In this episode Wes and Scott discuss their pre-launch checklists. They talk about performance, accessibility, compatibility, SEO, analytics, and more - all the things you should check before launching something to the world.

Sentry - Sponsor

If you want to know what's happening with your errors, track them with Sentry. Sentry is open-source error tracking that helps developers monitor and fix crashes in real time. Cut your time on error resolution from five hours to five minutes. It works with any language and integrates with dozens of other services. Syntax listeners can get two months for free by visiting Sentry.io and using the coupon code "tastytreat".

.tech Domains - Sponsor

Finding a great domain name is tough with so many names already taken. If you're looking for a domain name for your startup, side project, or anything at all, check out .tech Domains. Syntax listeners can get 90% off both one-year, five-year and ten-year registration by visiting go.tech/syntax and using the coupon code "syntax".

Show Notes

1:45 - Overall

Let robots do the work for you - use auditing tools
- Lighthouse
- SEO Checkers
- Accessibility checkers like axe

2:58 - Performance

Compress those images
Minify
Code Splitting
- Smaller bundles where it makes sense
- A future where it’s done for us
Run page speed tests like Google PageSpeed Insights
Don’t service worker on launch
Syntax Ep 50 - Progressive Web Apps

11:43 - Compatibility

Test on actual browsers that need to be supported
Ask people to check on their devices
Use a service like Browserstack
Browser resolution and ratios
Cache busters

16:00 - Sales / Credit Cards

Use package.lock
Have multiple people test your checkout
Make sure your company name is listed on customer's credit card bills
Have a phone number listed for disputes

24:55 - Tips from the Trenches

Secure API endpoints
Scale up server just in case
Early access
Soft launch
Make sure URLs are correct - no "localhost:3000", etc.

31:25 - Content

Check spelling and grammar
A working 404 page
Check for leftover placeholder text → launching with lorem ipsum is not good

34:39 - Accessibility

Alt text
Run color contrast checker
Run Lighthouse
Correct tab order
- Use the site with keyboard only and make sure it’s a good experience

37:35 - SEO

Sitemap created and uploaded to Google Webmaster Tools
SEO checkers
Meta tags
Correct heading hierarchy

41:55 - Analytics

Google analytics
Facebook tracking pixel
Drip

43:23 - Server config & access

.htaccess
- redirects where needed
robots.txt
- prevent indexing of some pages
Enable GZIP
Caching
Cloudflare or other CDN

46:12 - Company Processes

Make sure tests are passing
Git issues are closed
Merge pull requests
Write documentation on processes (readme, etc.)
Deploy to staging environment and test production build
No unwanted logs or errors left in production build
DNS Propagation