Your Complete Website Checklist for a Seamless Launch
The secret to a less-stress launch?
A solid website checklist.
You know what feeling I hate?
When you have a ton to do but you don’t know how to do it or how to start.
I’ve had so many clients feel this way when it comes to building their website.
You’re overwhelmed. You’re frozen. You’re frustrated.
Hate, hate, hate.
Double hate.
You want to do it. You just need some direction.
That’s why I’ve created this two-part blog series. It’s your complete website checklist to help you prep for a smooth, strategic launch. This first part covers Brand Foundations: the essential prep work to give your brand the direction it needs to be successful.
⚡And if you’re ready to go deeper, I’ve created a free website checklist PDF that walks you step-by-step through the entire process. You can grab that at the end of this post.
Now let’s start by building a strong foundation.
Phase 1: Brand Foundations
Get clear on your business
You have to outline before you start colouring, right?
. 📍Think of this the same way. You need an outline, a roadmap, to give yourself some direction as you complete each phase
I suggest you start with these key areas:
Define your business name + modalities.
Craft a short and powerful purpose statement.
Write out your vision, mission, and values.
Clarify the transformation you provide and your unique edge.
This clarity is the foundation for your copy, design, and user experience. Every strong website checklist should start right here.
Know your ideal client
If you don’t know who you’re selling to, how will you communicate with them effectively?
🧲Remember, the more specific you are, the more magnetic your messaging becomes. (And yes—there’s space in the free website checklist to journal all this out.)
✨ Bonus inspiration: Fast Company once interviewed Anthropologie’s CEO about their ideal client. They described her in vivid detail—down to her love of cooking, her annual income, and her worldview. That level of clarity helps brands like Anthropologie build websites that speak directly to the people they want to attract.
Here are some prompts to help you get started:
🔎Who is your dream client and what are they looking for?
⛰️What’s getting in their way right now?
✅What do they want to accomplish?
(I have more prompts in my Dream Website Checklist)
Don’t be afraid to have fun with this!
Jane, the 43-year-old, aspiring yogi from the suburbs who struggles with knee pain when she walks her German Shepherd, would totally be interested in your online yoga practice. 🧘🏼♀️
Establish your brand voice
Let’s say someone lands on your site. Are they greeted with:
“Hey girly! So pumped to connect 😆”
or
“Welcome, your healing journey starts here 🔮”
These are totally different energies, and they shape how visitors perceive your brand.
Jumping between different tones leaves your readers confused about who you are and what your brand stands for.
To keep things consistent, choose 3-5 words that define your tone, like nurturing, playful, or grounded. Make note of any phrases you love… or want to avoid like the plague (p.s. If you ever hire a copywriter, this will make their job much easier).
A consistent brand voice is crucial in any website checklist before launch, especially for coaches and creatives.
Create your visual brand
Eeek! I love this part. 😆
This is where all those creative juices start to flow. Let’s take those ideas from bouncing around in your head to organized creative direction.
Mood Board
A mood board is the perfect place to start. It will help the rest of the process flow soooo much more smoothly.
Take some time to scour Pinterest, the interwebs, wherever you want to find some inspo. As you find photos or graphics that represent your brand, add them to your board. ✨🔮🌙
Are you done yet? Perfect. Now, take a step back and look at your board. Do you see any colour themes?
Amazing, that’ll lead us straight into our next step… your colour palette. 🎨
Colour Palette
A well-rounded colour palette consists of 5 colours:
Main colour
2 supporting colours
Light neutral
Dark neutral
Pro tip: Use the colour dropper tool to sample directly from the photos in your vision board.
Fonts
Next order of business: Fonts.
Take a good look at your vision board. Ask yourself, “How does this make me feel?” Even better, think back to the words that describe your brand voice.
All those details should inspire your 3 font choices: Headline, body, and accent.
(Need some inspo? Here are 10 beautiful Squarespace font pairings)
Logo
Now that you’ve collected all the visual details of your brand, it’s time to create your logo.
Your approach is totally up to you.
You might prefer to hire a designer. Or you might want to whip something up yourself in Canva. Just remember, completed over perfect.
📢Changing your logo is easy. Creating 4,862,235 versions of it until you find the “perfect” one will just waste your precious time and leave you frustrated.
Coming Soon: Part 2 – Website Goals, Structure, and Tech Setup
Now that you’ve nailed your brand foundations, it’s time to build the next layer of your launch prep: defining your offerings, mapping out your website structure, and setting up the tech behind the scenes.
That’s all coming in Part 2 of this website checklist series.
But if you want to go deeper right now...
Grab Your Free Website Checklist PDF
Want a downloadable version of this process with space to plan your brand voice, map your homepage, and choose your tech tools?
✨Download the Dream Website Checklist for free and start prepping your soul-aligned site today.✨
It includes:
The full website checklist before launch
Journal prompts to define your dream client
ChatGPT prompts to help you dive deeper
Website structure tips to create a seamless flow
This is the tool you’ll wish you had before your first launch.
Let’s make your next one feel intuitive, inspired, and totally aligned.
Hi! I’m Marina,
a Squarespace Web Designer and Copywriter crafting beautiful, done-for-you websites with a proven layout to convert traffic into leads and clients.