Every to-do from the six stages on a single sheet. Print it, tape it next to your laptop, and check things off until your site is live.
Website Launch Checklist
From the free Travel Agent Website Starter Kit · by Lynne Mashburn · HappilyEverPlanned.com
Goal: a live site with working client forms — one evening, ~$12/year
1Gather your materials
- Host agency brand guide + sub-brand rules
- Terms & conditions / client contract
- 10–15 photos of you doing the work
- Legal name, entity, email, phone, socials
- Seller-of-travel lines for the footer
- Know exactly how payments flow
2Name & domain
- Brainstorm names (ask for trademark-risk flags)
- Check availability at the registrar
- Check the renewal price, not just year one
- Buy the .com — in your account
- File a DBA if the name differs from your legal name
- Get host-agency brand approval if required
3Build with Claude
- Kick-off prompt + both kit templates attached
- Swap any emojis for custom line icons
- Pick fonts from a side-by-side lineup
- Review every page like a picky customer
- Confirm every photo you provided got used
4Make the forms real
- Wire every form to Netlify Forms
- Ask out loud: “where do submissions land?”
- Spam protection on
5Put it online
- Netlify account — on your own email
- Drag the whole folder onto Deploys
- Form detection enabled (redeploy if needed)
- Email notification added for each form
- Test every form with fake info
- Click every link on every page
6Connect your domain
- Add domain in Netlify, accept Netlify DNS
- Swap nameservers at your registrar
- Green check + HTTPS padlock appear
- Open the live site on your actual phone
✓After launch
- Punch list of remaining placeholders
- Domain set to auto-renew
- Re-test forms after every update
- Phone check after every update
★Rules that save you
- You're the expert on your business — correct the AI in one plain sentence
- A screenshot + one sentence is a complete bug report
- The site is the whole folder — pages and photos travel together
- Never promote a form you haven't tested yourself
Templates + prompt library: the free starter kit at HappilyEverPlanned.com
The Long Distance Mouse on YouTube · @thelongdistancemouse