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Launch checklist

Everything a product's website needs before launch day, in order, each step with the free tool that checks it, then the steps for launch day itself.

0 of 17 done. Your ticks stay in this browser.

Your site is ready

Google and AI assistants can find it

Your listing is ready

  • Every launch post, tweet and Slack link shows this card. Check with the Social card preview

  • Write for what buyers type, not for what you call it internally. Check with the Keyword generator

  • A permanent page that passes every check above, and a link you can earn. Do it now

Launch day

After launch

  • Agents increasingly do the comparing and the buying for people. Check with the Agent readiness checker

  • A new theme often drops the meta tags, the schema or the sitemap without anyone noticing. Check with the SEO checker

Copy it to your notes

# Product launch checklist

## Your site is ready

- [ ] HTTPS everywhere, with a certificate that isn't about to expire (https://makerradar.io/tools/ssl-certificate-checker): Browsers warn on anything else, and a lapsed certificate takes the whole site down on launch day.
- [ ] Security headers set (HSTS, a content security policy, frame protection) (https://makerradar.io/tools/security-headers-checker): A launch brings scanners along with visitors; headers are the cheap first line.
- [ ] SPF, DKIM and DMARC on your domain (https://makerradar.io/tools/email-dns-checker): Launch-day sign-ups trigger your first wave of emails: without these they land in spam.
- [ ] No broken links on the homepage and pricing page (https://makerradar.io/tools/broken-link-checker): A 404 from your own nav is the fastest way to lose a visitor from a launch post.
- [ ] A favicon, an Apple touch icon and a 512 px app icon (https://makerradar.io/tools/logo-grabber): Directories, browsers and phones all pick your logo from these.

## Google and AI assistants can find it

- [ ] A clear title, meta description and one H1 on every page (https://makerradar.io/tools/seo-checker): It's what a search result and an AI answer quote first.
- [ ] Organization and SoftwareApplication structured data (https://makerradar.io/tools/structured-data-checker): Rich results and AI answers read the name, price and rating from it.
- [ ] A sitemap, named in robots.txt (https://makerradar.io/tools/sitemap-checker): The quickest way to get every page of a new site discovered.
- [ ] AI crawlers allowed, content in the HTML, an llms.txt (https://makerradar.io/tools/ai-visibility-checker): ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity can only recommend what they can read.
- [ ] A page that answers the questions buyers ask, in plain sentences (https://makerradar.io/tools/geo-checker): Answer engines quote pages that define the product up top and answer questions directly.

## Your listing is ready

- [ ] A share image (1200 × 630) and Open Graph tags (https://makerradar.io/tools/social-card-preview): Every launch post, tweet and Slack link shows this card.
- [ ] The searches you want to be found for, in your tagline and description (https://makerradar.io/tools/keyword-generator): Write for what buyers type, not for what you call it internally.
- [ ] Your product listed on MakerRadar, its domain proven (https://makerradar.io/submit): A permanent page that passes every check above, and a link you can earn.

## Launch day

- [ ] A list of directories to submit to, best first (https://makerradar.io/tools/launch-directory-planner): Spread submissions over a few weeks; the strongest links first.
- [ ] The alternatives people compare you with, and your answer to each (https://makerradar.io/tools/alternatives-finder): Comparison searches are where buyers decide.

## After launch

- [ ] Make the product usable by AI agents (llms.txt, an API, an MCP server) (https://makerradar.io/tools/agent-readiness-checker): Agents increasingly do the comparing and the buying for people.
- [ ] Re-run the checks after every redesign (https://makerradar.io/tools/seo-checker): A new theme often drops the meta tags, the schema or the sitemap without anyone noticing.

What do I need to do before launching my SaaS?

A launch checklist covers two things: a site that search engines, AI assistants and visitors can trust and understand, and a plan for where and when you'll announce it.

What it checks

  • Your site: HTTPS, security headers, email DNS, working links and icons

  • Findable: titles and descriptions, structured data, a sitemap, AI crawler access

  • Your listing: a share image, the right keywords, a page on a directory

  • Launch day: where to submit, and the alternatives you'll be compared with

  • After launch: agent readiness, and re-checking after every redesign

Use it from your AI assistant

Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and any other MCP client can run this check for you. Add the server below, then ask it to check a site: the tool is get_launch_checklist. No sign-up and no key.

https://api.makerradar.io/mcp

Or call the REST API, which answers the same report as JSON:

curl -X POST https://api.makerradar.io/v1/tools/launch-checklist \
  -H "content-type: application/json" -d '{}'

MCP server guide · API reference

Get a page that passes, free

Every product on MakerRadar gets a permanent page with a clean title and description, structured data, an FAQ, a Markdown version for AI assistants and a place in our llms.txt — and a backlink you can earn.

