Module 5: Launch Essentials
Launch isn't just pressing "publish" — it's the technical checklist that makes your site measurable, findable, fast, and safe. This module covers analytics, search engines, speed, security, and backups: the unglamorous work that separates real sites from brochures.
Installing Analytics: A GA4 Walkthrough
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is free and tells you what visitors actually do on your site: which pages they visit, where they come from, and where they leave. Without it, you're flying blind — every decision in Module 6 depends on this data, so install it on day one even though the numbers will be small at first. You'll need a Google account (any Gmail works).
The walkthrough: go to analytics.google.com, click "Start measuring," and create an account named after your business. Create a "property" for your website, choose "Web" as the platform, and enter your domain. Google will give you a measurement ID (it looks like G-XXXXXXXXXX) and a snippet of tracking code. On a website builder, paste the measurement ID into the builder's analytics settings (Squarespace: Settings → Developer Tools; Wix: Marketing Integrations). On WordPress, install the free "Site Kit by Google" plugin and connect it — it handles the code for you.
Day one
Install analytics on day one
Installing analytics and never looking at it — or installing three different trackers that slow the site and disagree with each other. One analytics tool, checked monthly, beats five you ignore.
Build brief
What are the three numbers that will tell you your website is working — and what does 'working' look like six months from now?
Saved
Search Console, Sitemaps, and Getting Indexed
Google Search Console is the free tool that tells you how Google sees your site — and it's how you ask Google to notice you exist. Sign in at search.google.com/search-console with your Google account, add your domain as a property, and verify ownership (the DNS TXT record method is most reliable: add the record Google gives you at your registrar, then click verify). This takes about ten minutes.
Next, submit your sitemap — a file that lists every page on your site so Google doesn't have to guess. Website builders generate one automatically (usually at yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml); WordPress with an SEO plugin like Rank Math or Yoast does too. In Search Console, go to Sitemaps in the left menu, paste "sitemap.xml" into the field, and submit. Then use the URL Inspection tool at the top: paste your homepage URL and click "Request indexing." Repeat for your three most important pages. This doesn't guarantee rankings — it guarantees Google knows the pages exist, which is the prerequisite for everything else.
The steps
Search Console in three steps
Build brief
What's your biggest worry about launch: speed, security, being found on Google, or something else? Why that one?
Saved
Speed, SSL, and Backups
Three technical non-negotiables before launch. First, speed: run your homepage through Google's PageSpeed Insights (pagespeed.web.dev — free). You're aiming for a mobile score above 80; below 50 needs work. The fixes are the ones you already learned: compressed images (Module 4), not too many plugins (WordPress users: audit them — each one costs speed), and a decent host. Speed isn't vanity — Google uses it as a ranking factor and visitors abandon slow pages.
Third, backups: if you can edit your site, you can break your site, so you need a way back. Website builders keep version history automatically — learn where the "restore" button is before you need it. On WordPress, install a free backup plugin like UpdraftPlus and schedule weekly automatic backups to your Google Drive or Dropbox; then actually test restoring once, on a quiet afternoon, so you know it works. Write your registrar login, hosting login, and backup location on one sheet of paper kept somewhere safe. If you get hit by a bus — or just forget a password — that sheet is your business continuity plan.
The target
Speed, SSL, backups
Your path
Speed
Run PageSpeed Insights — aim for a mobile score above 80; below 50 needs work.
SSL
The padlock: your site must load over HTTPS — free via Let's Encrypt, usually one click.
Backups
If you can edit it, you can break it — learn where the restore button is before you need it.
Build brief
If your site went down or got hacked tomorrow, what is your recovery plan right now, honestly?
Saved
Pre-launch technical checklist:
☐ GA4 installed and collecting data
☐ Search Console verified, sitemap submitted
☐ SSL active (https:// works, no warnings)
☐ PageSpeed mobile score above 50 (80+ ideal)
☐ Backup system in place (builder autosave or plugin)
☐ Contact form tested — you received the test message
Install GA4 on your site today (or open it and confirm it's actually collecting data — check Realtime while you visit your own homepage).
A visitor sees "Not Secure" in their browser on your site. What's the fix?