Wordpress on WP Engine Pre-Launch and Launch Checklist

Owned by jesse (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Mar 31, 2023 by Jeff Hebert
2 min read

Documentation

  • Save screenshots of the home page and key internal pages
  • Save screenshots of Page Speed Insights results

General

  • Does the site have a 404 page? Does it look okay?
  • Ensure search engines are encouraged to index the site
  • Is there a Favicon?
  • Is there a sitemap?
  • Is robots.txt configured?
    • Does it have a link to the sitemap?

Security

  • Remove any extra accounts
  • Remove Comment and Contact default functionalities if not used
  • Spam prevention technique in place

SEO

  • Google Console is setup
    • Reindex the site using their tools post launch
    • Ensure search results make sense
  • Google Analytics
    • GTM Tag set up via Site Kit Plugin or manually
    • Annotation added in Analytics to demarcate launch
  • Are meta tags appropriate on the site?
    • Does the site have a tag manager applied? Should there be one like yoast?
  • Are the correct privacy declarations in place for analytic collection?

Remote

  • WPEngine Accounts are configured correctly
    • Admin account in 1Password
    • Any Employee accounts are created and assigned proper roles
    • Any Client accounts are created and assigned proper roles

QA

  • Lighthouse test
    • Ensure page speed is appropriate
    • Ensure there are no clear Accessibility issues
    • Optimize image loading
    • Follow all applicable optimization advice
  • Do an Accessibility quick check if Accessibility was not built in to the project workflow: Accessibility Quick Check
  • Are the menu contents correct?
    • On desktop
    • On mobile?
  • Does the site adhere to responsive design principles?
    • Does mobile work for every key user flow?
    • Does tablet work for every key user flow?
    • Does desktop work for every key user flow?
  • Ensure "cacheability"
    • Does WPEngine generate reasonable caches for assets?
    • Does the browser cache the assets?
    • Does the site include header values for caching?
  • Are all plugins at their most recent update?
  • Are all of the Dev-only plugins such as debug bar, query monitor etc.) added to .gititgore?
  • Spellcheck the site

During Launch Checklist

  • Announce in Slack
  • Deploy via configured CI
  • Back up everything
  • Clear Caches

Post Launch Checklist

  • Ensure the site shows up in search
  • Ensure analytics data is registering
  • Ensure any old sites redirect to the new instance
  • Test emails sent from the site
    • Regular WordPress emails
    • Contact form emails
    • Gravity form emails