[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":663},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-small-business-website-launch-checklist":3,"blog-related-small-business-website-launch-checklist":374},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"body":7,"description":348,"extension":349,"faqs":350,"heroImage":363,"heroImageDescription":363,"meta":364,"navigation":365,"path":366,"pillar":367,"publishedAt":368,"readMinutes":369,"seo":370,"slug":371,"stem":372,"__hash__":373},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fsmall-business-website-launch-checklist.md","The Small Business Website Launch Checklist","Ben Wallace",{"type":8,"value":9,"toc":334},"minimark",[10,14,19,26,32,38,44,50,54,60,66,72,78,84,88,103,109,115,121,125,131,175,187,191,197,203,209,219,230,236,246,250,256,262,268,274,278,284,290,294,316,320,328],[11,12,13],"p",{},"Before a small business website goes live, it should have its core pages finished, working forms, HTTPS, fast load times on a phone, basic SEO in place, analytics and Search Console connected, and a plan for the old site's URLs. This checklist walks through each item with a short note on what to check and why. Use it whether you built the site yourself, hired someone, or you're about to sign off on a project with us.",[15,16,18],"h2",{"id":17},"content-and-pages","Content and pages",[11,20,21,25],{},[22,23,24],"strong",{},"☐ Every core page is finished."," Most small businesses need a homepage, a page for each main service, an About page, a Contact page, and a privacy policy. Add an FAQ section and some proof of your work (reviews, a portfolio, or case examples). No \"coming soon\" pages: if a page isn't ready, leave it out of the menu until it is.",[11,27,28,31],{},[22,29,30],{},"☐ No placeholder text anywhere."," Search the site for \"lorem ipsum,\" \"TBD,\" \"your text here,\" and template sample content. Check the footer and the 404 page too; that's where leftovers hide.",[11,33,34,37],{},[22,35,36],{},"☐ Your name, address, and phone number are identical everywhere."," Compare the header, footer, Contact page, structured data, and Google Business Profile. Pick one format and use it every time.",[11,39,40,43],{},[22,41,42],{},"☐ Prices, hours, and service areas are current."," If you publish them, they need to be right on launch day. Outdated facts on a new site undermine trust fast.",[11,45,46,49],{},[22,47,48],{},"☐ Someone other than you has proofread it."," You've read it too many times to see the typos. Ask a friend or employee to read every page on a phone.",[15,51,53],{"id":52},"functionality","Functionality",[11,55,56,59],{},[22,57,58],{},"☐ Every form has been tested end to end."," Submit each form with real details and confirm the message arrives in the right inbox, not spam. Then check what the visitor sees after submitting. A form that silently fails is worse than no form.",[11,61,62,65],{},[22,63,64],{},"☐ Phone numbers and emails are tappable."," On a phone, tapping the number should start a call and tapping the email address should open a new message.",[11,67,68,71],{},[22,69,70],{},"☐ Every link works."," Click every menu item, button, and footer link. Run a broken-link checker if the site is more than a handful of pages.",[11,73,74,77],{},[22,75,76],{},"☐ The site works on real devices."," Check at least one iPhone, one Android phone, and a desktop browser. Emulators miss things that real thumbs find.",[11,79,80,83],{},[22,81,82],{},"☐ Booking, payments, or other integrations have been tested."," If customers can book or buy, make a real test booking or purchase and refund it.",[15,85,87],{"id":86},"security-and-hosting","Security and hosting",[11,89,90,93,94,98,99,102],{},[22,91,92],{},"☐ HTTPS is on, and HTTP redirects to it."," Visit ",[95,96,97],"code",{},"http:\u002F\u002Fyourdomain.com"," and confirm it lands on ",[95,100,101],{},"https:\u002F\u002F",". Browsers flag sites without HTTPS as not secure.",[11,104,105,108],{},[22,106,107],{},"☐ www and non-www go to the same place."," Pick one version and redirect the other to it, so you don't have two copies of your site.",[11,110,111,114],{},[22,112,113],{},"☐ You own the domain and the accounts."," The domain registrar, hosting, Google Analytics, Search Console, and Google Business Profile should all be in accounts you control, with your designer added as a user rather than the owner.",[11,116,117,120],{},[22,118,119],{},"☐ Backups are set up."," Know where backups live, how often they run, and how you'd restore one.",[15,122,124],{"id":123},"speed","Speed",[11,126,127,130],{},[22,128,129],{},"☐ The site loads quickly on a phone."," Run your