Will we lose our Google rankings when the new site launches?

Some movement is normal while Google recrawls a changed site. Big, lasting drops usually come from missing redirects, cut pages or a leftover staging setting, which is exactly what our pre-launch checks and redirect map are there to catch.

Can we launch on a specific date?

Yes. If a campaign, trade show or announcement depends on it, tell us early and we'll plan the whole project backwards from that date, with buffer built in.

How long does the switch-over take?

A DNS record change usually takes effect within minutes to a few hours. If nameservers change, it can take a day or two. Some visitors may briefly see the old site while it settles, which is normal.

What's covered in the 30 days of launch support?

Anything not working the way we said it would at launch, questions about using what we built, and small corrections like a typo or a wrong image. New pages or features are quoted separately, or handled in a care plan.

What happens after the support window?

Nothing changes about your site. You can run it yourself with our help center, move onto a care plan, or keep working with us on the Results phase and beyond.

Live, tested and tracked, and every key is yours

We handle testing, redirects, analytics and the switch-over, so nobody is chasing anyone across a finish line. When it's done, every account, credential and asset is in your name.

Book a call See how it works

03.Launch

You walk away with:

Full ownership of every account, credential, and asset. Nothing held hostage. Everything documented.

Typically week 8

When: Typically week 8
Your time: A final walkthrough and sign-off
Support: 30 days from go-live
You get: Full ownership, fully documented

Why launch gets its own phase

Most of the damage from a bad launch is invisible for weeks

A broken form doesn't announce itself. Neither does a missing redirect, a tracking tag that never fired, or a staging setting that tells Google to ignore the new site. You find out a month later, when leads have dipped and nobody knows why.

So launch isn't a button we press on a Friday afternoon. It's a checklist we run before anyone arrives, a planned switch-over, close monitoring once real traffic lands, and a formal handoff so you own everything outright.

It's also the moment measurement starts. The number we agreed in Strategy needs clean data from day one, or the Results phase has nothing to stand on.

30days of launch support from go-live, so anything that isn't working the way we said gets fixed.

Included in every project

Step by step

How launch week runs

1Early week 8Pre-launch testingEvery page on desktop, tablet and phone. Every link, button and form. Booking or payment integrations tested with real transactions.
2Early week 8Redirects and search settingsA redirect map from every old URL that matters to its new home, plus titles, descriptions, sitemap and robots settings checked line by line.
3Before go-liveTracking confirmedAnalytics and the key events behind your agreed number, recording and verified, so day one of the data is real.
4Before go-liveYour final walkthroughYou click through the staging site and sign off. This is the last easy moment to catch anything, so we make it count.
5Launch dayGo-live and monitoringWe switch your domain to the new site and watch it closely in the hours after, ready to act if anything looks off.
6After launchOwnership handoffHosting, domain, analytics and every tool account confirmed in your name, our access stepped down, and everything documented.

Side by side

Who does what in Launch

Your part

A final walkthrough and sign-off
Access to your domain and hosting accounts
A heads-up on any launch date that matters

Our part

Testing before anyone arrives
Redirects, search settings, analytics and tracking
A clean technical switch-over and close monitoring
The handoff, with everything documented

What you walk away with

Everything in your name. Nothing held hostage.

If you ever decide to work with someone else, you can. That's the point of a proper handoff.

01Hosting and domainUnder your email and your billing, confirmed in your name.
02Analytics and Search ConsoleYou're the primary owner, with the key events for your number already set up.
03Every credentialHanded over, with agency-level access stepped down or removed.
04Design files and assetsThe design system, images and source files, yours to keep and reuse.
05DocumentationHow the site works and how to edit it, plus our public help center for everyday questions.
0630 days of launch supportAnything that isn't working the way we said it would, fixed, starting the day you go live.

Side by side

Two ways a launch can end

How it often goesHow we run it

Who owns the accountsHow it often goes: The agency, sometimes for yearsHow we run it: You, from day one of the handoff

Old URLs and search trafficHow it often goes: Left to chance, rankings dipHow we run it: A redirect map checked before go-live

TrackingHow it often goes: Added later, if anyone remembersHow we run it: Verified before launch, recording from day one

After go-liveHow it often goes: The team moves to the next clientHow we run it: Close monitoring, then 30 days of support

Launch in practice+100%orders in the first month after launchWalsh Natural HealthA store rebuilt on conversion-first architecture and launched cleanly, with tracking in place to show the change. Orders doubled in month one, on substantially the same audience.Read the story

Where this phase runs

The same four phases, sized to the job

Keep reading

Go deeper on this phase

From our articles

Free tools and worksheets

From our help center

Questions about the Launch phase

Previous phase02. Build Next phase 04. Results

plan the finish line

Launch without the week-three surprises.

On a free call, up to an hour, we'll look at your current setup and tell you what we'd need to check before your next launch.

Book a Call Get the audit checklist