The launch checklist: what to have ready before you open the doors

Launch day has a way of exposing everything you didn't check. The welcome email that never arrives. The checkout that works on your laptop but not on a phone. The members-only page that turns out to be visible to everyone. None of these problems is hard to fix, but discovering them in front of your first paying members costs goodwill you can't easily win back.

A launch checklist turns a stressful day into a routine one. The list below is organized by area, so you can work through it over the final weeks before opening. Treat it as a starting point and add anything specific to your own membership.

Content: ready for the first week, not the first year

You don't need a complete library to launch. The aim is that a new member can get value on their very first day. If you haven't yet decided what that means for you, the ideas in the minimum viable membership will help. Before launch, check that you have:

• A start-here page that tells new members exactly what to do first.
• The core content promised on your sales page, published and proofread.
• Enough material ready or scheduled for the first few weeks after launch.
• Public pages that explain the membership: sales page, about page, contact page and a questions-and-answers page.
• A privacy policy, terms and a clear refund and cancellation policy. The rules vary by location, so have a qualified professional check anything you're unsure about, including sales tax.
• Every link, download and video working, on a phone as well as a computer.

Payments: test with real money

Payment problems are the most damaging launch-day failures, because they stop people joining at all. Don't rely on test mode alone. Before opening:

1. Switch your payment settings from test to live, and confirm you're connected to the right account.
2. Buy your own membership with a real card, at every price and billing option you offer.
3. Check the receipt arrives and shows your business name, the amount and the billing period correctly.
4. Refund the purchase and confirm the refund goes through.
5. Cancel a test membership and check that access ends when it should.
6. Confirm how renewals and declined cards will be handled. A failed renewal can quietly end a membership, which is why failed payments deserve attention from the start.
7. Check that any discount codes work, and expire when they should.

Emails: the messages members see first

Your automatic emails are part of the product. Members judge the membership by them before they've seen a single lesson. Trigger each of these yourself and read what arrives:

• Welcome email: confirms the purchase, gives login details and links to the start-here page. Ideally it's the first of a short series; see writing a welcome email series.
• Password reset: arrives quickly, and the link works.
• Receipts and renewal notices: clear, accurate and friendly.
• Cancellation confirmation: polite, with an easy way back.
• Sender details: emails come from a recognizable address on your own domain, with the domain's authentication records (SPF, DKIM and DMARC) set up so messages don't land in spam.
• Launch announcement: written, tested and scheduled for the people waiting to join.

Access: check what each person can see

Access mistakes run in two directions: members locked out of things they paid for, and visitors seeing things they shouldn't. Log in as each type of user and look around:

• A logged-out visitor should see public pages and teasers, but not members-only content.
• A member at each level should see exactly what that level includes, and nothing more.
• A cancelled or expired member should see a helpful message and a way to rejoin, not an error.
• Your own admin account should be separate from the test member accounts you use for checking.

Test like a new member

Next, walk through the whole journey as a stranger would. Better still, ask two or three people who haven't seen the site to do it while you watch, without helping. Give them a short script like this one, written for a hypothetical fitness challenge group:

“Imagine a friend has just told you about this challenge group. Starting from the home page, find out what it costs and what's included, then join using this test code so you won't be charged. Once you're in, find the first workout and the weekly check-in thread. Then log out, reset your password and log back in on your phone. Tell me out loud whenever something is confusing.”

Note every hesitation. If one tester stumbles over something, many real members will too.

Support and launch-day readiness

Even a well-tested launch produces questions. Prepare for them:

• A support email address that you check regularly, with a clear expected response time.
• Saved replies for the likely questions: login help, receipts, how to cancel, where to start.
• A recent backup of your site, and a note of who to contact if something breaks.
• Time cleared on launch day to watch sign-ups and answer questions quickly.

The final forty-eight hours

1. Run one more real purchase and refund to confirm nothing has changed.
2. Check the welcome email and password reset one last time.
3. Log in as a visitor, a member and an expired member.
4. Proofread the sales page and every price.
5. Confirm the launch email is scheduled for the right time and the right list.
6. Take a fresh backup.
7. Get a good night's sleep. You've done the work.