What every Overclock build includes before it launches. Published so agencies and clients can check our work.
This is the standard we build to and the checklist we hand over at launch. It is not a promise about rankings. Rankings depend on strategy and content, which belong to you or your agency. Our job is to make sure the build never gets in the way.
1. Redirect map, and a crawl before and after
For a migration or redesign, we crawl the current site before anything changes and keep the result. Every URL that gets traffic or links is mapped to its new home, one to one wherever possible. Redirects are 301s, with no chains or loops. After launch we crawl again, compare the two, and fix anything that returns an error. You get both crawls and the redirect map as files you can keep.
2. Core Web Vitals, measured on a phone
Targets on a mid-range phone over a 4G connection, measured with Lighthouse and checked against field data where it exists:
- Largest Contentful Paint under 2.0 seconds
- Interaction to Next Paint under 200 milliseconds
- Cumulative Layout Shift under 0.05
We hit these by shipping less: fonts hosted with the site and sized to prevent layout shift, images served at the size they are displayed, and no third-party script that isn't earning its place. Scripts for tracking and chat load after the page is usable.
3. Structure, schema and metadata
One H1 per page, headings in order, and a page for each thing a search team would want a page for (a venue, a service, a location). Every page has its own title and meta description, a canonical URL, Open Graph and Twitter tags, and an XML sitemap that only lists pages that should be indexed. Structured data uses schema.org types that fit the business (for example Organization, LocalBusiness, Event) and validates in Google's Rich Results Test. Bilingual sites get hreflang tags and a URL structure that keeps each language findable.
4. Accessibility, tested
Text contrast of at least 4.5:1, and 3:1 for large text and interface edges. Everything works with a keyboard alone, with a visible focus ring. Images have alt text, forms have visible labels and error messages that don't rely on colour, and motion respects the visitor's reduced-motion setting. We test with a screen reader before launch, not after a complaint.
5. Staging and sign-off
Nothing goes to the live site directly. Changes go to a staging site first, under a password or a private link, where you or your agency can check them. We launch when you sign off, and not before. For agency work, your technical lead gets the staging link, the crawl files and the Lighthouse reports, so sign-off is based on evidence.
6. Analytics and tracking
Analytics set up properly means one tag manager, events named in plain language and documented, conversions that fire once, and a consent setup that matches the law where your visitors are. We check every event in the browser before launch and give you the list of what fires and when. If you have an existing analytics property, we keep its history.
7. Launch checklist and the 30-day watch
Launch day follows a written checklist: DNS and certificates, redirects live, robots and sitemap submitted, Search Console verified, tracking confirmed, monitoring on. Then we watch for 30 days. Uptime, Core Web Vitals, crawl errors and search impressions are checked weekly, and anything that drifts gets fixed under the launch, not as a new job.
What you receive at launch
The redirect map, both crawls, the Lighthouse reports, the tracking event list, the accessibility report, and the login details for every account, all in your name.