Related tools

  • Website grader

    Paste a URL and get one grade for the whole site: found on Google, quoted by AI, shared well and safe to visit, with the fixes that matter most first.

    Reads the page

  • Launch directory planner

    Pick what you need (free, a dofollow link, a minimum Domain Rating) and get a short, ranked plan of where to launch, a few a week, with each directory's DR.

    Answers from MakerRadar's own catalogue

  • Social card preview

    Paste a URL and see the card X, LinkedIn, Facebook and Slack will show when someone shares it — and why it might show no image at all.

    Reads the page

  • Email DNS checker (SPF, DMARC, DKIM)

    Will mail from this domain land in the inbox? Check its SPF, DMARC and DKIM in one go.

    Looks up the domain, never visits the site

More free tools

  • Domain availability checker

    Type a name and see which startup domains are free, and for the taken ones, when they were registered and with which registrar.

    Looks up the domain, never visits the site

  • Alternatives finder

    Paste a product's address and see the products listed here that do the same job, in the order its alternatives page ranks them.

    Answers from MakerRadar's own catalogue

  • SEO checker

    Paste a URL and see what Google reads on that page — and what to fix first.

    Reads the page

  • AI visibility checker

    Find out whether AI assistants and answer engines are allowed to read your site — and can understand it when they do.

    Reads the page

  • AI citation checker

    Paste a URL and see how easy that page is for ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews to quote, signal by signal, with what to add first.

    Reads the page

  • What AI sees

    Paste a URL and read the page the way an AI assistant does: the HTML your server sends, turned into Markdown, with its outline, and whether your content only appears once JavaScript runs.

    Reads the page

  • llms.txt generator

    Paste your site's address: we check its /llms.txt against the spec, or draft one from your homepage that you can save as it is.

    Reads the page

  • Agent readiness checker

    Paste your site's address and see which of the files and signals AI agents look for it publishes: the same set this site publishes for them.

    Reads the page

  • Logo & favicon grabber

    Paste a URL and see every icon the site declares, its real size, and the one a directory or app would pick: shown from the site's own address, never copied.

    Reads the page

  • robots.txt tester

    Paste any URL on a site and see, for Google, Bing and every major AI crawler, whether its robots.txt lets them fetch it — and which line decides.

    Reads the page

  • Structured data checker

    Paste a URL and see every schema.org type the page declares in JSON-LD, which rich results it can earn, and the fields each one is missing.

    Reads the page

  • Sitemap checker

    Paste your site's address: we find its sitemap the way search engines do, read it, and tell you what would stop them using it.

    Reads the page

  • Broken link checker

    Paste a URL and see every link on that page that's broken or redirects: up to 50 links, same-site first, each with its status and anchor text.

    Reads the page

  • Redirect checker

    Paste a URL and see every hop it takes before it lands: the status code, the address and what changed, with loops and long chains flagged.

    Reads the page

  • SERP snippet preview

    Paste a URL and see how its page would show in Google, with where the title and description would be cut and how to fit them.

    Reads the page

  • AI crawler robots.txt generator

    Choose, crawler by crawler, which AI companies may read your site for search and which for training, and copy the robots.txt lines.

    Runs in your browser

  • Keyword generator

    Start from what your product is and get the searches — and the questions people ask AI — that lead to products like it.

    Runs in your browser

  • Domain rating checker

    See how strong a domain's backlink profile is — the number launch directories are ranked by.

    Looks up the domain, never visits the site

  • Security headers checker

    See which protections a site sends with every page — and which it's missing.

    Reads the page

  • Domain age checker

    How old is a domain, who registered it and when does it expire — straight from the registry.

    Looks up the domain, never visits the site

  • SSL certificate checker

    Who issued the site's certificate, when it expires, and whether the zone allows that issuer.

    Looks up the domain, never visits the site

  • Hosting & CDN lookup

    Where a site is served from: its platform, its edge network and the origin behind it.

    Looks up the domain, never visits the site

  • Tech stack detector

    Find out what a site is built with and which third-party scripts it loads.

    Reads the page

Frequently asked questions

What should be on a website launch checklist?

The technical basics: every page has a title, a description and one H1, HTTP redirects to HTTPS, a sitemap and robots.txt let search engines in, shared links show a card, and links aren't broken. Then trust: a way to contact you, a privacy policy, and SPF, DKIM and DMARC so your emails arrive.

What should I do before launching a product?

Make the site findable and trustworthy first, then plan the launch: where you'll post, who you'll tell and when, and a page that says in one line what the product does and who it's for. Launch where your buyers already look, not everywhere at once.

Do I need to launch on Product Hunt?

No. It's one launch channel among many: directories, communities where your users are, newsletters and your own audience. Many products launch in several places over a few weeks.