homepage and one service page through Google's PageSpeed Insights. Aim for Google's \"good\" Core Web Vitals thresholds:",[132,133,134,147],"table",{},[135,136,137],"thead",{},[138,139,140,144],"tr",{},[141,142,143],"th",{},"Metric",[141,145,146],{},"Target",[148,149,150,159,167],"tbody",{},[138,151,152,156],{},[153,154,155],"td",{},"Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)",[153,157,158],{},"2.5 seconds or less",[138,160,161,164],{},[153,162,163],{},"Interaction to Next Paint (INP)",[153,165,166],{},"200 milliseconds or less",[138,168,169,172],{},[153,170,171],{},"Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)",[153,173,174],{},"0.1 or less",[11,176,177,180,181,186],{},[22,178,179],{},"☐ Images are compressed and correctly sized."," A photo straight off a camera is usually far larger than it needs to be. Resize and compress before upload, and use modern formats like WebP or AVIF where your setup supports them. Our post on ",[182,183,185],"a",{"href":184},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhy-your-website-is-slow","why websites are slow"," covers the common fixes.",[15,188,190],{"id":189},"seo-and-geo","SEO and GEO",[11,192,193,196],{},[22,194,195],{},"☐ Every page has a unique title tag and meta description."," The title names the page's topic (and your area, for local businesses). The description is one or two sentences a searcher would want to click.",[11,198,199,202],{},[22,200,201],{},"☐ Every page has exactly one H1."," It states what the page is about.",[11,204,205,208],{},[22,206,207],{},"☐ Images have alt text."," Describe what's in the image, briefly and honestly.",[11,210,211,214,215,218],{},[22,212,213],{},"☐ The site isn't blocking search engines."," Check that robots.txt doesn't disallow the whole site and that pages don't carry a leftover ",[95,216,217],{},"noindex"," tag from staging. This one mistake can keep a new site out of Google entirely.",[11,220,221,224,225,229],{},[22,222,223],{},"☐ AI crawlers are allowed."," If you want to be cited in AI answers, make sure robots.txt isn't blocking them. Consider adding an llms.txt file summarizing your business. Our post on ",[182,226,228],{"href":227},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-is-geo-ai-search-small-business","GEO"," explains why.",[11,231,232,235],{},[22,233,234],{},"☐ Structured data is in place and valid."," At minimum, LocalBusiness (or a more specific type) and FAQPage if you have an FAQ section. Test it with Google's Rich Results Test.",[11,237,238,241,242,245],{},[22,239,240],{},"☐ An XML sitemap exists."," Usually at ",[95,243,244],{},"\u002Fsitemap.xml",". You'll submit it after launch.",[15,247,249],{"id":248},"analytics-and-tracking","Analytics and tracking",[11,251,252,255],{},[22,253,254],{},"☐ Google Analytics is installed."," Confirm it's on every page, not just the homepage.",[11,257,258,261],{},[22,259,260],{},"☐ Google Search Console is set up and verified."," This is where Google tells you about indexing problems, search queries, and Core Web Vitals.",[11,263,264,267],{},[22,265,266],{},"☐ Form submissions are tracked."," At least know how many contact form submissions you get each month, so you can tell whether the site is working.",[11,269,270,273],{},[22,271,272],{},"☐ A cookie or privacy notice is in place if you need one."," Requirements depend on where you and your visitors are and what you track. If you're unsure, ask whoever handles your legal questions.",[15,275,277],{"id":276},"if-youre-replacing-an-old-site","If you're replacing an old site",[11,279,280,283],{},[22,281,282],{},"☐ Old URLs redirect to their new equivalents."," List every page on the old site, especially any that get search traffic, and set up permanent (301) redirects to the matching new pages. Skipping this throws away whatever search visibility the old site had.",[11,285,286,289],{},[22,287,288],{},"☐ Old listings point to the new site."," Update your Google Business Profile, social profiles, and directory listings if any URLs changed.",[15,291,293],{"id":292},"the-day-after-launch","The day after launch",[295,296,297,301,304,307,310,313],"ol",{},[298,299,300],"li",{},"Submit your sitemap in Google Search Console.",[298,302,303],{},"Check Google Analytics to confirm visits are being recorded.",[298,305,306],{},"Submit every form one more time on the live site.",[298,308,309],{},"Update your Google Business Profile with the new website link if it changed.",[298,311,312],{},"Ask three or four customers to visit the site and tell you what confused them.",[298,314,315],{},"Write down anything you want to change, and handle it in one batch a week or two