Law Firm Website Launch Checklist: 40 Checks Before You Go Live

Before a law firm website goes live, check five areas: advertising compliance, redirects and SEO, forms and intake, tracking and speed, and accessibility and security. Then check them again the week after launch. Most launch problems are small, but a broken form or missing redirect can cost cases quietly for months.

This checklist is written for the partner or office manager signing off on a new site. Hand it to your developer, and ask for each item to be ticked with a name and date.

It is part of our Law Firm Marketing Guide. For the planning stage, see our law firm website redesign checklist.

1. Compliance review

Lawyer advertising rules apply to your website. Rules vary by state, so confirm with your state bar.

• [ ] Every page names at least one responsible lawyer or the firm, with contact details. ABA Model Rule 7.2(d) requires the name and contact information of at least one lawyer or firm responsible for the content.
• [ ] Case results have context and any disclaimer your state requires. Comment 3 to Rule 7.1 says results can mislead if they create unjustified expectations.
• [ ] "Specialist" or "certified" claims meet Rule 7.2(c) and your state's version.
• [ ] Testimonials and reviews follow your state's rules. See lawyer reviews and testimonials rules.
• [ ] Consultation wording is accurate. If you charge for consultations, say so.
• [ ] Disclaimers near forms say that submitting does not create an attorney-client relationship and warn against sending confidential details. See website disclaimers and contact forms.
• [ ] State filing duties are met. For example, the Florida Bar exempts lawyer websites from filing, while the State Bar of Texas says failure to file a non-exempt ad is a violation. Check what applies to you.
• [ ] Attorney bios list correct bar admissions and match the state bar directory.

2. Redirects and SEO

Google's site move guidance says to map old URLs to new ones, use permanent server-side redirects such as 301 or 308, keep them generally for at least a year, and expect temporary ranking changes.

• [ ] A spreadsheet maps every old URL, including old blog posts and PDFs, to its new URL.
• [ ] Redirects go straight to the final page, with no chains.
• [ ] Each page has a unique title tag and meta description.
• [ ] One H1 per page.
• [ ] The XML sitemap lists only new, live URLs.
• [ ] The staging site's "noindex" setting is removed from production.
• [ ] robots.txt does not block the live site.
• [ ] Canonical tags point to the live domain.
• [ ] Structured data for the firm, attorneys and FAQs validates.
• [ ] Internal links point to new URLs, not redirects.

3. Forms, calls and intake

• [ ] Every phone number is a tap-to-call link.
• [ ] Each form sends to the right inbox and to your intake system. Test with real submissions.
• [ ] Form confirmation pages work and set a clear expectation for reply time.
• [ ] Spam protection is on but does not block real people.
• [ ] Forms ask only what intake needs for a first contact and a conflicts check.
• [ ] After-hours calls route somewhere, and someone checks.
• [ ] Chat widgets, if used, include the same disclaimers and are tested on a phone.
• [ ] Office address, hours and phone match the Google Business Profile.

4. Tracking and speed

• [ ] GA4 is installed once, not twice.
• [ ] Calls, forms and chats are marked as key events. Google's key events help page says marking applies from that point forward, so do it before launch.
• [ ] Google Ads conversions import correctly, if you run ads.
• [ ] Call tracking numbers swap correctly and the main number stays on the Business Profile.
• [ ] Search Console is verified for the live domain and the sitemap submitted.
• [ ] Top pages meet Google's Core Web Vitals targets: LCP within 2.5 seconds, INP under 200 milliseconds, CLS under 0.1.
• [ ] Images are compressed and sized for mobile.

5. Accessibility

The Department of Justice's web guidance says the ADA applies to the goods and services of businesses open to the public, and points to WCAG as a helpful standard. The current version is WCAG 2.2.

• [ ] Every page works with a keyboard alone.
• [ ] Focus is visible on links, buttons and form fields.
• [ ] Images have meaningful alt text; decorative ones are marked as such.
• [ ] Text has enough contrast against its background.
• [ ] Form fields have labels and clear error messages.
• [ ] Videos have captions.

See ADA and WCAG accessibility for law firm websites for detail.

6. Security and backups

The WordPress hardening guide recommends regular backups, current software, removing unused plugins and two-step authentication. The same ideas apply to any platform.

• [ ] HTTPS works on every URL, and HTTP redirects to HTTPS.
• [ ] All admin users have unique logins and two-step login.
• [ ] Former vendors' and staff accounts are removed.
• [ ] A full backup exists and has been restored once as a test.
• [ ] Your firm holds the domain, hosting and admin logins.

7. Launch day and the week after

• [ ] Launch early in the week, not on a Friday.
• [ ] Spot-check 20 old URLs for correct redirects.
• [ ] Submit a test form and make a test call within the first hour.
• [ ] Check Search Console daily for crawl errors and 404s for two weeks.
• [ ] Compare leads and calls to the same week last month.
• [ ] Update the website link on directories and the Business Profile if the domain changed.

A simple sign-off sheet

Ask your developer to return the checklist with three columns filled in for each section: who checked it, the date, and any open issue. Keep it with your marketing records. If a question about an ad or page comes up later, you can show what was reviewed and when.

Next step

If you would rather hand this list to a team that runs it every launch, see our law firm website services. Schedule a discovery call to talk through your site and timing.

Frequently asked questions