A new website or redesign is one of the riskiest moments for search traffic. Rankings built over years can drop within days if old URLs stop working, a staging noindex tag goes live, or pages that ranked lose their content. Almost all of these problems are avoidable with a checklist that someone actually works through.
This checklist covers the full launch in three phases. Before launch: export every current URL, save baseline numbers, build a one-to-one redirect map, protect the staging site and test speed, mobile layout and tracking on the new templates. Launch day: remove staging blocks, switch on and test redirects, check HTTPS and the preferred host, publish and submit the XML sitemap, and test every form. First 30 days: watch Search Console, compare traffic with the baseline, fix 404s that matter and keep redirects in place.
Each item has a priority (critical, high or normal) and a short note on why it matters and how to do it. Tick items as you go, add an owner or note, filter by phase or what is still open, and export to CSV or copy the list as text to share with your developer. Everything is saved only in your browser, so you can close the page and come back later.