How to check a WordPress site before launch for SEO

What a pre-launch SEO check covers

Why WordPress launches need their own checks

What you need to check a WordPress site before launch for SEO

• Admin access to the WordPress site
• Access to Google Search Console with the site added as a property
• A web browser, including a private (incognito) window
• If your URLs are changing, a list of the old addresses and where each should go

Check a WordPress site before launch for SEO, step by step

1. 1

   Check the search visibility setting

   In WordPress go to Settings, then Reading, and look for Discourage search engines from indexing this site. On the live site it should be unticked. Google notes that a CMS may provide a settings page, instead of direct file editing, for telling search engines whether to crawl or index your pages; see Google's robots.txt introduction.

   You will know it worked when The WordPress box is unticked and saved, and any SEO plugin setting for hiding the site is off.

2. 2

   Look for a noindex rule in the page source

   Open the live home page and one page of each other type (post, category, product and so on) in a private window. Right-click, choose View page source and search (Ctrl+F) for robots. A tag containing noindex asks Google to drop that page. Google says the same rule can arrive as an X-Robots-Tag HTTP header, so the source is not the only place it can be. See Block search indexing with noindex.

   You will know it worked when No page you want in search carries a noindex tag.

3. 3

   Read robots.txt and open the sitemap

   Type your domain followed by /robots.txt in the address bar. Google says a page blocked there cannot show Google a noindex rule on it. A line such as Disallow: / under User-agent: * blocks all crawlers except the AdsBot crawlers, according to Google's robots.txt examples. Then open your sitemap address (your SEO plugin or WordPress will tell you where it is).

   You will know it worked when robots.txt does not disallow pages you want crawled, and the sitemap loads a list of your URLs.

4. 4

   Check every template at phone width

   Google uses the mobile version of your content for indexing and ranking, so it recommends that mobile pages hold the same content as desktop ones. In the browser's developer tools switch on the device view, or narrow the window, and look at one page of each template. Compare headings, text, images and links with the desktop version. See Mobile-first indexing best practices.

   You will know it worked when Every template shows the same main content and headings at phone width as on desktop.

5. 5

   Set up redirects for changed addresses

   If page addresses changed, Google's site move guide says to map each old URL to its new one, using server-side permanent redirects (301 or 308) sent straight to the final page, not through a chain. Each new page should have a self-referencing canonical link, internal links should use the new addresses, and the sitemap should list them. See Site moves and migrations.

   You will know it worked when Type several old addresses into the browser: each lands on the right new page in one step.

6. 6

   Check caching, then test as Google sees it

   A cache keeps a copy of a page. In the Cache-Control header, the max-age value is the number of seconds after which a stored copy counts as stale (RFC 9111). If your host or a CDN caches pages, clear the cache using your provider's instructions, then reload the home page in a private window as a logged-out visitor. Then paste the address into the Search Console inspection bar and run the live test. See URL Inspection tool.

   You will know it worked when The private window shows the new site, and the live test shows the page as Google received it, with no noindex.

7. 7

   Watch Search Console after launch

   In the days after launch, check the Page indexing report for important pages that are not indexed and the Crawl stats report for rising errors; Google points to both when investigating technical issues. See Debugging drops in Google Search traffic.

   You will know it worked when Important pages are not listed as not indexed for a reason you did not intend, and crawl errors are not climbing.

Common mistakes when you check a WordPress site before launch for SEO

• Leaving the search visibility setting, or a plugin's equivalent, switched on after going live.
• Checking only the home page, when other templates may carry their own noindex tag or different mobile content.
• Treating robots.txt as a way to keep pages out of Google. Google says it is not, and that it can hide a noindex rule from the crawler.
• Redirecting old addresses through several hops instead of straight to the matching new page.

Terms used when you check a WordPress site before launch for SEO

Noindex

A rule, in a meta tag or HTTP header, asking search engines to leave a page out of their results.

robots.txt

A text file at the root of a site that tells crawlers which URLs they may access.

Cache

A stored copy of a page that is served instead of building it again; headers such as Cache-Control set how long it counts as fresh.

Redirect

An instruction that sends visitors and Google from an old address to a new one.

Sources for how to check a WordPress site before launch for SEO

• Block Search Indexing with noindex | Google Search Central
• Robots.txt Introduction and Guide | Google Search Central
• Create and Submit a robots.txt File | Google Crawling Infrastructure
• Mobile-first Indexing Best Practices | Google Search Central
• Site Moves and Migrations | Google Search Central
• URL Inspection tool - Search Console Help
• RFC 9111: HTTP Caching | RFC Editor
• Debug Google Search Traffic Drops | Google Search Central