Test before the client sees it
What should I test on a website before showing it to the client?
Run a fixed QA pass on phones and desktops covering navigation, metadata, speed, forms and basic security, fix what fails, then send the review link.
What you will be able to do
Run a fixed quality pass before the client sees a site: layout, navigation, SEO metadata, performance, forms and basic security.
Before you start
- A feature complete site on a preview URL.
- The Launch QA checklist.
- A real phone, ideally older or cheaper than yours.
Why this matters
If the owner opens the link on their phone and the menu does not open, the rest of the meeting is about the menu, and they stop trusting the parts that work.
Test the same way every time, from a fixed checklist. Reading code is not testing. Using the site is.
Step by step
Tick each step as you do it. Your ticks are saved in this browser.
Freeze a version and note what you are testing
Commit, deploy to the preview URL, and write the commit ID at the top of your checklist. If you fix something, commit, redeploy and recheck that item on the new version.
Check responsive layout at real widths
Open every page at about 360px, 768px, 1024px and 1440px, then on a real phone. Look for overflowing text, stretched images, buttons too small to tap (at least 44px tall), horizontal scrolling and content under a sticky header. Zoom to 200% and confirm nothing important disappears.
Check navigation and links
Open the mobile menu and use every item. Click every link in header, body and footer. The logo goes home, the phone link opens the dialler, the map link opens the right address, and no link leads to a 404 or a
#placeholder.Check SEO metadata on each page
Each page needs a unique title (business, page topic and area), a unique meta description written for humans, one H1, a canonical URL and Open Graph tags for link previews. Confirm
sitemap.xmlexists androbots.txtallows crawling on the live domain, while previews block indexing. Add local business structured data with the real name, address, phone and hours, and validate it.Check performance on a slow connection
Run your browser's built in audit on the homepage and main conversion page, on the mobile setting. Then throttle to a slow mobile profile and load the page yourself. Fix oversized images, missing lazy loading, render blocking scripts, heavy fonts and heavy embeds.
Test every form end to end
Submit each form from a phone and a desktop and confirm it reaches the real inbox. Submit with empty required fields and a bad email to see the errors, which must be in text, not only red borders. Confirm the thank you message and that the conversion event fires once.
Run basic security checks
Confirm preview and live domain force HTTPS. Search the repository for "key", "secret" and "token" and make sure nothing is committed. Forms validate on the server too. Remove test pages, debug output and unused admin routes. Change any default CMS admin passwords.
Check accessibility and content quickly
Tab through the homepage and conversion page with only the keyboard. Read every page out loud, fast, looking for placeholder text, wrong phone numbers or areas, old copyright years and any testimonial that did not come from the client.
Fix, retest, and record the results
Fix every failure, commit, redeploy and recheck. Mark each line pass, fixed or accepted (with a reason).
Send the review link with clear instructions
Send the preview URL, a short list of what to review (content, photos, contact details) and a deadline. Ask for feedback in one email or one shared document, not texts over a week.
Example
An excerpt from a completed checklist for the fictional Austin dental clinic preview.
Project: Austin Family Dental Commit: 4f2c9a1 Tested on: preview URL
RESPONSIVE
[pass] No horizontal scroll at 360px
[fixed] Insurance list overflowed its card at 360px. Wrapped text. Commit 7b1d0e3
NAVIGATION
[pass] Mobile menu opens, closes, all items work
[fixed] Footer "Accessibility" link pointed to "#". Linked page. Commit 7b1d0e3
SEO
[pass] Unique titles, e.g. "Kids Dentist in South Austin | Austin Family Dental"
[pass] Preview blocked from indexing; live robots.txt allows crawling
PERFORMANCE
[fixed] Hero photo was a very large original. Resized and converted. Commit 9e03c55
FORMS
[pass] Booking reaches front desk inbox from phone and desktop (client confirmed)
SECURITY
[pass] No secrets in repository search
[accepted] One third party map embed sets cookies. Loads only after consent.
Common mistakes
- Testing only on your own fast phone and connection.
- Letting the preview get indexed.
- Trusting automated scores alone. A high score with a broken menu is still a broken site.
- Vague review instructions. "Let me know what you think" gets scattered feedback for weeks.
Try it yourself
Deploy your practice site to a preview URL and run the full Launch QA checklist. Find and fix at least three issues.
Time: about 45 minutes.
Deliverable: the completed checklist with commit IDs for each fix, plus a draft review email saying what to check, how to send feedback and the deadline.
Check yourself
Resources
- Launch QA checklist the full checklist used in this lesson
- Forms, editing, legal pages and analytics how forms and consent should be set up
- Publish with a domain, DNS and HTTPS preview deploys and going live
- Hand off the site and set support boundaries what happens after approval
Finished this lesson?
Mark it complete to track your progress through the course.
Last reviewed October 18, 2026. Prices, laws and tool terms change, so check current terms before you rely on any figure.