There is a moment in every project when the new site goes live and everyone breathes out. It's a good moment. It's also the start, not the end.

A website is less like a printed brochure and more like a shop. It needs its doors checked, its shelves kept tidy and its lights on. The first few weeks after launch show you things no amount of testing beforehand could.

Here's what I watch for once a site is live.

The First Week

Real visitors find the paths you didn't expect. I check that every form delivers, that old links redirect to the right new pages, and that caches have been cleared everywhere, because a CDN holding an old version can make a perfect launch look broken.

I also submit the sitemap to Google Search Console and watch for pages that can't be indexed.

The First Month

By now there's real data. Which pages do people land on? Where do they leave? Which search phrases are bringing them in? This is where the site starts improving from evidence instead of opinion.

• Fix the pages people leave fastest.

• Strengthen the pages that are close to ranking.

• Keep plugins, themes and WordPress itself up to date.

A Website Is Never Finished

The best websites I know change a little every month: a new project added, a slow page sped up, a question answered better. Launch day is simply the first day your website starts working for you.