Website Testing: What to Check Before Launch

Launching a website without thorough testing is inviting problems. Issues that seem minor in development become embarrassing or business-damaging in production. A systematic testing approach catches problems before real visitors encounter them.

Functional Testing

Navigation

All menu links work correctly
Logo links to homepage
Breadcrumbs are accurate
Mobile navigation opens and closes properly
Dropdowns work on hover/tap
Footer links are correct

Forms

Forms are common failure points. For each form:

All fields accept appropriate input
Validation messages appear for invalid input
Required fields are enforced
Submission works correctly
Confirmation message or redirect happens
Emails are received (check spam folders)
Data is stored correctly if applicable
Error handling works (what happens if submission fails?)

User Accounts (if applicable)

Registration works
Login and logout function correctly
Password reset delivers email and works
Protected pages require authentication
User data displays correctly
Account updates save properly

eCommerce (if applicable)

Products display correctly
Add to cart works
Cart updates (quantity changes, removal)
Checkout flow completes
Payment processing works (test transactions)
Order confirmations are sent
Inventory updates correctly
Discount codes apply properly
Tax calculations are correct
Shipping options and costs are accurate

Search

Search returns relevant results
No results handling works gracefully
Search suggestions function (if present)
Filters work correctly

Cross-Browser Testing

Websites must work across browsers. Test on:

Chrome (dominant desktop browser)
Safari (especially on Mac and iOS)
Firefox
Edge
Samsung Internet (significant on Android)

Check for:

Layout consistency
Functionality working
Fonts rendering correctly
Animations and transitions
Form elements

Device Testing

Test on actual devices, not just browser simulators:

Various phone sizes (small to large)
Tablets in portrait and landscape
Desktop at various widths
High-density (Retina) displays

Browser simulators miss touch behaviours, actual performance, and device-specific quirks.

Performance Testing

Page Speed

Use tools like:

Google PageSpeed Insights
WebPageTest
Lighthouse (in Chrome DevTools)

Check:

Core Web Vitals (LCP, CLS, FID)
Time to first byte
Total page size
Number of requests

Test on key pages: homepage, product pages, checkout.

Load Testing

For sites expecting significant traffic, load testing reveals how the server performs under stress. What happens with 100 concurrent users? 1,000? Problems invisible under light load appear at scale.

Content Check

No placeholder content ("Lorem ipsum")
No TODO comments visible
Spelling and grammar checked
Correct contact information
Current dates (no outdated references)
Images are appropriate quality and size
Alt text present on images
No broken images
Links point to correct destinations
No broken internal or external links

SEO Verification

Unique title tags on every page
Meta descriptions present and appropriate length
H1 headings present and logical
Heading hierarchy makes sense
Canonical URLs set correctly
XML sitemap generated and valid
robots.txt allows appropriate crawling
Open Graph tags correct for social sharing
Schema markup present if relevant
Analytics tracking installed
Search Console connected

Security Checks

SSL certificate valid and working
HTTP redirects to HTTPS
No mixed content warnings
Security headers configured (CSP, X-Frame-Options, etc.)
Forms protected against CSRF
Admin areas properly secured
Default passwords changed
Error pages don't reveal sensitive information
File uploads validated (if present)

Accessibility Testing

Keyboard navigation works throughout
Focus states visible
Colour contrast sufficient
Alt text on images
Form labels associated with inputs
Page structure makes sense with headings
ARIA labels where needed

Use automated tools (Lighthouse, axe) for initial checks, but manual testing is essential.

Legal and Compliance

Privacy policy present and accurate
Cookie consent banner working
Terms of service if required
Accessibility statement if required
Required legal notices present
Cookies don't fire before consent

Backup and Recovery

Backup system working
Backups tested (can you restore?)
Rollback plan documented

Third-Party Integrations

For each integration (payment, email, analytics, etc.):

Using production credentials (not test/sandbox)
API keys secured (not exposed in client code)
Integration functions correctly
Fallback behaviour if service unavailable

Environment Cleanup

No development tools exposed
Debug mode disabled
No test accounts with weak passwords
No development comments in code
robots.txt updated if it blocked staging
noindex removed from pages if used during development

Documentation

CMS usage instructions for client
Admin credentials documented securely
Hosting access documented
Third-party account access documented
Known issues noted if any

Final Checks

DNS configured correctly
Domain pointing to production server
Email routing working
CDN configured if used
Caching working correctly
Monitoring and alerting set up

Post-Launch Monitoring

Testing doesn't end at launch. Monitor:

Analytics for unexpected behaviour
Error logs for issues
Search Console for indexing problems
Uptime monitoring
User feedback

Our Approach

We test systematically before every launch, using checklists to ensure nothing is missed. We test across devices and browsers, verify performance, and confirm all integrations work correctly.

If you've experienced problems with launches or want confidence in your website quality, contact us about professional development that includes proper testing.