A Comprehensive Website Development Checklist

November 29, 2017

Content

All text free from spelling errors
Page and content formatting appropriate on all pages
Placeholder text removed
All pages have content
Privacy Policy included (Generate one at getterms.io)
Print stylesheet exists and tested
Favicon created and displays correctly (retina included)
Device icons created and display correctly
Footer includes copyright statement
404 page exists and informative
Correct author is attributed to pages and posts (as required)

SEO & Analytics

Page titles are descriptive and SEO friendly
All page titles are unique
Meta data included and appropriate
H1s used for page titles and only one H1 per page
XML sitemap has been generated and added to root of website
robots.txt is generated and added to root of website
301 redirects for existing website are prepared and in place
Website can be accessed by search engines (remove noindex, nofollow for pages)
Google Analytics and relevant analytics/tracking tools installed

Social

Open Graph tags included across website and appropriate? (including images where possible)
Social accounts integrated, linking to correct URLs and use API for integrations

Markup

HTML has passed validation (or known issues noted)
CSS has passed validation (or known issues noted)
Bonus: CSS tested on CSS Lint (to hurt your feelings)
Site links have been tested and resolve correctly
JavaScript is error free

Accessibility

Website meets appropriate level of WCAG compliance
ARIA Landmark Roles specified
Semantic headings and structure used
Links are clearly recognisable and have :focus state
Images use appropriate ALT text
Alternatives provided for users with Javascript disabled
Forms have logical layout
Associated label for all form controls
Colour contrast tested
Check accessibility with The W3C Markup Validation Service or WAVE

Rendering

Displays & functions correctly in IE9
Displays & functions correctly in IE10
Displays & functions correctly in IE11
Displays & functions correctly in Firefox (Windows)
Displays & functions correctly in Firefox (Mac)
Displays & functions correctly in Chrome (Windows)
Displays & functions correctly in Chrome (Mac)
Displays & functions correctly in Safari (Mac)
Displays & functions correctly in Safari (iOS – Mobile)
Displays & functions correctly in Safari (iOS – iPad)
Displays & functions correctly in Chrome (iOS – Mobile)
Displays & functions correctly in Chrome (iOS – iPad)
Displays & functions correctly in Chrome (Android – Mobile)
Displays & functions correctly in Chrome (Android – Tablet)
Displays & functions correctly in stock browser (Android)
Displays & functions correctly in Microsoft Edge
Displays & functions correctly on large resolutions

Functionality

Forms have been tested and processed correctly
Required fields have been tested
Review input validation (min/max lengths, character limits)
Forms send to the correct recipient
Forms have confirmation URL or event tracking so submissions can be tracked
Forms process correctly with JavaScript disabled

Website search and search results function correctly

Optimisation

Images have been optimised
CSS is minified and combined
JavaScript is minified and combined (as much as possible)
Enable gzip compression
Ensure only necessary fonts, weights and character sets are installed
Run Google speed test and optimise accordingly (record score and known issues)
Run Web page test and optimise accordingly (record results)
Incorporate CDN / Caching as required

Security

Secure areas are locked down and not accessible by search engines
Default CMS login URL is changed
Default CMS username is changed
SSL Certificate is requested

Post Launch

Ensure site is visible to search engines
SSL certificates successfully installed
Images, media and links reference live URL
Webfonts integrated and working correctly on live site
Webfonts set to production (as required)
301 redirects are in place and working correctly
Website URL has been submitted to Google
Generate a new sitemap.xml and upload to root
Site added to Google Webmaster tools and sitemap submitted
Analytics has been setup and integrated into website

A Comprehensive Website Development Checklist

Content

SEO & Analytics

Social

Markup

Accessibility

Rendering

Functionality

Optimisation

Security

Post Launch

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