Launching a new website for your Uganda business is an exciting milestone — but launching a website with technical errors, missing SEO configuration, broken contact forms, or slow load times undermines the investment you have made. A systematic pre-launch checklist ensures your website goes live correctly, makes a strong first impression, and starts generating business results from day one. This checklist is specifically tailored for Uganda businesses launching WordPress websites.
Domain and Hosting
- Domain registered in your business name: Confirm the domain (yourbusiness.co.ug or yourbusiness.com) is registered with your business’s contact details, not your developer’s details
- SSL certificate active: Confirm https:// is working and the padlock icon appears in the browser. Any http:// URLs should redirect to https://
- Hosting account in your name: You should have direct access to your hosting control panel with your own credentials
- Business email configured: info@yourbusiness.co.ug and other business email addresses should be working and receiving messages correctly
Technical Checks
- Mobile responsiveness: Test on at least three different Android devices (Tecno, Samsung, Itel) and an iPhone — your developer’s smartphone is not sufficient
- Page speed: Run Google PageSpeed Insights — target 70+ on mobile, 85+ on desktop. Anything below 50 requires optimisation before launch
- All links work: Click every navigation link, internal link, and button on every page. Check for 404 errors using a broken link checker tool
- Images load correctly: All images should display at appropriate sizes with no blank image boxes or broken image icons
- Contact forms work: Submit every contact form on your site and verify the email notification arrives at the correct inbox
- WhatsApp button works: Tap the WhatsApp button on a smartphone and confirm it opens WhatsApp with the correct pre-filled message and phone number
- Phone numbers are clickable on mobile: Tap each phone number on a smartphone to confirm it initiates a call
- Payment processing tested (for e-commerce): Complete a test transaction through each payment method (MTN MoMo, Airtel Money, Visa) and confirm orders are recorded correctly
- Google Maps embed works: Confirm the embedded map shows the correct location and the directions link opens Google Maps correctly
SEO Checks
- Yoast SEO configured: Every page and post should have a custom SEO title, meta description, and focus keyphrase set in Yoast SEO. No page should show a red or orange Yoast indicator at launch
- Homepage title tag: Should include your primary keyword phrase (e.g., “Web Design Company Uganda | East Africa Website Designers”) not just your business name
- XML sitemap submitted: Submit your sitemap (usually at yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml or /sitemap_index.xml) to Google Search Console
- Google Search Console verified: Your website should be verified in Google Search Console so you can monitor indexing and search performance
- Robots.txt not blocking indexing: Check yourdomain.com/robots.txt — it should not contain “Disallow: /” which would block all Google indexing
- No duplicate content: Ensure www.yourdomain.com and yourdomain.com both resolve to the same URL (not two separate indexable versions)
- Image alt text: All images should have descriptive alt text
Analytics and Tracking
- Google Analytics 4 installed and verified: Check GA4 Real-Time report while browsing your website — you should see yourself as an active user
- Conversion events tracking: Test that form submissions, WhatsApp button clicks, and phone number clicks appear as events in GA4
- Facebook Pixel installed (if running Facebook ads): Use the Facebook Pixel Helper Chrome extension to verify the pixel fires correctly
Security
- Admin URL changed from default: The WordPress admin should not be accessible at /wp-admin — change to a custom URL to reduce brute force attack surface
- Admin accounts reviewed: Delete any unused demo or test administrator accounts. Ensure admin passwords are strong (12+ characters)
- Two-factor authentication enabled: Enable 2FA for all WordPress administrator accounts
- Backup configured: Automated daily backups to an off-site location (Google Drive or S3) should be running before launch
Content
- All placeholder content removed: Search for “Lorem ipsum” text — none should appear on the live site
- Contact information accurate: Phone numbers, address, email, and opening hours should be current and correct on every page they appear
- Prices current: All pricing information should reflect current rates in UGX
East Africa Website Designers completes every item on this checklist as part of our standard website launch process. We do not hand over websites with outstanding technical issues or missing SEO configuration. Contact us for a professional website build or to audit an existing website against this checklist.
