Launch checklist
Website QA checklist: what to verify before every release
A practical website QA checklist covering content, responsive layout, localization, SEO metadata, interactions and production monitoring.
A release-ready website must do more than load. The interface should remain readable across devices, content must be accurate, important interactions must work, metadata must be correct and the production version should be monitored after deployment.
1. Confirm the test scope
Create an inventory of important URLs and templates. Include campaign landing pages, legal pages, forms, account entry points and localized variants. Compare the inventory with the sitemap and crawl results so orphaned or newly introduced pages are not forgotten.
2. Review responsive presentation
Check representative mobile, tablet and desktop widths. Look for horizontal scrolling, clipped controls, overlapping navigation, unreadable line lengths and images that distort or crop important content.
- Header and mobile navigation
- Forms, dialogs and sticky elements
- Tables and long translated strings
- Images, video and embedded content
3. Verify content and localization
Confirm headings, calls to action, prices, dates and legal text. For localized pages, verify language routing, translated imagery, text expansion, directionality and locale-specific formats.
4. Check interactions and states
Exercise navigation, forms, tabs, accordions, cookie controls and error states. Capture important interactive states so visual review covers more than the default page load.
5. Inspect SEO and accessibility basics
Verify a unique title, useful description, canonical URL, one descriptive H1 and crawlable internal links. Check keyboard navigation, focus visibility, labels, alternative text and contrast with dedicated accessibility tools.
6. Monitor production
After release, confirm critical URLs remain available and visually correct. Preserve baseline captures, schedule checks and review unexpected changes caused by CMS updates, third-party scripts or subsequent deployments.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
When should website QA begin?
Start while templates and content are still changing, then run a focused release check in staging and verify the deployed production pages.
Can a crawler replace manual QA?
No. Crawling improves page coverage, but people still need to review business logic, visual intent, language quality and interaction behavior.
How often should production pages be checked?
Base frequency on business risk and change rate. Critical conversion pages deserve more frequent checks than stable informational pages.
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