Headless storefront launch checklist
A headless launch is a coordinated cutover. The checklist below is what stops launch-day surprises — most are easy to fix two weeks before, hard to fix two days before.
A headless storefront is ready to launch when the SEO surface is preserved, the performance budget holds, accessibility is verified, analytics agree with the old site, and fallbacks exist for the integrations that can fail at launch.
- SEO parity
- Performance budget
- Accessibility
- Analytics parity
- Fallback plans
Benefits
SEO parity check
Every legacy URL either maps to a new URL or 301s to one. Meta titles, descriptions, and structured data are preserved or improved — never silently dropped.
Performance budget held
LCP, INP, and CLS are measured against the live site one week before launch. Any regression is a launch blocker.
Accessibility audit
WCAG 2.2 AA on the top 5 page templates. Keyboard nav, focus order, color contrast, alt text.
Analytics parity
Page views, conversion, and revenue tracking match the old site within ±2% on staging traffic. Mismatch is a tag misfire, not a usage drop.
Fallbacks documented
Each external dependency (payment, search, CMS, PIM) has a documented fallback for the first 72 hours after launch.
How we work
T-2 weeks: SEO + redirects
Full URL inventory, 301 map, structured data parity check, sitemap submitted to Search Console.
T-1 week: performance + a11y
Performance budget verified against the live site. Accessibility audit completed on top 5 templates.
T-2 days: analytics
GA4 / GTM / consent flow validated on staging. Conversion events fire and match the old site.
Launch day: monitoring
Real-user monitoring on. On-call rota for the first 72 hours. Rollback plan rehearsed.
Frequently asked questions
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