Website Launch Checklist: 25 Points

Technical Block: 8 Points

Technical errors are invisible to the eye but critical for Google and users alike. Check every point before publishing — fixing issues after launching ads costs far more.

• 1. SSL Certificate. Your address must start with https://. Without SSL, Chrome displays a "Not Secure" warning — up to 30% of visitors leave immediately. A free Let's Encrypt certificate can be set up in 10 minutes.
• 2. Page Load Speed. Check via Google PageSpeed Insights. Target score: 70+ on mobile. A site that takes longer than 3 seconds to load loses 53% of mobile users — learn more in our guide on website speed and sales.
• 3. Mobile Version. 80% of the UAE audience browses on their phones. Test responsiveness on real devices — iPhone and Android. More details in our mobile website guide.
• 4. Custom 404 Page. Create a custom error page with navigation and a "Back to Home" button — don't lose users to a dead end.
• 5. Redirects. www → non-www (or vice versa), http → https — everything must work without redirect loops.
• 6. Broken Links. Crawl your site with Screaming Frog or Ahrefs. Every broken internal link hurts your rankings.
• 7. Favicon and OG Image. Without an OG image, a shared link in WhatsApp appears as plain text — CTR drops by up to 40%.
• 8. Robots.txt. Make sure your pages aren't blocked from indexing with Disallow: / — a common mistake left over from staging environments.

SEO Block: 7 Points

SEO mistakes at launch are costly: Google re-indexes a site over 3–6 weeks, and every week without correct meta tags is lost organic traffic. SEO promotion in Dubai starts not with ads, but with proper markup.

• 9. Title and Description for Every Page. Title — up to 60 characters, Description — 140–160 characters, including a keyword and a call to action. Duplicates are not acceptable.
• 10. H1 on Every Page. One H1 per page containing the primary search query. Make sure your template doesn't duplicate the Title in the H1.
• 11. XML Sitemap. Generate it and upload it to the root of your site. For WordPress — use the Yoast plugin; for custom sites — create sitemap.xml manually.
• 12. Google Search Console. Add your site, verify ownership, and submit your sitemap. Without GSC, you won't see indexing errors or know which queries bring you traffic.
• 13. Google Business Profile. For any local business in the UAE — this is a must. A GBP listing gives you placement in the Local Pack — the block of 3 companies above organic results. How to set it up — in our Google Business Profile Dubai guide.
• 14. Alt Tags for Images. Every image must have an alt attribute in English (and Arabic if the site is multilingual). Google Images is an additional source of traffic.
• 15. Hreflang Language Tags. If your site is in English, Russian, and Arabic — hreflang is mandatory; otherwise Google won't know which version to display. More details in our multilingual website in Dubai guide.

Conversion Block: 5 Points

Conversion errors are the most painful: ads are running, traffic is coming in, but there are zero leads. Check these 5 points before spending a single dirham on advertising. A detailed breakdown of the causes is in our guide "Why Your Website Generates No Leads".

• 16. All Forms Submit Successfully. Fill in every form with test data and confirm that the notification arrives in your inbox or CRM. A broken form with a budget of 5,000 AED/month means 5,000 AED wasted.
• 17. WhatsApp Button Works Correctly. Check the number in the link wa.me/971XXXXXXXXX — no spaces or extra characters. Set up a pre-filled greeting message. Learn how to capture leads via WhatsApp in our dedicated guide.
• 18. CTA Is Visible on All Screen Sizes. The "Get a Quote" or "Call Us" button must be visible in the first screen on mobile. The button colour must be high-contrast and not blend into the background.
• 19. GA4 Is Installed and Collecting Data. Check in real-time mode: visit your site and confirm that GA4 registers the session. Without analytics, optimising your ads is impossible. GA4 and Microsoft Clarity setup — in our analytics guide.
• 20. Microsoft Clarity or Hotjar Is Connected. Heatmaps and session recordings will show where users drop off — especially valuable during the first 2 weeks after launch.

Legal Block: 4 Points

The UAE is tightening requirements for websites regarding personal data protection. Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 obliges any website collecting data from UAE residents to have a privacy policy. Fines for non-compliance range from 250,000 to 5,000,000 AED. Do not overlook this block.

• 21. Privacy Policy. A mandatory page: what data you collect, why you collect it, how you store it, and how a user can request deletion. Language — English (Arabic is recommended for businesses targeting local audiences).
• 22. Cookie Banner. If you use GA4, Facebook Pixel, or any tracking tools — a consent banner is required. Technically implemented via CookieYes or Cookiebot (from 0 to 150 AED/month).
• 23. Terms & Conditions. Mandatory for sites with sales, online payments, or service bookings. Specify UAE jurisdiction, accepted payment methods, and your refund policy.
• 24. Contact Page with Company Details. Company name, licence number, physical address (or P.O. Box), and email. Without this, major payment gateways (Tap, Telr, Stripe) will not connect your merchant account. More about payment gateways — in our online payments in UAE guide.

Handover of Access Credentials: Point 25

The final — but critically important — point, especially if the site was built by an agency or freelancer. Many business owners discover a year later that they cannot access their own website.

• 25. Obtain and Securely Store All Access Credentials. Mandatory list: hosting (login + password + cPanel/Plesk access), domain registrar, CMS (WordPress, Tilda, Webflow — admin account linked to your email), GA4 (you are the account owner, the agency is an editor), GSC, Google Business Profile, and DNS records. All credentials must be linked to your company's corporate email — not the contractor's personal email. At Norvalio, every client receives all access credentials in a structured handover document at the final project delivery.

Not sure everything is set up correctly? Order a technical audit. View our current packages: a site audit with recommendations starts from 490 AED and pays for itself within the first month of advertising.