developer operations template risk: medium
Web Launch Readiness Checklist Generator
Generates a comprehensive pre-launch checklist tailored to a specific web project, covering functionality, content and copy, visual placeholder scans with a severity-ranked table,…
- Policy sensitive
- Human review
PROMPT
You are a launch readiness specialist. Generate a comprehensive
pre-launch checklist tailored to this specific project.
## Project Context
- **Project:** [name, type, description]
- **Tech stack:** [framework, hosting, services]
- **Features:** ${key_features_that_need_verification}
- **Launch type:** [soft launch / public launch / client handoff]
- **Domain:** [is DNS already configured?]
## Generate Checklist Covering:
### Functionality
- All critical user flows work end-to-end
- All forms submit correctly and show appropriate feedback
- Payment flow works (if applicable) — test with real sandbox
- Authentication works (login, logout, password reset, session expiry)
- Email notifications send correctly (check spam folders)
- Third-party integrations respond correctly
- Error handling works (what happens when things break?)
### Content & Copy
- No lorem ipsum remaining
- All links work (no 404s)
- Legal pages exist (privacy policy, terms, cookie consent)
- Contact information is correct
- Copyright year is current
- Social media links point to correct profiles
- All images have alt text
- Favicon is set (all sizes)
### Visual Placeholder Scan 🔴
Scan the entire codebase and deployed site for placeholder visual assets
that must be replaced before launch. This is a CRITICAL category — a
placeholder image on a live site is more damaging than a typo.
**Codebase scan — search for these patterns:**
- URLs containing: `placeholder`, `via.placeholder.com`, `placehold.co`,
`picsum.photos`, `unsplash.it/random`, `dummyimage.com`, `placekitten`,
`placebear`, `fakeimg`
- File names containing: `placeholder`, `dummy`, `sample`, `example`,
`temp`, `test-image`, `default-`, `no-image`
- Next.js / Vercel defaults: `public/next.svg`, `public/vercel.svg`,
`public/thirteen.svg`, `app/favicon.ico` (if still the Next.js default)
- Framework boilerplate images still in `public/` folder
- Hardcoded dimensions with no real image: `width={400} height={300}`
paired with a gray div or missing src
- SVG placeholder patterns: inline SVGs used as temporary image fills
(often gray rectangles with an icon in the center)
**Component-level check:**
- Avatar components falling back to generic user icon — is the fallback
designed or is it a library default?
- Card components with `image?: string` prop — what renders when no
image is passed? Is it a designed empty state or a broken layout?
- Hero/banner sections — is the background image final or a dev sample?
- Product/portfolio grids — are all items using real images or are some
still using the same repeated test image?
- Logo component — is it the final logo file or a text placeholder?
- OG image (`og:image` meta tag) — is it a designed asset or the
framework/hosting default?
**Third-party and CDN check:**
- Images loaded from CDNs that are development-only (e.g., `picsum.photos`)
- Stock photo watermarks still visible (search for images >500kb that
might be unpurchased stock)
- Images with `lorem` or `test` in their alt text
**Output format:**
Produce a table of every placeholder found:
| # | File Path | Line | Type | Current Value | Severity | Action Needed |
|---|-----------|------|------|---------------|----------|---------------|
| 1 | `src/app/page.tsx` | 42 | Image URL | `via.placeholder.com/800x400` | 🔴 Critical | Replace with hero image |
| 2 | `public/favicon.ico` | — | Framework default | Next.js default favicon | 🔴 Critical | Replace with brand favicon |
| 3 | `src/components/Card.tsx` | 18 | Missing fallback | No image = broken layout | 🟡 High | Design empty state |
Severity levels:
- 🔴 Critical: Visible to users on key pages (hero, above the fold, OG image)
- 🟡 High: Visible to users in normal usage (cards, avatars, content images)
- 🟠 Medium: Visible in edge cases (empty states, error pages, fallbacks)
- ⚪ Low: Only in code, not user-facing (test fixtures, dev-only routes)
### SEO & Metadata
- Page titles are unique and descriptive
- Meta descriptions are written for each page
- Open Graph tags for social sharing (test with sharing debugger)
- Robots.txt is configured correctly
- Sitemap.xml exists and is submitted
- Canonical URLs are set
- Structured data / schema markup (if applicable)
### Performance
- Lighthouse scores meet targets
- Images are optimized and responsive
- Fonts are loading efficiently
- No console errors in production build
- Analytics is installed and tracking
### Security
- HTTPS is enforced (no mixed content)
- Environment variables are set in production
- No API keys exposed in frontend code
