17 Essential Website QA Tests Pre-Launch

You have a deadline, stakeholders are eager, and the site looks good. This is when mistakes slip through. Running 17 Essential Website QA Tests Pre-Launch — the same set many teams call 17 Website QA Tests to Run Before You Hit Publish — prevents avoidable fixes, protects your brand, and saves real money.

Why 17 Essential Website QA Tests Pre-Launch matter before you hit publish

Most launch issues aren’t exotic. They’re missed alt text, broken redirects, glitchy forms, or scripts firing twice. A disciplined pass through 17 Website QA Tests to Run Before You Hit Publish catches the common failures that frustrate users and burn post-launch time.

In practice, 17 Essential Website QA Tests Pre-Launch align your team on what “ready” means. Clear checks reduce debate, surface gaps, and give a defendable go/no-go decision. If your stakeholders ask what’s left, pointing to 17 Website QA Tests to Run Before You Hit Publish keeps the conversation objective.

17 Website QA Tests to Run Before You Hit Publish: Functional and content checks

17 Essential Website QA Tests Pre-Launch

Functional defects erode trust fastest. Start your 17 Website QA Tests to Run Before You Hit Publish with basics that real users notice in the first minute.

1. Broken links and 404s — Crawl the site to catch dead links, orphan pages, and missing assets. In the spirit of 17 Essential Website QA Tests Pre-Launch, validate custom 404s return the right status and helpful navigation.
2. Navigation and information architecture — Click every primary, secondary, and footer link. The 17 Website QA Tests to Run Before You Hit Publish should confirm consistent labels, active states, and that breadcrumbs match the path.
3. Copy, headings, and formatting — Proofread titles, H1–H3 structure, lists, and tables. Among the 17 Essential Website QA Tests Pre-Launch, this prevents awkward typos and improves scanning.
4. Forms: validation and error states — Test required fields, inline errors, success messages, and autoresponders. As part of 17 Website QA Tests to Run Before You Hit Publish, submit with bad data and no data. Confirm thank-you pages and event tracking fire once.
5. Site search and zero-results — If you have search, verify relevant results, filters, and a helpful zero-results state. This belongs in the 17 Essential Website QA Tests Pre-Launch because search is a rescue path when navigation fails.

17 Website QA Tests to Run Before You Hit Publish: Performance, devices, and reliability

Speed and stability affect conversion and SEO. These 17 Website QA Tests to Run Before You Hit Publish keep the site fast everywhere, not just on your office Wi‑Fi.

6. Cross-browser compatibility — Test current Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge. Include older supported versions. The 17 Essential Website QA Tests Pre-Launch should verify critical paths in each browser.
7. Responsive layouts on real devices — Check small phones to large desktops. Rotate, zoom, and test input types. This is central to 17 Website QA Tests to Run Before You Hit Publish because emulators miss real-world quirks.
8. Core performance (LCP, CLS, TBT) — Optimize hero images, font loading, and third-party scripts. In 17 Essential Website QA Tests Pre-Launch, confirm lazy loading, compression, and HTTP/2 are working.
9. Caching and CDN — Verify cache-control headers, CDN rules, and image variants. The 17 Website QA Tests to Run Before You Hit Publish should ensure you can purge quickly post-launch.
10. Monitoring and alerts — Set uptime checks and error logging before go-live. Including this in 17 Essential Website QA Tests Pre-Launch means you find issues before users do.

17 Website QA Tests to Run Before You Hit Publish: Accessibility and compliance

Accessibility is not optional. It’s part of quality. Baking it into 17 Website QA Tests to Run Before You Hit Publish reduces risk and improves usability for everyone.

11. Keyboard navigation — Tab through menus, forms, and modals. In 17 Essential Website QA Tests Pre-Launch, confirm visible focus states and logical order.
12. Alt text and color contrast — Provide meaningful alt text and meet contrast ratios. This is a cornerstone of 17 Website QA Tests to Run Before You Hit Publish for non-visual users.
13. Semantic HTML and ARIA — Use proper headings, landmarks, and ARIA only where needed. As part of 17 Essential Website QA Tests Pre-Launch, screen-reader test key pages.

17 Website QA Tests to Run Before You Hit Publish: Security, privacy, and data

Security and privacy failures are costly. These 17 Website QA Tests to Run Before You Hit Publish guard data and trust.

14. HTTPS everywhere and HSTS — Force secure URLs, fix mixed content, and add HSTS. This belongs in 17 Essential Website QA Tests Pre-Launch to prevent downgrade and sniffing attacks.
15. Input sanitization and spam protection — Validate on server and client, rate-limit forms, and use honeypots or turnstiles. Refer to the OWASP Top 10 while you run 17 Website QA Tests to Run Before You Hit Publish.
16. Consent and data retention — Implement a clear cookie consent, respect choices, and document retention. In 17 Essential Website QA Tests Pre-Launch, verify analytics honors consent.

17 Website QA Tests to Run Before You Hit Publish: SEO, analytics, and go-live

Findability and measurement complete your quality picture. Ending your 17 Website QA Tests to Run Before You Hit Publish here makes launch measurable and reversible.

17. SEO foundations and tracking — Set unique titles and meta descriptions, add basic schema, confirm canonical tags, and generate XML sitemaps. Check robots.txt, 301 redirect maps, and noindex rules. Validate analytics, pixels, and conversion events fire once. This capstone in 17 Essential Website QA Tests Pre-Launch prevents the two biggest post-launch regrets: lost rankings and missing data.

17 Essential Website QA Tests Pre-Launch — quick recap

If a debate stalls, point back to 17 Website QA Tests to Run Before You Hit Publish. If you’re short on time, prioritize forms, speed, accessibility, and redirects. Then complete the remaining items in 17 Essential Website QA Tests Pre-Launch within the first week.

Common misconceptions: that staging equals production, that one Lighthouse run is enough, or that a page builder guarantees accessibility. The discipline of 17 Website QA Tests to Run Before You Hit Publish is about repeatability, not tools. Use the tools, but confirm with human checks.

Practical next step: assign each of the 17 Essential Website QA Tests Pre-Launch to an owner, set pass/fail criteria, and log defects with clear repro steps. If you need a second set of eyes, our web design services include pre‑launch QA audits aligned to these 17 Website QA Tests to Run Before You Hit Publish.

Ship when ready, not when rushed. A steady hour invested in 17 Essential Website QA Tests Pre-Launch will save days of emergency fixes later — and your customers will never know what they missed.