SEO checklist before launching a new website

This checklist isn't about keywords. It's about search engines receiving correct URLs, correct status codes and readable content — because that's where rankings are lost at launch, and it's noticed months later, once traffic has already dropped.

1. A map of old and new URLs

If the site replaces an existing one, you need a table before release: which old URL goes where. The rules are simple:

• 301 — only where the content genuinely moved or merged into another page.

• 404 or 410 — for removed content with no replacement. That's more honest than redirecting everything to the homepage.

• A redirect to the homepage instead of a relevant page is treated as a soft 404 — the old URL's rankings are not preserved that way.

2. Server status codes

Every indexable page must return 200 without authentication. Check separately that there are no redirect chains (301 → 301 → 200) and that non-existent URLs don't return 200 with the homepage's content.

For JavaScript sites this is critical: the main text, title and description must arrive in the HTML — through SSR or prerendering. If the source contains an empty container, a search engine may index an empty page.

3. robots.txt and canonical

• Make sure the production server didn't inherit Disallow: / from staging — the classic reason a new site isn't indexed at all.

• Every standalone page gets a canonical pointing at itself.

• No canonical chains and no links to unreachable URLs.

• Decide on http/https and the trailing slash — and stick to one variant in internal links, canonicals and the sitemap.

4. The sitemap

Only canonical URLs returning 200 belong in sitemap.xml. Exclude redirects, noindexed pages, duplicates and URLs with parameters. lastmod is updated when the content actually changes, not on every build: otherwise search engines stop trusting the field.

5. Metadata and content

Unique title and description on every page, one clear H1. A substantive answer to the user's query below the fold — not just a slogan. Important sections must be reachable through ordinary HTML links, not only through scripts. Structured data describes what's actually visible on the page.

6. Analytics — before the domain switch

Forms, calls, messenger clicks and UTM tags are verified before release, not after. Separately, record the old site's baseline figures — impressions, clicks, enquiries, top pages — otherwise there'll be nothing to compare against in a month.

7. What to do after launch

• First 72 hours: check key URLs, status codes, canonicals, and that there are no errors in the webmaster consoles.

• First week: reconcile the sitemap against the real structure and submit it to Search Console and Yandex Webmaster.

• After a month: compare queries and pages against the pre-migration baseline.

If a site is getting ready to launch or migrate, we can walk this checklist through your project before release, while fixes are still cheap.