Why pre-launch QA is not optional
You would not ship software without running tests. Why launch a website without a final quality check? A single overlooked issue — a broken form, an exposed secret, a missing meta tag — can undo weeks of work in seconds.
What happens if you launch without a checklist?
Every week, sites go live with broken links, missing accessibility attributes, and exposed credentials. The result is the same: lost traffic, reduced trust, and expensive retrofits. Here is what is at stake:
- 85% of users will not return after a bad mobile experience.
- 1 in 4 sites launch with broken internal links that harm SEO rankings.
- Over 60% of sites fail basic accessibility checks, excluding millions of users.
- A single exposed API key can lead to data breaches costing thousands.
- Missing legal pages (privacy policy, terms) can result in regulatory fines.
How does ShipCheck help you launch with confidence?
ShipCheck automates the tedious, easy-to-miss checks that every site needs before going public. Instead of manually inspecting each page, you get a single, actionable report in seconds.
- Instant crawl of up to 50 pages with real browser rendering via Playwright.
- 69 individual checks across 8 scored categories plus Notable findings.
- Prioritized issues — critical, medium, and minor — so you know what to fix first.
- A single Launch Confidence score that tells you at a glance if you are ready.
- Actionable recommendations with code snippets for each failing check.
Why does each category matter to your launch?
SEO
Search engines are the top source of traffic for most sites. Missing title tags, broken meta descriptions, and poor heading structure mean your pages rank lower and attract fewer clicks. ShipCheck verifies 13 SEO essentials so search engines can find, understand, and rank your content.
Performance
A one-second delay in page load time reduces conversions by 7%. Bloated pages with too many scripts, unoptimized images, and missing caching frustrate users and hurt your bottom line. Our 9 performance checks ensure your site loads fast.
Accessibility
Over 1 billion people worldwide have a disability. Sites that lack proper ARIA landmarks, skip links, and form labels exclude a massive audience and risk legal action. Seven accessibility checks confirm your site works for everyone.
Security
One data breach can destroy years of reputation building. Missing security headers, exposed secrets, and mixed content are the low-hanging fruit attackers exploit. Our 13 security checks lock down the most common vulnerabilities.
Mobile
Over 60% of web traffic comes from mobile devices. If your site is not optimized for small screens — tiny touch targets, horizontal overflow, unreadable text — you are driving away more than half your audience. Five mobile checks prevent this.
Branding
Your brand is your promise to customers. A missing favicon, no OG image for social shares, or a generic 404 page erodes trust. Eight branding checks ensure your site presents a polished, professional image.
Legal
Privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA carry heavy fines for non-compliance. Missing privacy policies, cookie consent notices, or contact information put your business at legal risk. Seven legal checks keep you compliant.
Answer Engine Optimization
AI-powered answer engines (Google SGE, Bing Chat, Perplexity) are reshaping search. Sites optimized with question headings, direct answers, and FAQ schema get featured in AI-generated responses. Seven AEO checks prepare your content for the future of search.
Who should use a pre-launch QA tool?
- Founders and solo creators — launching a landing page, SaaS app, or portfolio and need a final sanity check without hiring a QA team.
- Designers and agencies — delivering client sites and want to ensure every deliverable meets professional standards before handoff.
- Developers — shipping to production and want to catch the easy-to-miss issues that code reviews overlook.
- Product managers — overseeing a launch and need a standardized readiness score to decide go/no-go.
When should you run a ShipCheck scan?
Run a scan at every meaningful stage of your site lifecycle:
- Before launch — the obvious one. Catch everything before real users arrive.
- After major updates — redesigns, new sections, or CMS migrations can introduce regressions.
- Before ad campaigns — driving paid traffic to a site with broken links or missing OG tags wastes ad spend.
- Quarterly maintenance — SSL certs expire, dependencies change, and content gets stale.
- Before investor demos — first impressions matter. A polished site signals execution competence.
A few minutes of automated checking can save you hours of emergency fixes. Run your first scan now and see exactly where your site stands.