Site Launch Checklist

Questions: Ask the user through the environment's question tool — never as plain-text prose. One question at a time, 2–4 tappable options, wait for the answer. If the environment has no question tool, ask in prose with the same options, one at a time.

Site Launch Checklist

Pre-launch audit and setup workflow for shipping a new website. Opinionated for Cloudflare DNS + Vercel hosting + PostHog + Legal context.

Interaction style (READ FIRST)

This skill is intentionally interactive. Ask aggressively instead of assuming. The user will tap, not type.

Always ask these questions at the start of a run (one at a time, in this order):

1. Site type: doc-site | marketing/lead-gen | SaaS-app | training/paid-course | personal-portfolio
2. Migration: greenfield-new-domain | migration-need-301-redirects | replacing-existing-on-same-domain
3. Multilingual: single-locale | en | fr+en | other-multi
4. PostHog setup: hogpost.samber.dev | set-up-new-proxy | skip-PostHog
5. AI scraper policy: use-default-for-site-type | customize-per-bot | block-all
6. Browser tool available: claude-chrome-extension | playwright | neither-skip-browser-checks

Ask again at every decision point throughout the phases, including:

• Whether to install Sentry / BetterStack / Crisp (depends on site type, ask explicitly)
• www vs apex canonical preference (most sites: apex; ask anyway)
• Which AI bots to allow if user chose customize-per-bot
• CSP tightness level: strict-default-src-none | balanced-allow-self | permissive-for-marketing
• Whether to skip a phase entirely (e.g., skip Phase 3 if non-FR site)

Never proceed past a decision point without explicit user input. Verbose checklists without checkpoints are not the goal.

Never install any MCP server or skill without explicit user confirmation. Always ask via the question tool before running npx skills add, claude mcp add, or any equivalent install command — even when the skill selection workflow proposes a curated subset.

How to use this skill

1. Run the start-of-session questions above.
2. Walk the user through phases 1-10 in order. For each phase: a. List items, ask if any should be skipped. b. For each remaining item, run the verification command (see "Verification tools" below). c. Report pass/fail. On fail, ask the user if they want to fix now or queue for later.
3. End with a status report grouped by phase, with blockers, recommended fixes, and optional improvements clearly separated.

Companion skills

Six skill packs are useful for site launches. Never install full multi-skill packs. The actual subset to install is decided at invocation time based on the site type the user confirms.

Pack inventory

Skill selection workflow (run at session start)

After the user confirms site type, for each pack relevant to that site type:

1. List available sub-skills: npx skills add owner/repo --list
2. Propose a curated subset based on site type and the phases this skill will execute. Match each phase's needs to specific sub-skills the listing returns.
3. Confirm with the user. Use multi-select when the proposed list has more than 3 items, single-select (install-as-proposed | let-me-modify | skip-this-pack) otherwise.
4. Bulk install the agreed subset: npx skills add owner/repo --skill A B C

Rules:

• Sub-skill names live in the pack, not in this SKILL.md. Always query --list for the current state. Pack contents change.
• Never run npx skills add owner/repo without --skill (that installs everything).
• Site type → packs mapping (which packs to enumerate, sub-skills still selected per workflow):
• doc-site: claude-seo, web-quality-skills, trailofbits, seo-geo-claude-skills, devmarketing-skills
• marketing/lead-gen: claude-seo, web-quality-skills, trailofbits, seo-geo-claude-skills, marketingskills
• SaaS-app: all six
• training/paid-course: claude-seo, web-quality-skills, trailofbits, marketingskills
• personal-portfolio: claude-seo, web-quality-skills, trailofbits, seo-geo-claude-skills (lightweight subset)
• If the user later requests a phase that needs a sub-skill not yet installed, run the workflow again for that single sub-skill rather than re-installing the whole subset.

This avoids importing 80+ skills the user does not need, avoids going stale on sub-skill names, and avoids overfitting to a single pack version.

When delegating during a phase, do not duplicate work this skill orchestrates. Call the specialist with a narrow scope (e.g., "run only the security headers sub-audit on URL X").

Phase 0: Launch Readiness Gate

Run this BEFORE any other phase. Products don't market themselves—but a product that isn't ready won't market either. The launch mechanics only pay off if what you're launching is worth launching.

Two failure modes kill launches from opposite ends:

• Stealth Mode — launching too late. "Procrastination in a fancy suit." You keep polishing in private, waiting for the product to be perfect. It never ships, and nobody learns you exist.
• "Just One More Feature" — never launching. Every proposed launch date gets pushed for one more thing. The scope creeps forever; the launch never comes.

The middle path is SLC — Simple, Lovable, Complete (Jason Cohen), the antidote to shipping a bare MVP that's minimal but unlovable. Don't launch a stub nobody wants; don't wait for a bloated everything-app. A launchable v1 is:

• Simple — it does _one_ thing. Not many things poorly. One clear job, done well.
• Lovable — people _want_ to use it, not just tolerate it. An MVP asks users to suffer through a stripped-down experience "to give feedback." SLC gives them something they'd choose. If nobody would be sad to lose it, it isn't lovable yet.
• Complete — it's a _whole_ experience for that one thing, not a stub with obvious holes. Complete at its chosen scope, not a teaser of a bigger promise.

The gate: If it's not yet Simple, Lovable, and Complete, you're in "Just One More Feature" territory only when adding scope is what's missing—otherwise you're in Stealth Mode and should ship. Cut scope until one thing is lovable and complete, then launch that. SLC gives you a real launch now instead of a perfect launch never.

Quick check before running the phases:

• [ ] Does it do one clearly-defined thing? (Simple)
• [ ] Would a target user _choose_ to use it, not just endure it? (Lovable)
• [ ] Is that one thing a whole experience, with no glaring stubs? (Complete)
• [ ] Are you polishing past this bar? → Stop. You're in Stealth Mode. Ship.
• [ ] Are you still adding new things to the scope? → Stop. You're in "Just One More Feature." Cut back to SLC.

Directory submission readiness (from directory-submissions skill): Ask these 9 questions. If any are "no", they're not ready — help them build the missing piece first.

1. Is the product publicly accessible (no password wall)?
2. Is there a pricing page (even "free while in beta")?
3. Are privacy policy + terms live?