Preparing this site for launch

Opening a small community site involves more than making the homepage look finished. People need to be able to find information, ask questions and understand what happens to what they share.

Check the everyday routes

The launch checks covered reading a guide, creating an account, starting a discussion and replying. Reporting a problem and reaching the privacy information matter too, even when they are less visible than the front page.

Display settings and keyboard navigation were included in testing. Automated checks help catch regressions, but reading a page and using it on a phone can reveal problems that a passing test does not.

Have a way to recover

The server needs backups and a procedure for restoring them. A separate test restore gives more useful evidence than a successful backup message alone. Deployment notes also make it easier to identify what changed when something breaks.

Keep improving after launch

A working site can still be confusing. Unclear headings, an empty discussion area and a long route to a useful guide are all things to revisit as people try it.

This sister preview is part of that work: a place to try a clearer structure and read the content again before changing the published site.

For the technical setup, see How this site runs from a home server.