Key Takeaways
Only 47% of websites pass their Core Web Vitals assessment (DebugBear, 2025). Launch errors — broken redirects, missing tracking, poor performance — are hard to fix retroactively and cost you rankings, conversions, and users. A systematic checklist isn’t bureaucratic overhead — it’s insurance against preventable mistakes.
In 2025, there’s a new dimension: a technically clean launch isn’t enough. Your website also needs to be visible in AI search. ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews are reshaping how people find information. Point 10 of this checklist covers exactly what that requires.
Only 47% of all websites pass their Core Web Vitals check (DebugBear, 2025). Google AI Overviews appear in 85%+ of searches (SingleGrain, 2025). This 10-point checklist covers both: a technically clean go-live and the structural prerequisites for AI visibility.
Over 60% of global web traffic comes from mobile devices. A layout that looks great on desktop but breaks on iPhone costs users and rankings. Test your design on at least three screen sizes before go-live: smartphone, tablet, desktop.
A broken navigation is the fastest path to a high bounce rate. Every defective link or misdirected button sends negative user signals to Google. Test all paths systematically — not just the main nav, but footer links, CTAs, and all internal links.
Missing alt text, duplicate meta descriptions, and generic copy are the three most common content problems at website launch. Google rewards unique, informative content — and AI systems cite pages that answer questions directly and precisely. Review content not just for spelling, but for clarity and uniqueness.
What works in Chrome can break in Safari. Cross-browser issues are among the most common causes of user drop-off — especially on Apple devices, where Safari dominates. Test systematically across all major browsers and operating systems.
Every second counts literally: a 1-second page load delay reduces conversion rate by up to 7%; a 0.1-second improvement boosts retail conversions by up to 8.4% (Google, 2024). Bounce probability increases by 32% when load time goes from 1 to 3 seconds. Performance isn’t a nice-to-have — it’s a revenue driver.
Based on web performance audits across multiple projects: Core Web Vitals are consistently the most underestimated area at launch. Only 47% of websites pass the Core Web Vitals check (DebugBear, 2025). A 1-second delay costs up to 7% conversion rate; a 0.1-second improvement delivers up to 8.4% more retail conversions (Google, 2024).
Chrome marks all HTTP pages as “Not secure” — an immediate trust signal failure. Since websites collect user data the moment they embed analytics or forms, EU privacy law (GDPR) makes these checks mandatory before launch, not after.
What isn’t measured can’t be optimized. Tracking forgotten on launch day can’t be reconstructed retroactively. If you lose data in the first weeks after launch, you lose the foundation for every optimization decision in the months ahead.
SEO isn’t a one-time event, but a clean technical SEO foundation at launch is the basis for everything that follows. Errors here — a missing canonical tag, a faulty robots.txt, or an empty sitemap — can prevent crawling for weeks and cost you rankings.
Since June 28, 2025, accessibility is legally mandatory for many businesses in Europe. The German BFSG threatens fines up to €100,000 for violations (BMAS, 2025). Accessibility doesn’t just protect against legal risk — it also improves SEO and user experience for everyone.
Google AI Overviews appear in over 85% of all searches (SingleGrain, 2025). ChatGPT has 400 million active weekly users. And 58% of users already replace traditional search engines with AI tools for product research. Building a website launch plan without AI visibility means building for yesterday’s internet.
What AI systems prefer to cite: specific facts, source citations, direct answers to questions, and structured data. According to Frase.io, pages with FAQPage schema are 3.2× more likely to appear in Google AI Overviews than pages without schema. GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) can boost visibility in AI-generated answers by up to 40% (Princeton/ACM, 2023).
Pages with FAQPage markup are 3.2× more likely to appear in Google AI Overviews than pages without structured data (Frase.io, 2025). AI Overviews appear in 85%+ of all searches (SingleGrain, 2025) — AI visibility must be built into your website launch plan from day one.
What to implement for AI visibility at launch:
Want to make sure your website relaunch is technically flawless and visible in Google and AI search from day one? Webnique guides you from concept to go-live — with proven processes and measurable results.
A typical website relaunch takes 6 to 16 weeks depending on scope. Smaller relaunches (redesign without CMS migration) are often done in 4–6 weeks. Larger projects with new CMS, content migration, and technical SEO restructuring need 3–6 months. A systematic relaunch checklist significantly reduces the testing phase before go-live.
The most common mistakes: missing 301 redirects for old URLs (leading to 404 errors and ranking losses), no working analytics tracking on launch day, poor Core Web Vitals from unoptimized images, missing HTTPS redirects, and incorrectly configured robots.txt. A systematic checklist prevents 90% of these errors.
A website launch is the initial go-live on a new domain. A website relaunch is the restart of an existing website — often involving a redesign, CMS migration, or URL structure change. Relaunches require additional tasks: 301 redirects for all old URLs, ranking preservation through technical SEO, and notifying Google of changes via Search Console.
Three measures have the biggest impact: implement FAQPage schema on informational pages (3.2× more likely in AI Overviews, per Frase.io), write answer-first content — answer important questions in the first sentences of each section, and implement structured data (Article, Organization, BreadcrumbList). AI systems prefer fact-dense, source-backed content with clear authorship.
Yes, if you offer digital products or services in the EU. The BFSG has been in force since June 28, 2025, requiring WCAG 2.1 AA compliance. Only micro-enterprises with fewer than 10 employees and under €2 million annual revenue are exempt from service requirements. Fines for violations can reach €100,000.
