Pre-Launch Website QA Checklist

Keyboard, focus, semantics, forms, and contrast — a pre-launch subset aligned with common WCAG failures, not a full audit.

• Keyboard tab order is logicalAny

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Keyboard tab order is logical

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Disconnect the mouse. Tab through header, nav, main content, forms, and footer. Order should follow visual reading order.	Keyboard only	No unexpected jumps; all interactive targets reachable in a predictable sequence.

• Visible focus on every focusable controlEngineering

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Visible focus on every focusable control

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Tab through links, buttons, inputs, and custom widgets. Confirm a visible focus ring or outline (not removed via CSS).	Browser devtools (Styles)	Focus never invisible on primary flows (nav, hero CTA, forms).

• Skip to main content (or equivalent first-stop)Engineering

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Skip to main content (or equivalent first-stop)

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Load the page; first Tab press should reveal a skip link or land on main content with a clear h1.	Keyboard	Users can reach primary content without tabbing through full nav on every page type.

• Modals and menus trap focus correctly; ESC closesEngineering

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Modals and menus trap focus correctly; ESC closes

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Open each dialog, drawer, and mega-menu. Tab within; Shift+Tab out where intended; press ESC.	Keyboard	Focus restored to trigger on close; no orphaned focus or invisible traps.

• Form inputs have accessible namesEngineering

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Form inputs have accessible names

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Inspect each field: associated <label>, aria-label, or aria-labelledby. Placeholder alone does not count.	axe DevTools / Accessibility tree	Screen reader name for each field matches visible intent.

• Validation errors are perceivable and tied to fieldsEngineering

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Validation errors are perceivable and tied to fields

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Submit empty or invalid forms. Verify error text location and aria-describedby / role=alert where used.	Screen reader (spot) or VoiceOver/NVDA	Users can identify which field failed and how to fix it.

• Informative images have descriptive alt; decorative use empty altMarketing

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Informative images have descriptive alt; decorative use empty alt

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Sample hero, icons that convey meaning, and logos. Confirm alt text or aria-hidden for purely decorative graphics.	DevTools / CMS media library	No missing alt on meaningful images; no keyword-stuffed nonsense alt.

• Heading hierarchy supports the outlineMarketing

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Heading hierarchy supports the outline

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Verify one h1 per view where applicable; levels should not skip in ways that confuse structure (e.g. h1 → h4).	HeadingsMap extension or outline view	Outline reflects page sections sensibly on key templates.

• Landmarks orient screen-reader usersEngineering

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Landmarks orient screen-reader users

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Confirm main, header, and nav (and footer) landmarks exist and wrap the correct regions.	Accessibility tree	Rotor/landmark navigation lists coherent regions.

• Contrast and touch targets on primary flowsAny

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Contrast and touch targets on primary flows

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Spot-check body text, buttons, and nav against WCAG AA. On mobile, verify primary CTAs meet ~44×44px minimum.	WebAIM Contrast Checker; device toolbar	No AA failures on critical text/UI; tap targets not cramped on key CTAs.

Core Web Vitals and obvious bloat — document a snapshot; triage blockers before go-live.

• LCP element is not counter-productively lazy-loadedEngineering

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for LCP element is not counter-productively lazy-loaded

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Identify LCP (hero image, video poster, or text block). Ensure above-the-fold hero media is not deferred incorrectly.	Lighthouse Performance; Performance panel	LCP media loads in priority appropriate to its role.

• Layout stability on first paintEngineering

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Layout stability on first paint

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Hard refresh key pages. Watch for jumps from fonts, late images, or injected banners.	Lighthouse (CLS); slow 3G throttle optional	No distracting layout shift on hero and primary content.

• Primary interactions feel responsiveAny

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Primary interactions feel responsive

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Click main nav, open accordions, submit a small interaction. Note long tasks or jank.	Performance > quick manual INP spot	No obvious multi-second blocking on typical hardware.

• Images are right-sized and compressedEngineering

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Images are right-sized and compressed

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Spot-check largest images in Network: dimensions vs display size; format (WebP/AVIF where supported).	DevTools Network	No multi-megabyte hero assets without justification.

• Web fonts do not hide text during loadEngineering

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Web fonts do not hide text during load

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Throttle network; confirm body copy remains readable (font-display, fallbacks, or subsetting).	Network throttling	No prolonged invisible text on critical copy.

