Estimated time: 30–45 min

Software Pre-Launch Checklist

A comprehensive checklist to verify DNS, SSL, secrets, backups, support, legal, billing, and live production readiness before launching a product.

#Launch#Pre-Launch#SaaS#Developer API#Mobile App#DNS#SSL#Backups#Production

Product Type:

Phase Preset:

Progress:0%0 of 36 completed

1. Product & Core Value Readiness

Ensure the primary user workflow and value proposition are fully functional.

0/4 checks

Core user onboarding & registration flow verifiedBlockingProduct Lead

Primary value feature functional without critical bugsBlockingEngineering Lead

Mobile responsive & cross-browser layout confirmedBlockingFrontend Dev

Styled 404 & empty state pages publishedImportantFrontend Dev

2. Domain, DNS, SSL & CDN Configuration

Verify domain resolution, auto-renewing SSL/TLS certificates, and CDN caching.

0/4 checks

Production custom domain pointing to production IP / CNAMEBlockingDevOps

SSL/TLS certificate active with auto-renewal enabledBlockingDevOps

Apex & WWW redirects configured consistentlyImportantDevOps

CDN caching & asset purge rules verifiedImportantDevOps

3. Environment Variables, Secrets & Config

Verify production configuration keys, secret vault isolation, and debug flags.

0/4 checks

Production environment variables loaded from secret vaultBlockingDevOps

Staging & test API keys replaced with live keysBlockingBackend Dev

Debug flags & verbose loggers disabledBlockingBackend Dev

CORS allowed origins updated to production domainBlockingBackend Dev

4. Authentication, Billing & Onboarding

Validate user identity management, live payment processing, and transactional email.

0/3 checks

Production OAuth apps & redirect URIs configuredBlockingBackend Dev

Payment gateway switched to Live mode with real webhooksBlockingBackend Dev

Transactional email provider configured & SPF/DKIM records verifiedBlockingDevOps

5. Infrastructure & Database Backups

Ensure automated database snapshots, connection pooling, and auto-scaling rules.

0/3 checks

Automated database backups & PITR activeBlockingDBA

Database connection pooling configuredBlockingDBA / DevOps

Server auto-scaling & memory limits setImportantDevOps

6. Observability, Error Tracking & Analytics

Set up error monitoring, APM performance metrics, and analytics event logging.

0/3 checks

Error tracking (Sentry / Datadog) initialized with prod DSNBlockingDevOps

Public status page initialized (Statuspage.io / Better Stack)ImportantDevOps

Product analytics event tracking verifiedImportantProduct Lead

7. Support, Help Center & Feedback Channels

Provide clear channels for users to report bugs, request help, and submit feedback.

0/3 checks

Support contact email / widget functionalBlockingSupport Lead

Basic FAQ or Knowledge Base documentation publishedImportantProduct Lead

Process established for triaging launch day customer issuesImportantSupport Lead

8. Legal, Privacy & Compliance

Publish legally required Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and cookie disclosures.

0/3 checks

Cookie consent banner active for tracking scriptsImportantFrontend Dev

9. Marketing, Store Listing & Launch Comms

Prepare social cards, store metadata, press materials, and launch announcements.

0/3 checks

OpenGraph social preview card & meta tags verifiedImportantMarketing / Dev

App Store / Google Play listing approved (Mobile apps)BlockingMobile Lead

Product Hunt / Hacker News submission post preparedImportantFounder / Marketing

10. Pre-Launch Production Verification

Perform end-to-end smoke testing directly on the live production URL.

0/3 checks

Live production URL smoke test executedBlockingQA / Dev

Real credit card charge & receipt verified (SaaS)BlockingEngineering Lead

Production database queries & latency normalBlockingDevOps

11. Live Launch Day Execution & Contingency

Assign launch leads, open monitoring bridges, and verify emergency rollback paths.

0/3 checks

Designated launch lead & war room bridge activeBlockingEngineering Lead

Live monitoring dashboards open (APM & Error streams)BlockingDevOps

Emergency rollback path & killswitches testedBlockingDevOps

Product Type Matrix

Tailoring Launch Checks by Product Architecture

Different software architectures carry distinct pre-launch risks. Use the Product Type selector to focus on requirements relevant to your stack:

SaaS & Web Applications

Focus on live payment gateway webhooks (Stripe Live Mode), production OAuth redirect URIs, transactional email delivery (SPF/DKIM/DMARC), and automated database backups with PITR.

Developer APIs & Microservices

Focus on rate limiting middleware (HTTP 429), API key generation/rotation policies, OpenAPI documentation accuracy, SDK backward compatibility, and SLA status monitoring.

Mobile Applications

Focus on App Store & Google Play review approval status, push notification APNS/FCM certificates, deep linking universal links, and forced app update shims.

Static Websites & Docs

Focus on custom domain CNAME/A records, auto-renewing SSL/TLS certificates, WWW vs non-WWW redirects, OpenGraph social card previews, and CDN edge purge rules.

Launch Contingency

Launch Day Emergency Abort Runbook

If unexpected traffic spikes or database failures occur during launch hours, execute the emergency contingency protocol:

1. Single-Click Rollback

Keep your Vercel/AWS deployment console open to execute an instant deployment rollback if live error rates spike above 1%.

2. Feature Killswitches

Use feature flags to disable heavy background syncs, AI generation workers, or expensive search queries to shed database CPU load.

3. Live War Room Bridge

Establish a dedicated launch day war room (Slack channel or video call) with designated engineering, support, and marketing leads.

When to Use This Checklist

In the final 72 hours before launching a new SaaS product, mobile app, API, or major web service.
To verify custom domain DNS, SSL certificates, environment variables, and live payment processing.
When auditing backup schedules, legal terms, privacy policies, and support escalation paths.
To run live production smoke tests before publishing to Product Hunt, App Store, or HN.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Leaving Stripe or payment gateways in Test mode, preventing real users from subscribing.
Using staging environment variables or test API keys in production deployment settings.
Forgetting to configure automated database backups with Point-In-Time Recovery (PITR).
Launching without a clear support contact or incident escalation path when early traffic spikes.
Assuming a successful staging deployment guarantees production readiness without live URL smoke testing.