🚀 DataMade Site Launch Checklist

A checklist of tasks to do before launching a public website.

Usage

Launch preparation generally takes a day or more. You should also reserve a day for bugfixing after you have wrapped the last feature. Be sure to plan accordingly!

Once you're ready, make a new GitHub issue in your project called "Launch Checklist" and copy/paste the following:

From the [DataMade Site Launch Checklist](https://github.com/datamade/site-launch-checklist)

## Load Testing and Website Optimization

If your site relies on a database or server-side code, you should load test and optimize the site for the level of traffic you anticipate. If you're launching a static site, you can skip this section.

* [ ] Set up [caching](https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/stable/topics/cache/)
* [ ] Run the site through Google's [PageSpeed Insights](https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/)
* [ ] Write a script to load test your site
    - We like [Locust](https://docs.locust.io/en/stable/) for this. See [LA Metro Councilmatic](https://github.com/datamade/la-metro-councilmatic#load-testing) for a basic example.

If you're writing a Django application, [Django Debug Toolbar](https://django-debug-toolbar.readthedocs.io/en/latest/) is a great tool for identifying duplicated and/or sluggish queries.

## Deployment and DNS

* [ ] Create a production deployment
* [ ] Double check that production-level resources have been provisioned
* [ ] Purchase your domain and create the DNS record to point it at your production deployment
* [ ] Set up SSL

## Web Search Indexing

* [ ] Disallow indexing of your staging site
* [ ] Allow indexing of your production site
* [ ] Redirect the www subdomain to your root domain
* [ ] [Set a canonical URL](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/advanced/crawling/consolidate-duplicate-urls) to prevent duplicate search results

## Google Analytics

* [ ] Create a [Google Analytics](http://www.google.com/analytics/) account
* [ ] Add [the Google Analytics script](https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/analyticsjs) to your site
* [ ] Set up [Google Webmaster Tools](https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/home?hl=en) and [verify site](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9008080?hl=en)
* [ ] Link Webmaster Tools to Google Analytics
* [ ] Optional: Set up relevant Goals and Funnels in Google Analytics

## Sharing & Rich Snippets

* [ ] Create a share card using [Canva](http://canva.com/) or a similar tool
* [ ] Set up general meta tags
    ```html
    <meta name="description" content="${SITE_NAME}" />
    <meta name="author" content="${SITE_AUTHOR}" />
    ```
* [ ] Set up Facebook meta tags & validate [here](https://developers.facebook.com/tools/debug/)
    ```html
    <meta property="og:type" content="website">
    <meta property="og:site_name" content="${SITE_NAME}">
    <meta property="og:description" content="${SITE_DESCRIPTION}">
    <meta property="og:image" content="${SHARE_CARD_URL}">
    <meta property="og:title" content="${PAGE_TITLE}">
    <meta property="og:url" content="${PAGE_URL}">
    ```
* [ ] Set up Twitter meta tags & validate [here](https://cards-dev.twitter.com/validator)
    ```html
    <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image">
    <meta name="twitter:site" content="${SITE_NAME}">
    <meta name="twitter:creator" content="${SITE_AUTHOR}">
    <meta name="twitter:description" content="${SITE_DESCRIPTION}">
    <meta name="twitter:image" content="${SHARE_CARD_URL}">
    <meta name="twitter:title" content="${PAGE_TITLE}">
    <meta name="twitter:url" content="${PAGE_URL}">
    ```

## Miscellaneous Polish

* [ ] Add favicons and Apple touch icons (http://www.favicomatic.com/)
* [ ] Add custom 404 & 500 error pages

## Browser and mobile compatibility

* [ ] Use BrowserStack to confirm that your site is compatible with the browsers you wish to support

Using BrowserStack's mobile device emulators and/or your own mobile device, confirm that:

* [ ] Scrolling is easy
* [ ] Nav bar works
* [ ] Hoverable things are tappable
* [ ] Charts and maps look ok

## Printer Friendliness

Dynamic sizing, dark backgrounds, and interactivity don't play well with printers.

Pick one:

* [ ] Make a print stylesheet using a `@media print {}` media query, then add it to your site with `<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="css/print.css" media="print">`

- or -

* [ ] Use your browser's dev tools to remove offending elements (like sticky footers), alter colors where needed, and [screenshot the entire page](https://stackoverflow.com/a/14830242).
* [ ] Add a link to the printer-friendly version to your website.

## GitHub README

If the site is open source, make sure the README.md is complete and accurate.

Here's a few good examples:

- [LA Metro Councilmatic](https://github.com/datamade/la-metro-councilmatic)
- [Illinois Sunshine](https://github.com/datamade/illinois-sunshine/blob/master/README.md)

The README should generally contain information on the following:

* [ ] Project overview
* [ ] System-level dependencies
* [ ] Running locally
* [ ] Bug reports and contributing
* [ ] Copyright and license

Suggestions?

We'd love to hear 'em. Open an issue, or fork this repo and make it your own!

Copyright and Attribution

Copyright (c) 2021 DataMade. Released under MIT License.