• Third-party scripts are lean and deferred where possibleEngineering

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Third-party scripts are lean and deferred where possible

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Inventory scripts (chat, ads, A/B). Confirm async/defer and load order vs consent.	Network waterfall; tag manager preview	No unnecessary render-blocking third parties on first view.

• Mobile Lighthouse (or PageSpeed) snapshot recordedEngineering

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Mobile Lighthouse (or PageSpeed) snapshot recorded

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Run Lighthouse mobile on home, one inner page, and a form page. Save PDF or scores to ticket.	Chrome Lighthouse / PageSpeed Insights	Critical performance regressions triaged or accepted in writing.

Indexing, duplicates, and share metadata — not a full content SEO strategy.

• Production is indexableEngineering

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Production is indexable

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  View source or response headers on production (or prod-like staging): confirm no accidental noindex sitewide.	curl -I; meta robots	Indexable pages allow indexing; staging remains non-indexed if separate.

• robots.txt is valid and intentionalEngineering

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for robots.txt is valid and intentional

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Fetch /robots.txt. Confirm disallow rules match environment; sitemap reference present if used.	Browser; Search Console (later)	No accidental block of entire site or key sections.

• Canonical URLs resolve duplicate templatesEngineering

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Canonical URLs resolve duplicate templates

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Check listing/detail pages for correct rel=canonical vs parameters and faceted URLs.	DevTools Elements	Canonical points to preferred URL on templated duplicates.

• XML sitemap lists indexable URLsEngineering

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for XML sitemap lists indexable URLs

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Open sitemap.xml (or index). Spot-check URLs return 200 and match indexation intent.	Browser; script/crawler optional	No mass 404s or noindex URLs in sitemap.

• HTTPS everywhere; mixed content absent on key pagesEngineering

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for HTTPS everywhere; mixed content absent on key pages

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Load home and form pages over HTTPS. Console should not report active mixed content.	Browser console	All active content HTTPS on sampled pages.

• Redirect matrix (www / apex / trailing slash)Engineering

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Redirect matrix (www / apex / trailing slash)

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Test primary host variants and trailing slash policy match your standard.	Browser; redirect mapper optional	Single preferred URL pattern; no redirect chains for common entry URLs.

• Title tags and meta descriptions on key pagesMarketing

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Title tags and meta descriptions on key pages

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Review titles and meta descriptions for home, key landings, and blog/portfolio templates. Note intentional omissions.	CMS or head component audit	No duplicate default titles; meta descriptions present or deliberately omitted per template with no accidental blanks on money pages.

• Open Graph / Twitter cards on share-critical templatesMarketing

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Open Graph / Twitter cards on share-critical templates

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Validate og:title, og:image, og:url on at least one article and home.	Facebook Sharing Debugger / Twitter Card Validator	Preview renders correctly; images meet minimum size guidance.

• Structured data validates where usedEngineering

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Structured data validates where used

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Run Rich Results Test on templates with JSON-LD (Organization, WebSite, Article, FAQ, etc.).	Google Rich Results Test	No critical errors for implemented types.

Trust, legal, and polish — what visitors and regulators see first.

• Legal links in footer resolveMarketing

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Legal links in footer resolve

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Click Privacy, Terms, Cookies (and Accessibility if present). Confirm 200 and correct copy version.	Manual click-through	All legal pages load with current year/entity where applicable.

• Contact details are consistent sitewideMarketing

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Contact details are consistent sitewide

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Compare footer, contact page, and schema/contact blocks for phone, email, address.	Visual scan	No conflicting numbers or outdated addresses.

• tel: and mailto: links are well-formedAny

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for tel: and mailto: links are well-formed

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Tap phone and email links on mobile and desktop.	Devices	Dialer/mail client opens with intended destination.

• Internal links on primary paths are not brokenMarketing

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Internal links on primary paths are not broken

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Crawl or manually walk main nav, footer, hero CTAs, and top blog links.	Site crawler or Check My Links	No 404s on primary navigation paths.

• Favicon and Apple touch icon presentEngineering

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Favicon and Apple touch icon present

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Check head tags and browser tab; add to home screen on iOS sample.	DevTools Elements	Icons display crisply; no default globe icon on major browsers.

