How to QA a Website Before Launch (50-Point Pre-Launch Checklist)

A proper answer to how to QA a website before launch is the difference between a clean go-live and a panicked weekend of bug-fixing while customers complain. Most German SME launches skip half the QA process either to hit a deadline or because no one wrote down what “QA done” actually means. The result: launch-week chaos, ranking drops, and a project manager who never quite recovers.

This guide gives you a 50-point pre-launch checklist organised by category — functional, visual, performance, SEO, GDPR, accessibility, content, and legal. Use it as a written acceptance gate before approving any new site for production.

Functional QA (10 Points)

1. Forms submit successfully — test every form, verify confirmation message + email delivery
2. Form data reaches CRM / inbox — confirm submissions arrive where they should
3. Spam protection works — Turnstile, hCaptcha, or honeypot active and not blocking real submissions
4. Internal links work — no 404s within the site (run Screaming Frog crawl)
5. External links open correctly — important external links work
6. Search function returns relevant results — if site search is present, test with real queries
7. Login / registration flows — test signup, login, password reset (if applicable)
8. E-commerce checkout flow — full purchase test with test payment, refund flow tested
9. Cookie banner functions correctly — opt-in works, opt-out clears cookies, no consent leakage
10. Embedded videos, maps, third-party widgets load — and respect cookie consent

Visual QA (8 Points)

11. Cross-browser rendering — Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge on macOS + Windows
12. Mobile rendering — real iPhone (multiple sizes) and real Android device
13. Tablet rendering — iPad landscape + portrait
14. High-DPI / retina — images don’t look fuzzy on 2x+ density displays
15. Dark mode — if the site supports it, verify contrast and readability
16. Print stylesheet — pages print cleanly without navigation/footer chrome
17. Font loading — no flash of unstyled text or flash of invisible text
18. Animation and transitions — feel polished, don’t break on lower-end devices

Performance QA (6 Points)

19. Mobile LCP under 2.5 seconds — verified in PageSpeed Insights on a real URL
20. Desktop LCP under 1.8 seconds
21. CLS under 0.1 — no layout shifts during load
22. INP under 200ms — interaction responsiveness
23. Image optimisation — all production images served as WebP or AVIF, properly sized
24. Caching configured — server-side caching, CDN, browser cache headers all set

SEO QA (8 Points)

25. Every page has unique title tag (under 60 characters, primary keyword included)
26. Every page has unique meta description (140–160 characters, includes CTA)
27. H1 tag present and unique per page — primary keyword in H1
28. Heading hierarchy correct — H1 → H2 → H3 logical structure, no skipped levels
29. Schema markup validates — test with Google’s Rich Results Test
30. XML sitemap generated and accessible — submitted to Search Console
31. robots.txt allows production crawl — NOT the staging “Disallow: /” version
32. 301 redirects from old URLs — every legacy ranking URL redirects correctly

GDPR & Legal QA (8 Points)

33. Cookie banner is TTDSG-compliant — granular consent, equal Accept/Reject buttons
34. Google Fonts self-hosted — not loading from Google CDN
35. Impressum is complete and legally compliant — full company info, USt-IdNr.
36. Datenschutzerklärung covers all data flows — including all third-party services
37. AVV / DPA signed with hosting — and with any other data processor
38. Cookie consent before tracking — analytics and pixels only fire after user consent
39. Newsletter double opt-in — confirmation email required (mandatory for Germany)
40. AGB / Terms accessible — for e-commerce or service businesses

Accessibility QA (5 Points)

41. Keyboard navigation works throughout — every interactive element reachable via Tab
42. Alt text on meaningful images — decorative images have empty alt
43. Color contrast meets 4.5:1 for body text, 3:1 for large text
44. Form labels properly associated — every input has a label, errors are announced
45. ARIA landmarks present — main, nav, footer, etc. for screen readers

Content & Final Polish (5 Points)

46. Spelling and grammar — proofread in both languages if multilingual
47. Placeholder content removed — no “Lorem ipsum” or test data anywhere
48. 404 page is helpful — not just “Page Not Found” but useful navigation
49. Search Console + GA4 verified — properties verified, conversions configured
50. Backup created — fresh backup taken on launch day, before going live

