Finalising Launch

Once we can see the new website loading in Production Environment we can proceed with post launch checks.

If the website is hosted on client’s own cPanel hosting or in AWS please use this checklist.

General

  • Under Launchpad -> Account resync the license.
  • Check all URL/links have been updated to the live domain. Use the WP Migrate DB plugin to find and replace URLs.
  • Under Settings -> Reading untick the `Discourage search engines from indexing this site` checkbox.
  • Update Admin Email directly via the database to the client’s email address. See screenshot.
  • Clear Cache on WP Engine

Malcolm (if applicable)

  • Make sure Sync functionality is turned on by setting Schedule Interval under Malcolm -> Settings -> Integration and confirm it is running; you can use WP Crontrol plugin to monitor the cron job and see sync logs and last sync details of each Malcolm entities on their respective settings.
  • Update webhook integration on Malcolm software under Admin -> Webhooks.
    – You can copy the webhook url from website -> Malcolm -> Settings -> Integration -> Webhook.
    – Make sure that webhook is working by trying a simple update on any entity, check sync logs to see if webhook is received then make sure to return the updated records to the way it was.

Security

  • Add Wordfence Security plugin and under Wordfence -> Tools -> Import/Export Options enter the token 6ce167d4620c077a27a4b79d53eecaef4f5e40f061a23ae59e5c5227fd9fa970bc1aec2592ece3fc096262881e6531dedf1bedf16b2867f9c573041e5cb9d2ec to import our default settings. Alternative, follow these instructions to configure.

Forms

  • Activate WP Mail SMTP Plugin and add our Hicaliber SendGrid API Key. Please ensure you update the From Email and From Name fields.
  • Add reCAPTCHA to all forms and add the live domain to Hicaliber Accelerate Google Captcha admin. Copy the Site Key and Secret Key and add to the site.
  • Check Anti-spam honeypot is enabled for all forms.
  • Check Form Notifications are set to go to the client’s email address.
  • Check Form Confirmations are set to redirect to the correct Thank You page/s.
  • Submit a test form submission.

Users

  • Create Editor User for the client
  • Enable 2-Factor Aunthentication (2FA) under Wordfence > Login Security and ensure all client users set up 2FA
  • Make sure all login details are updated & correct on Jira Webhost Board

SEO and Tracking

  • Make sure all Thank you pages have SEO indexing set to False. This is set using Yoast SEO -> Advanced tab where we set both Allow search engines to show this page in search results? and Should search engines follow links on this page to No. This also applies to any other pages we do not want to be indexed by Search Engines.
  • Add Google Tag Manager scripts under Launchpad -> Site Settings -> Advanced.
  • Add Website to Google Search Console and submit Sitemap.

301 Redirects

  • Add 301 redirects using a plugin or directly in WP Engine under Redirect Rules. We recommend Yoast Premium plugin or Redirections plugin.

Staging / Development Environment

  • In WP Engine, enable password protection on Staging and / or Development Environments.