how to catch the dumb stuff before your boss or your client does

so launch day is coming, huh? before you wake up in a cold sweat thinking about missed typos and that one button that disappears on mobile, grab this checklist. it’s packed with every single thing we at toolbar see people forget. just tick your way down the list and enjoy a launch that feels, dare we say, chill.

1. content & copy

• check for typos and weird grammar mistakes (no lorem ipsums or [your company name] left hiding)

• make sure all dates/timelines are up to date (blog posts, footers, product launches)

• confirm all links work (no dead ends or accidental 404s—ain’t nobody got time for that)

• double-check phone numbers, emails, addresses (unless you want sales calls going to pizza hut)

• headings are in the right order (h1, h2, h3, not h3, h1, h4 etc.)

• remove placeholder text (no “write catchy headline here”, please)

• make sure copyright info is current (your lawyer will thank you)

2. images & media

• all images show up (no big awkward “image not found” boxes)

• images are high-res, and not randomly stretched or squished

• right images in the right places (no cat pics in the team section, unless that’s your vibe)

• logos look good on white AND dark backgrounds (transparent PNGs for the win)

• check if your images have alt text (so everyone and search engines can know what’s up)

• video & audio play, load fast, and don’t randomly start at 2am

3. navigation & links

• top menu leads to the actual places it says it does (click ‘about’ and you see… about)

• logo links to home (people will click it. don’t ask why)

• all navigation works for desktop and mobile (burger menu opens? magic)

• footer links work, and actually mean something (“privacy policy” goes to privacy policy, not your portfolio)

• no orphan pages—every page has a way home (so no one gets lost in your site’s maze)

4. forms & interactivity

• forms submit info (and you get the info, not just the void)

• success messages work (not just a blank screen after hitting ‘submit’)

• email notifications go to the right people

• captcha or spam protection works

• all form fields are labeled and required fields actually, you know, require stuff

• autofill works (so users don’t scream at their keyboard)

• invalid entries are caught right away (not after they fill in 500 words)

5. responsiveness & cross-browser

• check your site on desktop, laptop, tablet, and phone (not just your own device)

• can you read everything without zooming/cursing?

• nothing randomly falls off the edge or overlaps with other stuff

• all features work on chrome, safari, firefox, edge (and yes, test incognito too)

• site looks good in portrait and landscape (rotate your phone!)

• touch targets are big enough (no tiny buttons only cats can tap)

6. performance

• fast load times (run a speed check if you want to feel fancy)

• image and video files are compressed, but not ugly

• no giant popups slowing things down

• no extra scripts or tracking pixels you forgot to clean up

• pages don’t crash if you open a bunch of tabs

7. seo & analytics

• title and meta descriptions are set for every page (google will notice)

• all images have alt tags (bonus: it’s also accessible)

• sitemap is generated and submitted to google search console

• robots.txt isn’t blocking important pages

• analytics tag (google, plausible, whatever) is installed on the right pages

• social share images and copy are set (try posting a page on slack/twitter to see what it looks like)

8. security & legal

• https everywhere (little lock icon = trust)

• privacy policy and terms pages exist, and are linked everywhere needed

• cookies consent popup works

• sensitive files (like .env or backups) are NOT accessible in your root

• 2fa/mfa is on for admin access

how toolbar makes checking this stuff way, way easier

old way:

• make a giant Google doc

• send 34 emails with screenshots named “finalfinalforreal.png”

• try to organize chaos

toolbar way:

• add toolbar to your staging site

• as you (or your team or client) spot an issue, hit the widget and leave feedback right there

• toolbar auto-grabs screenshots, browser info, and page URLs—no one has to guess what you’re talking about

• keep all feedback, from copy typos to missing buttons, in one clean dashboard until launch is a breeze

print it, share it, slap it on your notion

it’s not about being perfect—it’s about making sure the big (and small) things don’t trip you up when you go live.

and if you want zero “uh oh” moments, use toolbar to collect feedback quick and fix things before anyone important notices.

p.s. got your own checklist tricks? let us know. otherwise, happy bug hunting—and may all your launches be boring (in the best possible way).