Website Launch Content Checklist: A Practical Go or Hold Review

The go-or-hold checklist

• Identity: correct business name and contact routes.
• Offer: services, inclusions, exclusions and prices where used match approved facts.
• Rights: permission exists for photographs, customer names and quotations.
• Navigation: visible links reach appropriate published destinations.
• Enquiry: the form’s result and team receipt have been checked.
• Readability: headings, images and buttons remain usable on narrow screens.
• Languages: published variants are complete and their switcher destinations correct.
• Ownership: someone can approve a correction and maintain the information after launch.

For each entry record pass/hold/not applicable, evidence, owner and resolution. Explain why an item is not applicable rather than using that label to hide a gap.

A fictional hold decision

The site looks finished, but a testimonial lacks permission and the main enquiry button points to an unpublished page. Hold publication of the affected content or resolve both issues before launch. Visual polish does not compensate for the unsupported quote or unusable next step.

After removing or authorising the quote and fixing the destination, repeat only the affected checks. Retain the original finding and its resolution; do not rewrite the history as though no problem existed.

Separate blockers from improvements

An incorrect phone number affects a core action. A possible headline experiment may be an improvement rather than a launch blocker. Decide from the user’s task, accuracy and agreed scope, not from the number of comments in a review document.

Record an accepted follow-up with an owner. Do not label a known functional failure “later polish” merely to clear the checklist.

Sign off the content you actually reviewed

State the page versions, languages and date. If significant content changes afterwards, review the affected claims and paths again rather than treating an earlier screenshot as current evidence.

This is editorial acceptance, not a legal compliance review, complete accessibility audit or promise of Google indexing. Technical security and deployment checks remain separate responsibilities.