← Tüm yazılar

A 12-point checklist before launching your WordPress site

Furkan Tosun

Furkan Tosun logosu – dijital cihaz uygulamaları

It’s easy to think the job is done once the design is finished; yet the final checks before launch decide how the site will stand in search engines and in users’ eyes. Here is the list I used while preparing my own portfolio site for launch.

Technical foundations

  1. Permalinks: In Settings → Permalinks, choose the “Post name” structure. URLs containing /index.php/ or ?p=123 look bad and are harder to share.
  2. Remove demo content: The “Hello world!” post, sample page, demo comments and unused plugins.
  3. 404 page: Visiting a missing URL should show an on-brand page that guides visitors to the home page and key pages.
  4. Mobile check: Open every page on a real phone; do the menu, buttons and links work, and is there any horizontal scrolling?

Search engines

  1. Titles and descriptions: Each page needs its own search title and a 150–160 character description. A lightweight plugin such as Slim SEO is enough.
  2. Sitemap: Make sure sitemap.xml works.
  3. Google Search Console: Verify the site, submit the sitemap and request indexing for the home page. You can add Bing Webmaster Tools from Search Console in one click.
  4. Share previews: When the link is shared on WhatsApp or LinkedIn, do the right title, description and image appear? Meta’s Sharing Debugger helps with caching issues.

Speed and accessibility

  1. Optimise images: Convert large JPGs to WebP and compress them; a single large image on the home page can make a difference of hundreds of KB.
  2. Run PageSpeed Insights: Check mobile and desktop scores; above 90 is considered good. Review accessibility warnings too (labels, contrast, heading order).

Legal and trust

  1. Privacy and cookie policy: State clearly what data is processed. If you use cookie-based tools such as Google Analytics, add a cookie notice that asks for consent (as required by KVKK/GDPR) and don’t load those tools before consent.
  2. Security: Change passwords used during setup, use a strong admin password and set up regular backups.

Launch day isn’t the finish line; it’s the day you start measuring. Looking at Search Console and Analytics in the first weeks and improving pages with real data is the step that pays off most.

Frequently asked questions

Which SEO plugin should I use for WordPress?

For most corporate and portfolio sites, a lightweight plugin like Slim SEO is enough. If you want more analysis features, Rank Math or Yoast are alternatives.

Is a cookie notice mandatory?

Generally not if only strictly necessary cookies are used. If tools like Analytics or ad pixels are used, explicit consent is required under KVKK/GDPR.

When will the site appear on Google after launch?

Once the sitemap is submitted via Search Console, pages usually start being indexed within a few days to a few weeks.

Related: Website & Marketplace Processes · Privacy & Cookie Policy

Diğer yazılar