Technical SEO Checklist for New Websites

Technical SEO Checklist for New Websites

Launching a new website is exciting, but without proper technical SEO, your site may struggle to rank or even get indexed. A solid technical foundation ensures search engines can crawl, index, and understand your content effectively.

This checklist walks you through the essential technical SEO tasks for new websites in 2026.

1. Ensure Proper Indexing

• Submit your XML sitemap to Google Search Console.
• Use robots.txt to control crawling.
• Verify pages are indexed by checking Google Search results.

2. Optimize URL Structure

• Use short, descriptive, and keyword-rich URLs.
• Maintain a logical hierarchy with categories and subfolders.
• Avoid unnecessary parameters or session IDs.

3. Implement HTTPS

• Secure websites rank better and build trust with visitors.
• Obtain an SSL certificate and redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS.

4. Improve Site Speed

• Minify CSS, JS, and HTML.
• Optimize images and enable lazy loading.
• Implement caching and use a Content Delivery Network (CDN).

5. Mobile-First Design

• Ensure responsive layouts for all devices.
• Test buttons, forms, and navigation for touch usability.
• Mobile usability is a critical Google ranking factor.

6. Structured Data & Schema Markup

• Add JSON-LD schema for articles, products, events, and breadcrumbs.
• Helps search engines understand your content and improve rich snippets.

7. Fix Broken Links & Redirects

• Check for 404 errors and broken internal links.
• Implement 301 redirects for removed or changed pages.
• Maintain healthy internal linking for crawl efficiency.

8. Optimize Core Web Vitals

• LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): Ensure pages load quickly.
• FID (First Input Delay): Improve interactivity.
• CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): Maintain visual stability.

9. Accessibility & SEO Best Practices

• Use semantic HTML for headings, lists, and content structure.
• Add alt text to images.
• Ensure ARIA labels and proper form structures are implemented.

Conclusion

By following this technical SEO checklist, your new website will have a solid foundation for higher rankings, better visibility, and improved user experience.

"Launching a new website? Contact us for a technical SEO audit to ensure your site is fully optimized from day one!"