• Copy QA on hero, forms, and legal snippetsMarketing

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Copy QA on hero, forms, and legal snippets

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Proofread above-the-fold copy, form labels, button text, and cookie banner.	Second reader optional	No typos or inconsistent product naming on critical UI.

• No placeholder or staging copy in productionMarketing

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for No placeholder or staging copy in production

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Search for lorem, TODO, TBD, 'coming soon', or client codenames in CMS and rendered HTML.	CMS search; view-source grep	Production pages contain final client-facing content.

• Copyright, trademark, and brand marks accurateMarketing

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Copyright, trademark, and brand marks accurate

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Verify © year, ™/® usage, and partner logos comply with agreements.	Legal/comms checklist	Footer and partner sections match signed permissions.

Measurement works in production builds; consent gates marketing tech as designed.

• Analytics tag fires in production build (not only dev)Engineering

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Analytics tag fires in production build (not only dev)

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Use a production build or staging with prod keys disabled substitute — follow your runbook. Verify network beacon.	Network tab; GA/PostHog debug	Page views or equivalent events appear in vendor debug view.

• Conversion or key events smoke-testedOps

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Conversion or key events smoke-tested

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Complete primary funnel actions (form submit, purchase, sign-up) and confirm tagged events.	Tag assistant / vendor debugger	Events named and attributed as spec’d.

• Cookie / consent banner matches policyMarketing

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Cookie / consent banner matches policy

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Read banner copy vs privacy policy categories (necessary, analytics, marketing).	Policy doc	Categories and toggles align with legal wording.

• Rejecting non-essential cookies blocks marketing scriptsEngineering

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Rejecting non-essential cookies blocks marketing scripts

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Decline optional cookies; reload; verify marketing pixels absent or stubbed until acceptance.	Network after consent change	No non-essential third-party load until consent granted (per design).

• Avoid sensitive PII in analytics payloadsEngineering

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Avoid sensitive PII in analytics payloads

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Inspect event parameters for email, name, or free-text fields in clear text.	Network payload review	Payloads follow redaction/hashing policy.

Leads land where sales expects them, with attribution intact.

• Form submission creates expected CRM recordOps

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Form submission creates expected CRM record

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Submit a test lead with a tagged email. Verify object type, pipeline, and owner.	CRM UI	Record visible with correct lifecycle stage.

• Field mapping (source, medium, campaign, UTMs) verifiedOps

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Field mapping (source, medium, campaign, UTMs) verified

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Append UTMs to landing URL; submit form; compare CRM fields to URL parameters.	CRM field inspector	Attribution fields match spec; no dropped query params.

• Routing rules assign the right owner or queueOps

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Routing rules assign the right owner or queue

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Trigger each routing branch (region, service line, etc.) with test data.	CRM workflow logs	Test leads reach intended queue/owner.

• Notification emails or Slack alerts receivedOps

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Notification emails or Slack alerts received

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Confirm internal notifications for new lead fire once (no duplicates).	Inbox / Slack	Stakeholders receive actionable notifications.

• Booking or calendar embed works; timezone sensibleOps

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Booking or calendar embed works; timezone sensible

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Book a test slot; confirm calendar holds, confirmations, and TZ display.	Calendly / HubSpot / etc.	Bookings sync; cancel/reschedule links work.

High-level sanity checks — not a penetration test.

• TLS certificate valid; HTTPS enforcedEngineering

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for TLS certificate valid; HTTPS enforced

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Visit site; check padlock; note expiry date and chain.	Browser; SSL Labs optional	No certificate warnings on main hostnames.

• No obvious secrets in client bundles or public reposEngineering

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for No obvious secrets in client bundles or public repos

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Search built JS for API keys; confirm env vars only expose publishable keys.	Source grep; bundle analyzer optional	No private keys or admin tokens in client artifacts.

• Spam controls match policy (honeypot, rate limit, CAPTCHA)Engineering

  Procedure, tool, and pass criteria for Spam controls match policy (honeypot, rate limit, CAPTCHA)

  Procedure	Tool	Pass criteria
  Submit rapid successive forms or known spam patterns per runbook.	Form logs	Abuse mitigations active without blocking legitimate users in spot tests.