- Rate limiting on forms (prevent spam)
- CORS is configured correctly
- CSP headers (if applicable)
### Cross-Platform
- Tested on: Chrome, Safari, Firefox (latest)
- Tested on: iOS Safari, Android Chrome
- Tested at key breakpoints
- Print stylesheet (if users might print)
### Infrastructure
- Domain is connected and SSL is active
- Redirects from www/non-www are configured
- 404 page is designed (not default)
- Error pages are designed (500, maintenance)
- Backups are configured (database, if applicable)
- Monitoring / uptime check is set up
### Handoff (if client project)
- Client has access to all accounts (hosting, domain, analytics)
- Documentation is complete (FORGOKBEY.md or equivalent)
- Training is scheduled or recorded
- Support/maintenance agreement is clear
## Output Format
A markdown checklist with:
- [ ] Each item as a checkable box
- Grouped by category
- Priority flag on critical items (🔴 must-fix before launch)
- Each item includes a one-line "how to verify" note INPUTS
- project REQUIRED
-
Project: name, type, description
e.g. MyApp, web app, e-commerce platform
- tech_stack REQUIRED
-
Tech stack: framework, hosting, services
e.g. Next.js, Vercel, Stripe
- key_features_that_need_verification REQUIRED
-
Key features that need verification
e.g. user authentication, payment processing
- launch_type REQUIRED
-
Launch type: soft launch / public launch / client handoff
e.g. public launch
- domain REQUIRED
-
Domain: is DNS already configured?
e.g. DNS configured, pointing to Vercel
REQUIRED CONTEXT
- Project Context
- Tech stack
- Features
- Launch type
- Domain
ROLES & RULES
Role assignments
- You are a launch readiness specialist.
- Generate a comprehensive pre-launch checklist tailored to this specific project.
- Scan the entire codebase and deployed site for placeholder visual assets.
- Produce a table of every placeholder found.
- Produce a markdown checklist with checkable boxes grouped by category.
EXPECTED OUTPUT
- Format
- markdown
- Schema
- markdown_sections · Functionality, Content & Copy, Visual Placeholder Scan, SEO & Metadata, Performance, Security, Cross-Platform, Infrastructure, Handoff
- Constraints
-
- [ ] Each item as a checkable box
- Grouped by category
- Priority flag on critical items (🔴 must-fix before launch)
- Each item includes a one-line "how to verify" note
- Table for visual placeholders with columns: #, File Path, Line, Type, Current Value, Severity, Action Needed
SUCCESS CRITERIA
- Tailor checklist to specific project context.
- Cover all listed categories comprehensively.
- Identify and table all placeholder visual assets.
- Include priority flags on critical items.
- Provide one-line 'how to verify' notes for each checklist item.
FAILURE MODES
- Checklist not tailored to project specifics.
- Missing or incomplete placeholder scan and table.
- Incorrect output format without checkboxes or table.
- Overlooking critical categories like placeholders.
- Generic items without verification notes.
CAVEATS
- Dependencies
-
- Project context details (name, type, description, tech stack, features, launch type, domain).
- Codebase access for placeholder pattern search.
- Deployed site for visual and functionality checks.
- Missing context
-
- Filled-in project context details (name, type, description, tech stack, features, launch type, domain status).
- Access to codebase excerpts, deployed site URL, or descriptions for placeholder scanning.
- Target values for performance metrics (e.g., Lighthouse scores).
- Ambiguities
-
- Inconsistent placeholder syntax: some use [ ] like [name, type, description], others use ${key_features_that_need_verification}.
- Unclear how to integrate the detailed placeholder table (specified in Visual Placeholder Scan) into the overall markdown checklist output format.
- Does not specify method for AI to 'scan the entire codebase and deployed site' (e.g., assumes provided excerpts or simulation).
QUALITY
- OVERALL
- 0.90
- CLARITY
- 0.90
- SPECIFICITY
- 0.95
- REUSABILITY
- 0.85
- COMPLETENESS
- 0.90
IMPROVEMENT SUGGESTIONS
- Standardize all placeholders to consistent syntax, e.g., {project_name}, {tech_stack}, {key_features}.
- Explicitly state: 'Embed the placeholder findings table within the Visual Placeholder Scan section of the markdown checklist.'
- Add: 'If codebase/site not provided, simulate scan based on tech stack and common issues for that framework.'
- Define targets: 'Lighthouse scores: Performance >=90, Accessibility >=95, Best Practices >=90, SEO >=95.'
- Provide a sample filled project context at the top for easier reuse.
USAGE
Copy the prompt above and paste it into your AI of choice — Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or anywhere else you're working. Replace any placeholder sections with your own context, then ask for the output.
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