AMPed Launch Checklist: From Setup to SEO Wins

AMPed Launch Checklist: From Setup to SEO Wins

Overview

A concise, step-by-step checklist to launch an AMP-first (or speed-focused) site that loads quickly, meets accessibility standards, and ranks well in search engines. Covers setup, performance, SEO, analytics, testing, and post-launch monitoring.

Pre-launch — Setup & Infrastructure

1. Pick hosting & CDN: Use a fast host and global CDN (edge caching).
2. Choose framework: Use AMP HTML, AMP for WordPress (or static-site generators with AMP plugins).
3. HTTPS & HSTS: Ensure site-wide HTTPS; add HSTS header.
4. DNS & domain config: Configure DNS records, CNAME for CDN, and subdomain if using AMP cache.

Build — Performance & Content

1. Use AMP components: Implement valid AMP HTML and required scripts only.
2. Critical CSS only: Inline minimal CSS; keep under AMP limits.
3. Lazy-load images/videos: Use amp-img, amp-video with responsive layouts.
4. Preload key resources: Preconnect/preload fonts and critical APIs.
5. Optimize assets: Compress images (WebP/AVIF), ship minified JS (AMP limits custom JS).

SEO & Metadata

1. Structured data: Add JSON-LD (schema.org) for articles, products, breadcrumbs.
2. Canonical tags: Point AMP pages to canonical non-AMP (or vice versa) correctly.
3. Meta tags: Proper title, description, Open Graph, and Twitter Card tags.
4. Robots & sitemap: Include AMP URLs in sitemap.xml; check robots.txt for blocking.
5. Hreflang (if needed): Implement language alternates for international sites.

Analytics & Tracking

1. Install analytics: Use amp-analytics or built-in measurement integrations.
2. Event tracking: Track clicks, form submissions, scroll depth, and impressions.
3. Consent & privacy: Implement consent UI for tracking where required.

Accessibility & UX

1. Semantic HTML: Headings, landmarks, alt text for images.
2. Keyboard & focus: Ensure interactive elements are keyboard-accessible.
3. Contrast & readable fonts: WCAG-compliant contrast and scalable font sizes.

Testing — Validation & QA

1. AMP validator: Fix all validation errors.
2. Lighthouse: Run Lighthouse for performance, accessibility, SEO.
3. Cross-device checks: Test on real devices and throttled networks.
4. Link & form tests: Verify internal links, redirects, and form submissions.
5. Crawlability: Use Search Console URL Inspection and site: queries.

Launch — Go Live Steps

1. Staged rollout: Deploy to a staging subdomain first; do canary releases.
2. Monitor errors: Watch server logs, CDN, and AMP validation reports.
3. Submit sitemap: Submit updated sitemap to Google Search Console.
4. Indexing request: Request indexing for priority pages.

Post-launch — Monitoring & Iteration

1. Core Web Vitals: Monitor LCP, CLS, FID/INP; prioritize fixes.
2. Search Console: Track coverage, AMP issues, and performance reports.
3. A/B tests: Experiment with headlines, images, and CTAs for conversion lifts.
4. Content updates: Refresh stale content and optimized metadata.
5. Weekly checks: Validation, analytics anomalies, and crawl errors.

Quick Troubleshooting Tips

• AMP validation failures: run validator, fix one error at a time.
• Low LCP: optimize largest image/video and server response times.
• High CLS: add explicit size attributes or responsive layouts to media.
• Indexing delays: ensure canonical hreflang/sitemap and request indexing.

Deliverables (what to hand off)

• Validated AMP page templates
• Sitemap with AMP URLs
• Analytics dashboard (Core Web Vitals + events)
• SEO metadata spreadsheet
• Post-launch monitoring checklist