Publish it on your domain

Deploy, then connect the domain

Put the site online on its host first, then point your domain at it. Follow the host’s instructions for the DNS records exactly; the change can take a few minutes to an hour to appear. Make sure the address works with HTTPS, and that both the bare domain and the “www” version arrive at the same place.

The checklist that makes it look finished

Go through each item once:

• Title and description of every page: they appear in search results and link previews.
• Preview image: paste your link into a message to yourself and look at the card.
• Favicon: the small icon in the browser tab.
• 404 page: type a wrong address and make sure it helps people back.
• Every link, clicked once, including your email address.
• Speed: open the site on your phone, on mobile data. Shrink any image larger than it needs to be.
• Accessibility basics: images have descriptions, text is readable against its background, you can move through the page with the keyboard.

Tell search engines

Add the site to the search engines’ webmaster tools if you want it found by name. It takes ten minutes.

Done when

Your domain shows the site over HTTPS, every page has a title and description, every link works, and it loads quickly on a phone.