attempt limiting to prevent brute force.
- All dependencies updated to latest versions.
SEO (Tests 21-30)
- Title tags unique and under 60 characters.
- Meta descriptions unique and under 160 characters.
- H1 tags present and unique on every page.
- URL structure clean and descriptive.
- XML sitemap generated and submitted to Search Console.
- Robots.txt configured correctly.
- Canonical tags set to prevent duplicate content.
- Open Graph tags configured for social sharing.
- Structured data implemented where applicable.
- Internal links all working with no broken links.
Usability (Tests 31-40)
- Navigation intuitive with 3-click access to any page.
- Contact information visible on every page.
- Forms working correctly on all devices.
- Call-to-action buttons prominent and clickable.
- Search functionality working with relevant results.
- Graceful error handling with helpful messages.
- Loading indicators for slow operations.
- Print stylesheet working.
- Email notifications working for form submissions.
- External links opening in new tabs.
Accessibility (Tests 41-50)
- Images have descriptive alt text.
- Color contrast sufficient for readability.
- Keyboard navigation working through all elements.
- Screen reader compatible with ARIA labels.
- Form labels associated with inputs.
- Video captions available.
- Focus indicators visible for keyboard users.
- Heading hierarchy logical (h1, h2, h3 in order).
- Language declared in HTML tag.
- Skip navigation link available.
Run this checklist on every project. A thorough pre-launch checklist prevents costly post-launch emergencies.
Want to dive deeper? Read our guides on CDN Explained: How It Speeds Up Your Website and Website Redesign Checklist: 15 Steps to Get It Right to expand your knowledge.