The Ultimate Checklist: What to Do Before Launching Your Squarespace Site

So you’ve built your Squarespace site. It looks good, feels good, and it’s almost ready to launch. But before you hit that "Go Live" button and shout “I’m a web designer now!” to the world, let’s take a step back and make sure your masterpiece is actually ready for its close-up. Think of this as the digital equivalent of a pre-game warm-up, except instead of stretching, you’re double-checking your site’s functionality. Here’s a comprehensive checklist of things to do before your Squarespace site makes its grand debut.

Double-Check Your Content (No One Likes a Typo)

First things first: typos. They’re the website equivalent of spinach in your teeth — no one wants to see them, and they’ll probably distract from your otherwise fabulous site. Proofread every page, blog post, and button label with the precision of a detective hunting for clues. You’d be surprised how easy it is to miss a stray “teh” or “formly.” And if spelling’s not your forte, recruit a friend or a tool like Grammarly to catch any sneaky errors.

Pro Tip: Read your content out loud. It feels silly, but it’s one of the best ways to catch those pesky mistakes.

Test All the Buttons (Because "Broken Link" Is Not a Good Look)

We’ve all been there: clicking on a button that promises to take you to an exciting page, only for it to send you to the void of 404 errors. Don’t let that be your site. Go through every button and hyperlink on your site to make sure they’re leading users where they’re supposed to. You can do this manually by clicking around, but if you really want to be thorough, use a tool like Broken Link Checker to catch anything you might have missed.

Bonus Points: Make sure your call-to-action buttons (e.g., “Buy Now,” “Contact Us,” “Subscribe”) work like they should. There’s nothing more disappointing than seeing a beautiful, persuasive button that doesn’t deliver.

Add a Favicon (Your Site Deserves a Little Iconic Flair)

A favicon might seem like a small detail, but it’s the digital equivalent of a good pair of shoes — it finishes off the look. It’s that little 16x16 pixel image that shows up on browser tabs, bookmarks, and even in search results. If you don’t have one, your site will be just another generic “Squarespace” tab, and no one wants that.

How to Do It: Head over to the Squarespace settings, upload your logo or a simplified version of it, and voilà! Instant brand recognition.

Mobile Responsiveness (Because 60 percent of Your Visitors Are on Their Phones)

Let’s be honest: if your site doesn’t look good on mobile, it might as well not exist. Ensure your site’s layout, text, and images are optimized for mobile devices. Squarespace has a built-in mobile preview mode, so use it to double-check that your site doesn’t turn into a hot mess when viewed on a smartphone.

Quick Fixes: Check that text isn’t too small to read, buttons aren’t too close together, and images are still engaging and clear. If something’s off, tweak your settings or use custom CSS to make it shine on smaller screens.

SEO Basics (Because Being Found Is Kind of the Point)

You’ve spent hours perfecting your site’s design and content, but it’s not doing you any favors if no one can find it. Ensure you’re following the basic SEO guidelines: add alt text to images, write compelling meta titles and descriptions, and include keywords that your audience might be searching for. These little details are the difference between being buried on page 10 of Google and making it to the top of the search results.

Pro Tip: Use Squarespace’s built-in SEO tools to help you along the way, but don’t forget to check your site’s URL structure and make sure your URLs are clean and concise.

Set Up Google Analytics (Because Data Is King)

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Setting up Google Analytics on your Squarespace site is essential if you want to see how people are interacting with your site once it goes live. Squarespace makes it easy to integrate with Google Analytics — just paste your tracking ID into the Site Settings, and you’re good to go. Now you can track how many visitors you’re getting, where they’re coming from, and what pages are the most popular.

Why It Matters: Analytics will give you a peek into the mind of your audience. Want to know if people are abandoning your checkout page? Or if your blog posts are a hit? Google Analytics has your back.

Check Your Contact Forms (Nobody Wants to Yell Into the Void)

Your contact form is your virtual handshake with visitors, so make sure it works. Send a few test submissions to confirm that messages are going to the right place and that you’re receiving them. Also, check that the form fields are set up correctly — you don’t want your users to be confused about what information to provide.

Pro Tip: Make sure the "Thank You" message or confirmation email looks friendly and professional. It’s the little touches that keep your users feeling good about reaching out.

Connect Social Media Accounts (Be a Social Butterfly)

Integrate your social media accounts with your Squarespace site so visitors can easily find you on Instagram, LinkedIn, or wherever you do your digital mingling. Adding social icons to your header, footer, or even as a floating button ensures your site visitors can follow you without searching through the social media void.

Quick Tip: Check that your social media icons look crisp and lead to the right places. There’s nothing more embarrassing than clicking on your Instagram icon and ending up on someone’s dog’s account instead of yours.

Create a Backup Plan (Because Things Happen)

When you’re ready to go live, make sure you have a backup of your site. Squarespace has a built-in backup feature, but it’s wise to download a copy of your content and keep it in a safe place. That way, if anything goes awry (like a random plugin update that breaks everything), you can restore your site quickly.

Last-Minute Check: Ask Someone Else to Look It Over (An Extra Pair of Eyes Never Hurt)

Before you officially hit “Publish,” ask a friend or colleague to check out your site. Fresh eyes will often catch things you might have overlooked, like broken links, unclear navigation, or that image that’s weirdly pixelated. Plus, they can give you feedback on user experience and overall aesthetics — sometimes it’s the little things that make a big difference.

Final Thoughts: Building a website is no small feat, and launching it should be celebrated. But before you go live, take this checklist for a spin and make sure you’re not missing anything. A little extra time and attention to detail can make a world of difference, turning your site from “nice” to “wow.”