My “Go-Live” checklist for SEO on a new web app.

I recently built and deployed a website for Life Needs & Empowerment Initiative, a non-profit NGO and thought to document my Go-Live SEO checklist — something I run through each time I ship a new app (website or web app) into production. The web app has an admin side to it and was built using the VILT stack (Vue, Inertia, Laravel and Tailwind) and powered by an sqlite database — my go-to stack for supercharged productivity.

If you’re launching a new web app, here’s my SEO-focused Go-Live checklist to ensure maximum visibility and discoverability.

Technical SEO

1. Create favicons for everywhere. I typically do this with Real Favicon Generator
2. Create a sitemap.xml file. I typically do this with xml-sitemaps
3. Google Search Console is probably the most important task on this checklist and is super easy to get over and done with. Start by adding and verifying your domain, Submit the sitemap.xml file and monitor any indexing issue.
4. Submit to Bing Webmaster Tools — also a super simple process similar to Google Search Console. Bing Webmaster has an integration that allows you to import properties from Google Search Console and this can be taken advantage of.
5. Configure a/robots.txt file to allow indexing important pages and block uneccesary or protected ones.
6. SSL should have already been set up at this stage, but just incase it isn’t, ensure full HTTPS redirection.
7. Check for page load times and optimize for performance.
8. Check for mobile friendliness.
9. Check for and fix broken links.

On-page SEO

1. Ensure every page has a unique title (<60 characters) and meta description (<160 characters).
2. Add descriptive alt text to all images for accessibility and SEO.
3. Keep URLs short, descriptive, and keyword-rich. Use slugs where necessary and avoid special characters and unnecessary parameters.
4. Ensure pages are well-linked internally for easy navigation and better crawlability.

Content Strategy

1. If a blog is included, publish at least 3–5 high-quality posts before launch.
2. Perform keyword research

Off-page SEO

1. Set up and ensure the brand has active social media pages (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram) and link back to the website from profiles. I can’t over emphasize how important this is.
2. Launch! Press release, Product Hunt, make some noise about the app etc..

Perform post-launch monitoring activities.

I’d mention here that SEO is an ongoing process, and launching a web app is just the beginning. Regular audits, updates, and content improvements will ensure it continues to grow and reach the right audience.

If you have additional SEO tips or feedback, I’d love to hear them!