Tools You’ll Use

For a thorough pre-launch QA pass:

• Screaming Frog — crawl entire staging site, find 404s, redirect chains, missing tags
• Google Search Console + Google Analytics 4 — verify properties, set up conversions
• PageSpeed Insights / Lighthouse — Core Web Vitals testing
• WAVE / axe DevTools — accessibility checking
• BrowserStack or LambdaTest — cross-browser testing
• Google’s Rich Results Test — schema markup validation
• Mobile-Friendly Test — Google’s mobile rendering check
• Real devices — iPhone, Android, iPad — emulators are not enough

How Long Pre-Launch QA Actually Takes

Realistic time for a thorough pass on a typical German SME corporate website:

• Small brochure site (5–10 pages): 1–2 days
• Standard corporate site (10–30 pages): 3–5 days
• E-commerce shop (50+ pages): 5–10 days
• Complex SaaS or portal: 10–20 days across multiple sprints

Build this into your project timeline. Rushed QA is the most common cause of post-launch firefighting.

QA Sign-Off Protocol

Don’t do QA verbally. Use a written sign-off:

• Each section reviewed and signed by a named person
• Outstanding issues triaged into “blocker / major / minor / cosmetic”
• Only blockers and majors prevent launch
• Minors and cosmetics go on the post-launch backlog with target dates

This converts QA from a vague “looks good” to a documented acceptance gate.

Common QA Mistakes German Teams Make

Five patterns:

1. Skipping mobile real-device testing. Chrome DevTools emulator catches most issues but misses iOS-specific quirks.
2. Forgetting robots.txt update. Staging blocks crawlers; teams forget to flip the production version to allow.
3. Cookie banner only configured for “Accept all”. TTDSG requires equal Accept/Reject and granular control.
4. No schema markup testing. Old schema breaks during redesign; rich snippets disappear; nobody notices.
5. No GA4 + GTM verification on production. Site launches, sales team discovers weeks later that conversions aren’t being tracked.

Pre-Launch QA for E-commerce (Additional Layers)

Online shops need extra QA:

• Complete a real purchase using a test product
• Test refund flow end-to-end
• Verify VAT calculation per country (especially for EU cross-border)
• Test discount codes
• Verify abandoned cart email triggers
• Test inventory sync if connected to ERP
• Verify shipping method calculations
• Test Trusted Shops integration if used
• Verify all payment methods (Klarna, PayPal, SEPA, Apple Pay)
• Email receipt arrives and renders correctly

Pre-Launch QA for SaaS Products

For SaaS, additional layers:

• Signup → onboarding → first-value flow tested as a new user
• Subscription management (upgrade, downgrade, cancel) works
• Stripe webhooks tested
• Email transactional flows (welcome, password reset, billing)
• Single-tenant data isolation verified
• API rate limiting tested
• Logging and monitoring active (Sentry, Grafana)
• GDPR data export and deletion flows functional

After Launch: First 30 Days of Monitoring

QA doesn’t end at launch. Monitor for the first 30 days:

• Daily for week 1: Search Console errors, GA4 traffic, conversion tracking
• Weekly for weeks 2–4: ranking volatility, page speed, error rates
• Monthly thereafter: SEO performance, conversion trends, technical debt

For a deeper migration-specific monitoring approach, see our Website Redesign Without Losing Google Rankings playbook.

When to Hire External QA Help

Most German SME projects benefit from a final external QA pass — even if you’ve QAd internally:

• Costs typically €1,500–€5,000 for a thorough audit
• Catches issues the internal team is blind to
• Provides written sign-off for Geschäftsführung approval
• Particularly valuable for compliance-heavy projects (BFSG, GDPR)

For broader pre-launch services, see our website development services page.

Frequently Asked Questions About QA Before Website Launch

Final Word on How to QA a Website Before Launch

The 50-point checklist above is the difference between a controlled launch and a panicked one. Build the time for it into every project, treat the sign-off as a real gate, and the post-launch weeks become quiet — not the firefighting marathon most SME launches turn into.

If you’d like an external pre-launch audit on a project you’re about to launch — covering all 50 points plus DACH-specific compliance — our team offers a fixed-fee QA service. You can book a 30-minute call to discuss scope, or browse our website development services for our broader delivery approach.