- Clear the caches once before launch After the last template and settings changes, one Template & content clear, then a warm-up of the main pages.
- Take a baseline export at launch Export every layout, shared layout and mapping on launch day, to compare and restore later.
- Make sure no draft is left open Unpublished drafts are invisible to visitors but confuse the next editor; list them before launch.
- Check that pages come from the page cache The response header X-Exp-Cache tells HIT, MISS or MISS (purged); check the main pages after launch.
- The header menu of a second language A German siteaccess (bold_ger, starter_ger on this installation) has its own menu.ini; write its list in its own scope.
- A different layout for one language A mapping with a Siteaccess condition gives the German version of a page type its own layout.
- The contact page Contact (node 185, class Contact form) is a form page; give it a layout with a map and text around the form.
- Launch the blog list page A landing page with a dynamic List of NG Blog posts, mapped by Location; the posts use the article layout already.
- The Layouts part of a launch checklist Mappings, links, drafts, shared layouts, export: the five checks of the Layouts side before go-live.
- The template part of a launch checklist Extension order, overrides, styles, menus, caches: the checks of the template side before go-live.
- Keep test pages out of the launch Test layouts and pages built during the project: unmap or delete them before go-live.
- A last-minute header menu change on launch day The quickest safe path: exp:ini add with --dry-run first, then the cache clear; about two commands.
- Launch on Exponential Velocity On Velocity, settings changes need exp:velocity restart (as exp:ini says); plan it into the launch steps.
- Hand the site over to the editors Show editors the three places they work: the content tree, the Layouts editor and the footer links folder.
- Launch the section landing pages Fitness, Healthy eating, Running, Video and Showcase each have a Location mapping to their own landing page layout.
- Old addresses after a relaunch URL aliases and wildcards are content settings, not layouts; keep old addresses working when pages move.
- Add an analytics tag at launch The theme has a Google Tag Manager include (parts/google_tag_manager_code_script.tpl and _noscript.tpl); measurement code belongs in templates, not in HTML snippet blocks.
- Measure the launch pages Time the main pages cached and uncached, as on the test copy, and keep the numbers.
- Preview a layout before it goes live Layouts > Layouts and Shared layouts have Preview for each layout; the editor's middle area previews the draft.
- Prepare a mapping and switch it on at launch Create the launch mapping with Enabled off, then tick Enabled at go-live.
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