later.",[15,317,319],{"id":318},"summary","Summary",[11,321,322,323,327],{},"A website is ready to launch when its pages are finished and accurate, every form and link works, HTTPS and redirects are in place, it loads quickly on a phone, basic SEO and structured data are done, nothing blocks search engines or AI crawlers, and analytics and Search Console are connected. If you're replacing a site, redirects matter as much as anything else on this list. Many of these items are built into the review and launch steps of ",[182,324,326],{"href":325},"\u002Four-process","our process",", and every build includes 30 days of post-launch support for whatever turns up afterward.",[11,329,330],{},[182,331,333],{"href":332},"\u002Fget-started","Start a project with Made by Velocity.",{"title":335,"searchDepth":336,"depth":336,"links":337},"",3,[338,340,341,342,343,344,345,346,347],{"id":17,"depth":339,"text":18},2,{"id":52,"depth":339,"text":53},{"id":86,"depth":339,"text":87},{"id":123,"depth":339,"text":124},{"id":189,"depth":339,"text":190},{"id":248,"depth":339,"text":249},{"id":276,"depth":339,"text":277},{"id":292,"depth":339,"text":293},{"id":318,"depth":339,"text":319},"Everything that should be true before your new small business website goes live: pages, forms, SSL, speed, SEO, analytics, and what to do the day after.","md",[351,354,357,360],{"q":352,"a":353},"Do I need SSL?","Yes. Browsers mark sites without HTTPS as not secure, which puts visitors off and undermines any form on the page. Most hosts include a free certificate, so there's no reason to launch without it.",{"q":355,"a":356},"What should I do the day after launch?","Submit your sitemap in Google Search Console, confirm Google Analytics is recording visits, send a test through every form, and ask a few customers to look around and tell you what confused them.",{"q":358,"a":359},"What pages does a small business website need at launch?","At minimum a homepage, a page for each main service, an About page, a Contact page, and a privacy policy. An FAQ section and some proof of your work, such as reviews or a portfolio, round it out.",{"q":361,"a":362},"Should I launch before everything is perfect?","Yes, as long as the checklist basics are true. A correct, fast, working site can be improved after launch; a site that sits on staging for months helps nobody.",null,{},true,"\u002Fblog\u002Fsmall-business-website-launch-checklist","process","2026-10-19",5,{"title":5,"description":348},"small-business-website-launch-checklist","blog\u002Fsmall-business-website-launch-checklist","q39Vc4N0L0u5XybgLV_SIlG3XGtdMvV-58eAiCVCwQo",[375],{"id":376,"title":377,"author":6,"body":378,"description":644,"extension":349,"faqs":645,"heroImage":363,"heroImageDescription":363,"meta":657,"navigation":365,"path":658,"pillar":367,"publishedAt":368,"readMinutes":369,"seo":659,"slug":660,"stem":661,"__hash__":662},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-we-build-a-website-in-10-days.md","How We Build a Website in 10 Days",{"type":8,"value":379,"toc":633},[380,383,387,394,397,459,467,471,474,477,484,505,508,512,515,518,522,525,542,545,549,552,559,563,566,583,586,590,593,613,616,620,623,625,628],[11,381,382],{},"We build a custom small business website in about ten business days by running five fixed phases in order: discovery, design, build, review, and launch. Ten business days is roughly two calendar weeks, which is why our process page counts days 1 through 14. That's the timeline for a Starter site of up to five pages; larger sites take a little longer, and every phase ends with something specific you can look at.",[15,384,386],{"id":385},"is-it-10-days-or-14-days","Is it 10 days or 14 days?",[11,388,389,390,393],{},"It's ten business days, spread across about 14 calendar days. Our ",[182,391,392],{"href":325},"process page"," numbers the steps on a two-week calendar (discovery on days 1–2, launch on days 12–14) because that's how it feels from your side: you kick off on a Monday and launch two weeks later. Weekends are in that count; we don't expect you to review mockups on a Saturday.",[11,395,396],{},"The timeline depends on the size of the project:",[132,398,399,415],{},[135,400,401],{},[138,402,403,406,409,412],{},[141,404,405],{},"Plan",[141,407,408],{},"Pages",[141,410,411],{},"Revision rounds",[141,413,414],{},"Typical timeline",[148,416,417,431,445],{},[138,418,419,422,425,428],{},[153,420,421],{},"Starter ($3,000)",[153,423,424],{},"Up to 5",[153,426,427],{},"1",[153,429,430],{},"About 10 business days",[138,432,433,436,439,442],{},[153,434,435],{},"Growth ($5,000)",[153,437,438],{},"Up to 10, plus a blog with 2 