WordPress Pre-Launch Checklist for New and Existing Sites

A WordPress pre-launch checklist is different from a monthly maintenance checklist.

Pre-launch checks are the foundation checks you do before a new website goes live, before a migration, before a major rebuild is signed off, or before you take responsibility for an existing WordPress site.

These checks should not need repeating every week. They are the stable baseline: who owns the domain, where DNS lives, how backups work, whether email is reliable, whether forms send correctly, whether Search Console, IndexNow, structured data, and analytics are set up, and whether the site can be recovered if something goes wrong.

For recurring checks after launch, use the separate WordPress maintenance checklist. That covers updates, backups, security alerts, uptime, forms, PageSpeed, Search Console reviews, crawl checks, and content accuracy.

If you are planning a full new build rather than only checking an existing site before launch, the 6-step website build process shows how discovery, design, development, QA, deployment, and post-launch support fit together.

Using the interactive checklist

The interactive checklist is available as a separate full-width tool so the table has room for search, filtering, grouping, progress saving, and a CSV export of your saved progress.

Open the interactive WordPress pre-launch checklist

You can export your saved checklist progress as a CSV from the interactive version.

What to check before a WordPress site goes live

The most important pre-launch checks are the ones that reduce avoidable risk.

Access and ownership should be clear before launch. The client should own the domain account, DNS access should be documented, hosting should be understood, and named admin accounts should replace shared logins.

Hosting is worth checking early because it affects performance, backups, logs, staging, and support during launch. The WordPress hosting provider guide covers what to look for if the site is moving to a new platform.

Backups should be configured before the site matters. A backup is not enough on its own; the restore route also needs to be understood and tested.

Security should be treated as part of launch readiness, not something to bolt on later. Strong passwords, two-factor authentication, SSL, redirects, unused plugin removal, and user review all belong in the foundation work.

Search and analytics should also be ready before launch. Google Search Console should be verified, the XML sitemap should be submitted, IndexNow should be configured where useful, analytics should track meaningful actions, structured data should validate cleanly, and important pages should be crawlable and indexable.

Forms, email, and operational checks

Many WordPress launch problems are not visual. A site can look finished while forms fail silently, transactional email lands in spam, scheduled tasks do not run, or CRM handoffs are broken.

Before launch, test every important path:

• Contact forms and notification emails.
• Booking, checkout, subscription, or lead flows.
• SMTP configuration and password reset emails.
• Scheduled posts, cron jobs, imports, exports, and automations.
• Analytics and conversion events.

These checks are especially important for ecommerce, booking, membership, subscription, and high-value lead generation sites.

Performance and content checks

Pre-launch is also the right time to record a baseline.

Run PageSpeed or Lighthouse checks on the main templates. Check page titles, meta descriptions, headings, image alt text, canonical URLs, redirects, and the mobile experience. Review pricing, service information, contact details, legal pages, and calls to action before the site is shared publicly.

The goal is not to chase perfect scores. The goal is to know what changed later. A baseline gives maintenance work something to compare against.

After launch

Once the foundation is in place, move to a regular maintenance rhythm. That means checking updates, backups, security, uptime, forms, performance, Search Console, crawl quality, and content accuracy on a schedule that matches the business risk of the site.

WildPress handles both foundation checks and recurring maintenance as part of our WordPress care plans.