# Pre-launch audit with a prioritised fix list

> Audit the whole site before launch and get a ranked fix list, then fix the blockers.

Canonical: https://abacklaunch.com/prompts/pre-launch-audit
Last updated: 2026-10-26

Version 1.0.

I am launching the production site soon. Audit this codebase the way a careful reviewer would on the day before a launch, rank every problem by how much it would hurt the launch, and then fix the blockers with me. Strangers will arrive from launch sites, social posts and search all at once: anything broken, slow, unclear or untrustworthy costs signups that do not come back.

Site: not given. Find the production URL in the project config, or ask me.

## Ground rules

1. Read before you write. Explore the parts of the codebase this job touches and tell me what is already in place.
2. Plan, then stop. Give me a numbered plan: what you will change, in which files, and why. Wait for my approval before editing anything.
3. Fix things at their source (the shared layout, the config, the generator), not with one-off patches page by page.
4. Keep the project's conventions: its framework APIs, file layout, naming and code style. Add no new dependency without asking.
5. Where something is already done well, say so and leave it alone.

## You will not

- Edit `.env` files, secrets or API keys, or print their values.
- Deploy, push, merge or publish anything.
- Delete data, or run migrations or scripts against a production database.
- Add tracking, third-party scripts or links to any site I did not ask for.
- Change copy, design or behaviour that this job does not need.
- Rewrite page copy without showing me the new wording first.

## Your stack

- Framework: Work out the framework, router and build output from the project files (package.json, lockfiles, framework config) before planning, and say which you found.
- Host: Work out where the site is hosted from the config files (vercel.json, netlify.toml, wrangler config, Dockerfile, fly.toml) and say which you found.

## Steps

### 1. Map the site

List every public route or page template, the shared layout(s), where metadata is set, and how the site is built and served. Note any pages that need sign-in. This map is what you audit against, so show it to me first.

### 2. Audit, without changing anything

Check each area below. For every problem, record the file, what is wrong, why it matters on launch day, and the fix.

- **Search and sharing:** a unique `<title>` and meta description on every public page; one canonical URL per page; Open Graph and X card tags with a 1200 x 630 image that exists; a favicon and apple-touch-icon; `robots.txt` and an XML sitemap that list the real public pages and no private ones.
- **AI assistants:** the main content is in the server-rendered HTML (not only after JavaScript runs); the homepage says in plain words what the product is and who it is for; there is an Organization or SoftwareApplication JSON-LD block.
- **Errors:** a real 404 page that returns status 404 (not 200); a 500 page; no broken internal links; no console errors on the main pages; forms that show a useful error when they fail.
- **Speed:** oversized images, images without width and height, render-blocking scripts in `<head>`, fonts loaded without `font-display`, and anything that will be slow under a burst of traffic.
- **Trust:** HTTPS everywhere with HTTP redirecting to it; a privacy policy and terms linked in the footer; a contact route; security headers (`Strict-Transport-Security`, `X-Content-Type-Options`, a `Content-Security-Policy` or a plan for one, `Referrer-Policy`).
- **Conversion:** the main call to action is visible without scrolling on a phone; sign-up works end to end; the pricing page, if there is one, matches what checkout charges.

### 3. Rank the findings

Sort everything into three groups and show me the list before fixing:

- **P0, blocks the launch:** broken flows, wrong or missing titles and share images on the pages people will share, a 404 page that returns 200, private pages in the sitemap, anything that loses data or leaks it.
- **P1, costs signups or rankings:** slow pages, missing structured data, unclear homepage copy, missing canonicals.
- **P2, polish:** everything else.

Give each finding a size (minutes, an hour, more) so I can choose.

### 4. Fix the P0s, then the P1s I approve

Fix at the source: a missing description belongs in the shared metadata helper with a per-page value, not pasted into each page. After each fix, re-check that item and tick it off in the list. Stop and ask before any fix that changes copy the visitor reads.

## Done means

- [ ] The audit list exists, ranked P0, P1 and P2, with a file and a fix for every item.
- [ ] Every P0 is fixed or explicitly deferred by me.
- [ ] Every public page has a unique title, a description, a canonical URL and working share tags.
- [ ] An unknown URL returns a 404 status with a helpful page.
- [ ] The build and existing tests still pass.

## Report back

When you finish, give me:

- what you changed, file by file;
- anything you skipped, and why;
- anything I must do by hand (DNS records, dashboards, accounts, deploys);
- how to check each change on the live site.

## Related

- [Get ready for a launch day traffic spike](https://abacklaunch.com/prompts/launch-day-traffic-readiness)
- [Social share cards for every platform](https://abacklaunch.com/prompts/social-share-cards)
- [Titles, descriptions and canonicals, fixed at the source](https://abacklaunch.com/prompts/titles-descriptions-canonicals)
- [Make your site readable by AI assistants: llms.txt and Markdown versions](https://abacklaunch.com/prompts/llms-txt-and-markdown)