A quick pre-launch checklist
Before you tell people to visit your live , walk this list. None of it requires DevOps expertise — most of it is one to AI or one click in a dashboard.
- It actually loads. Open the real URL (Uniform Resource Locator — the web address) in a fresh browser (or your phone), not just your local preview. The number of "it works on my machine" launches that 404 in public is legendary.
- Secrets aren't in the code. Search your repo for your own keys before pushing. Ask AI: "scan this project for hardcoded keys, passwords, or tokens."
- Spend caps are set. A hard cap on every paid API and a billing alert on your hosting account. Cap first, celebrate later.
- is on. HTTPS (HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure) is the encrypted version of the web's basic delivery system — it's what puts the padlock in the address bar. Modern platforms do this automatically, but confirm the little lock icon is there. Browsers punish sites that aren't encrypted.
- You know how to roll back. Find the previous-deploy button now, while nothing is on fire.
- There's a way to reach you. A logging or error-reporting tool, even a basic one, so the first sign of a problem isn't an angry user. Ask AI to wire up error logging for your stack.
This is not a comprehensive production audit — it's the short list that catches the embarrassing, expensive, and easily-avoided mistakes. Run it every launch until it's a reflex.