Your web designer says the site is ready. The design looks good in the demo. You're about to flip the switch.

Don't. Not yet.

Every week, websites launch in Singapore with broken phone numbers, missing meta tags, unoptimized images that take eight seconds to load, and contact forms that don't actually send. None of these are visible in a demo environment — they only show up in production, after the launch announcement goes out to your customers.

Here's the 20-point checklist to run through before you announce anything.

Technical checks

☐ SSL certificate is active and site loads over HTTPS Open your site in Chrome. Look at the address bar. You should see a padlock icon, not a "Not Secure" warning. If it's not secure, Google will warn visitors and your SEO will suffer. This takes five minutes to fix if it's missing — your hosting provider can sort it.

☐ Site loads in under 3 seconds on mobile Run it through PageSpeed Insights. Aim for 50+ on mobile. If it's below 50, the most common culprits are: unoptimized images (not compressed), too many third-party scripts, and cheap hosting. Each one is fixable.

☐ Mobile responsiveness is actually tested Not just "it looks fine on my phone." Test on an iPhone and an Android device. Open every page. Try the contact form. Tap every button. If you have an iPad, check that too — iPad falls into tablet breakpoints that often get missed.

☐ All pages return 200 OK, not 404 Use a tool like Screaming Frog or simply click every navigation link yourself. Every page in your menu should load correctly. Check the footer links too.

☐ 404 page exists and doesn't crash Type yourdomain.com.sg/anything-that-doesnt-exist. Do you get a clean 404 page with a navigation option back to the homepage? Or do you get a white screen of death? If it's the latter, fix it before launch.

Content checks

☐ Every page has complete, accurate copy No placeholder text. No "Lorem ipsum." No "This page is coming soon." Every page that appears in your navigation should have real content.

☐ Contact information is correct and consistent Phone number, email address, physical address, WhatsApp — all of it. Check every mention across every page. The most common pre-launch error: a phone number that was changed in one place but not another.

☐ All images are compressed and have alt text Uncompressed images are the top cause of slow page speeds. Every image should be compressed (TinyPNG is a free option). Every meaningful image should have descriptive alt text — this is also an accessibility requirement and affects SEO.

☐ All external links work Open every link that goes to an external site (Google Maps, social media, any third-party tools). Confirm they open in a new tab and go to the right place.

☐ Favicon and browser tab icon are set When someone bookmarks your site or has your tab open, what do they see? If the answer is a generic globe or the Next.js logo, add your actual favicon before launch. Takes 10 minutes, looks much more professional.

SEO checks

☐ All pages have unique meta titles and descriptions This is the text that appears in Google search results. Every page — homepage, about, services, contact — should have its own specific title (50–60 characters) and description (120–155 characters). If you're using WordPress, a plugin like Rank Math or Yoast handles this. If you're using a custom site, your developer should have set these up.

☐ Sitemap is generated and submitted to Google Search Console Your sitemap.xml file should exist at yourdomain.com.sg/sitemap.xml. Go to Google Search Console, add your property, and submit the sitemap. This tells Google to crawl your site properly.

☐ Robots.txt allows crawling Your site's robots.txt should exist at yourdomain.com.sg/robots.txt and should allow all crawlers. If it blocks Google from indexing your site, you won't appear in search results. Check it before launch.

☐ Google Business Profile is linked on the site If you have a Google Business Profile (and you should), your website should link to it — and your GBP should link back to your website. The NAP (Name, Address, Phone) should be identical on both.

☐ LocalBusiness schema markup is on the homepage This is a small piece of structured data that tells Google your business name, address, phone number, opening hours, and location. It significantly helps local search visibility. If your developer didn't add it, ask them to add it before launch.

Legal checks

☐ Privacy policy page exists If your site collects any personal data — a name in a contact form, an email address for a newsletter, even Google Analytics — you are required under Singapore's PDPA to have a privacy policy. It should be accessible from every page (usually the footer).

☐ Cookie consent banner is functional If you're using any cookies beyond just Google Analytics (tracking pixels, marketing tools, chat widgets), you need a cookie consent banner. Singapore doesn't have a strict cookie law like the EU's GDPR, but best practice is to disclose cookie usage and let users opt out.

☐ Terms of service page exists if needed If you're selling products or services online, or collecting any user data beyond basic contact enquiries, consider whether you need a terms of service page. Ask your lawyer.

Post-launch checks

☐ Google Analytics is installed and receiving data Open Google Analytics and check that it's showing real-time visitors (visit your own site in an incognito window). Confirm the data is flowing before you announce the launch — it's easier to fix tracking issues before you have traffic.

☐ Google Search Console shows the site is indexed In Search Console, check the "Pages" section. Your homepage should show as indexed. If it says "Discovered - currently not indexed," there's a problem with your sitemap or robots.txt.

☐ Test the contact form end-to-end Fill it out yourself. Submit it. Did you receive the email? Does it land in your inbox, not your spam folder? Test this before launch day — not during your launch event when a potential client is trying to reach you.

☐ Tell Google about the move if this is a redesign If this is a relaunch of an existing website (not a brand-new site), use Google's "Change of Address" tool in Search Console if you changed your domain. If you just refreshed the content on the same domain, submit the updated sitemap.

The one that causes the most damage: the contact form. Test it properly. Everything else on this list is a "nice to have" in terms of polish. A broken contact form is lost business that you'll never know you lost.

Run through all 20. Then announce your launch.