posts",[153,440,441],{},"2",[153,443,444],{},"About 12 business days",[138,446,447,450,453,456],{},[153,448,449],{},"Premium ($8,000+)",[153,451,452],{},"Unlimited, plus e-commerce, booking, or integrations",[153,454,455],{},"3",[153,457,458],{},"About 15 business days",[11,460,461,462,466],{},"The rest of this post walks through a Starter build. Full details are on ",[182,463,465],{"href":464},"\u002Fpricing","our pricing page",".",[15,468,470],{"id":469},"discovery-days-12-what-are-we-building-and-for-whom","Discovery (days 1–2): what are we building, and for whom?",[11,472,473],{},"Discovery turns what you know about your business into a plan we can build from. It starts with a 15- to 30-minute call, or a questionnaire if that suits you better. We ask what you do, who your customers are, how they find you now, what you want them to do on the site, and what you've disliked about past websites.",[11,475,476],{},"Then we do the homework you shouldn't have to. We audit the sites of competitors in your area to see what they cover and what they miss. We research the keywords your customers actually search, such as the specific service plus your town, so the pages are built around real queries from the start.",[11,478,479,480,483],{},"The deliverable is a ",[22,481,482],{},"discovery brief"," with three parts:",[485,486,487,493,499],"ul",{},[298,488,489,492],{},[22,490,491],{},"A sitemap:"," which pages the site will have, and what each is for.",[298,494,495,498],{},[22,496,497],{},"Keyword targets:"," the main search terms for each page.",[298,500,501,504],{},[22,502,503],{},"A content outline:"," what goes on each page, section by section.",[11,506,507],{},"For a hypothetical landscaping company, that might mean a homepage, separate pages for lawn care and hardscaping, an About page, and a Contact page, each with its own target search and outline. You review the brief before we design anything.",[15,509,511],{"id":510},"design-days-35-see-the-site-before-its-built","Design (days 3–5): see the site before it's built",[11,513,514],{},"Design produces a custom homepage mockup before any code is written. We don't start from a template. The mockup shows your real layout, your colors, your type, and real or near-final copy, designed for a phone first and then for larger screens.",[11,516,517],{},"We show you the homepage first because it sets the direction for every other page. If something's off (the tone is too formal, the colors don't feel like you, the services are in the wrong order), it's far cheaper to fix in a mockup than in a finished site. A Starter project includes one revision round here. Most feedback at this stage is specific and quick to apply, like \"make the phone number more prominent\" or \"lead with residential, not commercial.\"",[15,519,521],{"id":520},"build-days-69-every-page-on-a-staging-site","Build (days 6–9): every page, on a staging site",[11,523,524],{},"The build turns the approved design into a working website on a private staging URL. You can open it on your own phone at any point and watch it come together. During these days we:",[485,526,527,530,533,536,539],{},[298,528,529],{},"Build every page in the sitemap.",[298,531,532],{},"Write or refine the SEO content for each page against the keyword targets from discovery.",[298,534,535],{},"Optimize every image for size and format.",[298,537,538],{},"Add structured data, FAQ sections with FAQ schema, a robots.txt that allows AI crawlers, and an llms.txt file.",[298,540,541],{},"Test across phones, tablets, and desktop browsers.",[11,543,544],{},"We use AI-assisted tooling for the mechanical parts of the build, and a person reviews all of it. That combination is a large part of how the timeline works: the repetitive work goes faster, and the judgment calls still get human attention. Sites are built on Nuxt, Next.js, or optimized WordPress, depending on what fits the project, and every one is built to load in under 2 seconds.",[15,546,548],{"id":547},"review-and-revise-days-1011-walk-it-page-by-page","Review and revise (days 10–11): walk it page by page",[11,550,551],{},"Review is where you check every page on the staging site before it goes public. We walk through it with you page by page. You're checking the things only you can check: is the service description accurate, is that the right phone number, is the team photo the current team.",[11,553,554,555,558],{},"Then we make the final adjustments. If you want to know what should be true before any site goes live, ours or not, our ",[182,556,557],{"href":366},"website launch checklist"," covers it item by item.",[15,560,562],{"id":561},"launch-days-1214-go-live-and-hand-over-the-keys","Launch (days 12–14): go live and hand over the keys",[11,564,565],{},"Launch moves the site to your domain and connects everything that needs connecting:",[295,567,568,571,574,577,580],{},[298,569,570],{},"Point your domain at the new site.",[298,572,573],{},"Set up the SSL certificate so the site runs on HTTPS.",[298,575,576],{},"Connect Google Analytics.",[298,578,579],{},"Set up Google Search Console and submit the sitemap.",[298,581,582],{},"Give you a short training session on making basic updates yourself.",[11,584,585],{},"Google Business Profile optimization is part of every build, so your profile and your new site say the same things on launch day. You own the design, the code, and the content. Hosting is separate, typically $20 to $50 a month, and every build includes 30 days of post-launch support.",[15,587,589],{"id":588},"what-keeps-a-project-on-schedule","What keeps a project on schedule?",[11,591,592],{},"The timeline holds when feedback and content arrive on time. The phases are short, so a few days' wait for a reply pushes everything back by a few days. The most common delays are:",[485,594,595,601,607],{},[298,596,597,600],{},[22,598,599],{},"Missing content:"," photos, bios, or service details that only you can provide. The discovery brief's content outline makes clear what's needed, early.",[298,602,603,606],{},[22,604,605],{},"Slow feedback:"," the mockup or staging site sits unreviewed. Short, direct notes within a day or so keep things moving.",[298,608,609,612],{},[22,610,611],{},"Scope changes mid-build:"," adding a booking system or five more pages after design is approved. It can be done, but it changes the timeline and usually the plan.",[11,614,615],{},"None of these are a problem if we talk about them. The schedule is a plan, not a penalty.",[15,617,619],{"id":618},"why-fast-doesnt-mean-rushed","Why fast doesn't mean rushed",[11,621,622],{},"Speed comes from structure, not shortcuts. Every phase has a fixed deliverable and a clear handoff, so there's no month of vague \"design exploration,\" no waiting on a long chain of approvals, and no build starting before the design is agreed. Small-business sites have a fairly well-understood set of needs, and a repeatable process for meeting them is what makes two weeks enough.",[15,624,319],{"id":318},[11,626,627],{},"We build a Starter website in about ten business days, which spans roughly two calendar weeks: discovery (days 1–2) produces a brief, design (days 3–5) produces a homepage mockup, build (days 6–9) produces a complete staging site, review (days 10–11) gets your sign-off, and launch (days 12–14) puts it live with analytics, Search Console, and a short training session. Growth and Premium sites follow the same steps over about 12 and 15 business days.",[11,629,630],{},[182,631,632],{"href":332},"Start your project and we'll book the discovery call.",{"title":335,"searchDepth":336,"depth":336,"links":634},[635,636,637,638,639,640,641,642,643],{"id":385,"depth":339,"text":386},{"id":469,"depth":339,"text":470},{"id":510,"depth":339,"text":511},{"id":520,"depth":339,"text":521},{"id":547,"depth":339,"text":548},{"id":561,"depth":339,"text":562},{"id":588,"depth":339,"text":589},{"id":618,"depth":339,"text":619},{"id":318,"depth":339,"text":319},"A walk through the Made by Velocity process, from discovery call to launch, and how a custom small business website gets built in ten business days.",[646,648,651,654],{"q":386,"a":647},"Both, counted differently. A Starter site takes about ten business days of work, which spans roughly 14 calendar days, or two weeks, from kickoff to launch.",{"q":649,"a":650},"Is 10 business days realistic for a full website?","For a Starter site of up to five pages, yes. The timeline works because each phase has a fixed deliverable and AI-assisted tooling handles mechanical parts of the build, with a person reviewing everything. It assumes you can respond to questions and feedback within a day or so.",{"q":652,"a":653},"What slows a project down?","Missing content, slow feedback, and scope changes mid-build. We reduce the first two with a clear discovery brief and by showing you a homepage mockup before any code is written.",{"q":655,"a":656},"Do larger sites take longer?","Yes. Growth sites take about 12 business days and Premium sites about 15, because they have more pages, more content, and more revision rounds.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-we-build-a-website-in-10-days",{"title":377,"description":644},"how-we-build-a-website-in-10-days","blog\u002Fhow-we-build-a-website-in-10-days","Ef2ZgauKHR6nyRPszeVCVRp6olQAcN7VhU2OMtWqbQA",1792426634393]