Testing
A QA Checklist Before Launching a Website or App
A practical pre-launch testing checklist covering functionality, forms, devices, browsers, performance, security basics, accessibility, content and analytics.
Testing is where a project proves it is ready. A structured checklist catches the problems that are embarrassing in front of customers and expensive to fix after launch.
Core journeys
List the journeys that matter most, such as "send an enquiry", "create an account", "place and pay for an order" or "approve a request", and run each one from start to finish. Test the unhappy paths too: wrong passwords, expired links, cancelled payments and empty required fields.
Forms and emails
- Every form submits, validates and shows a clear success or error message
- Confirmation and notification emails arrive, look right and contain correct links
- Spam protection works without blocking real users
Devices and browsers
Check the site on at least one recent iPhone, one Android phone, a tablet and a desktop, using the major browsers your visitors use. Look for text that overflows, buttons that are too small and layouts that break at in-between widths.
Performance
Measure page speed on a mobile connection. Google's Core Web Vitals give clear targets: Largest Contentful Paint within 2.5 seconds, Interaction to Next Paint within 200 milliseconds and Cumulative Layout Shift below 0.1 are considered good. Compress images and remove scripts that are not needed.
Security basics
- The whole site runs on HTTPS
- Admin areas require strong passwords and are not linked publicly
- Forms are protected against cross-site request forgery
- Error pages do not reveal technical details
- File uploads are restricted to safe types and sizes
Accessibility
Navigate the main pages using only the keyboard, check that focus is visible, confirm images have meaningful alternative text, and check colour contrast. WCAG 2.2 is the current reference standard.
Content and SEO
Proofread every page, check that each page has a unique title and description, test for broken links, and make sure legal pages and contact details are correct.
Analytics and monitoring
Confirm that any analytics respects the visitor's consent choice, and that uptime and error monitoring are switched on before the announcement goes out.
A launch that follows this checklist is usually a quiet one, and a quiet launch is a good launch.
