What technical and architectural foundations does a new website need?

Before launching a new website, define the page hierarchy and URL conventions, build internal links that guide users and crawlers, and prepare HTTPS, a mobile-friendly design, loading performance, robots.txt, and search monitoring settings. Launch readiness is not about whether the website “looks finished,” but whether important pages are reachable, there are no unintended barriers to indexing, and someone will keep checking after launch. Verify technical readiness before launch, and track actual indexing afterward—these are two distinct tasks.

Map the page hierarchy before deciding on URLs

Website architecture describes the relationships between pages: which are the main entry points, which are subpages, and how visitors move between them. Semrush’s guide for new websites recommends planning core pages such as Home, About, Products or Services, and Contact before publishing. If articles are planned, allow room for categories and future expansion as well.

• Decide in advance whether articles will live under /blog/ or /articles/, rather than inventing a new convention whenever a page is added.
• Keep URL slugs short and descriptive, with names that match the page topic.
• Check that important pages are reachable through internal links, and link to related content to avoid orphan pages.

These decisions are best made early because changing URLs after they have been indexed and gained links also requires redirects, adding maintenance work and opportunities for errors. This does not mean URLs can never be changed after launch.

Check crawlability and indexability separately

Crawling is the process by which search engines discover pages, while indexing involves storing and understanding them. A new website should first address technical problems that interfere with these processes, rather than merely checking whether titles contain keywords.

• Plan robots.txt and verify that crawler access settings match each page’s intended purpose.
• Run technical checks, prioritizing unintended noindex tags or blocked resources on important pages.
• Create an XML sitemap and submit the list of pages you want indexed through Search Console.

A sitemap provides a list of pages. “Submitted” must not be treated as proof of “indexed” during acceptance checks; actual indexing status still needs to be tracked after launch.

Make security, mobile usability, and speed verifiable

The technical foundations should include sitewide HTTPS, a mobile-friendly design, and fast-loading pages. Acceptance checks should cover the mobile version and performance, not just the desktop appearance. Tenten’s 2026 article recommends targeting an LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) of 2.5 seconds or less. This can serve as a performance reference for team discussions, but should not be presented as an official launch requirement that applies to every website.

Set up monitoring before launch and maintain the site afterward

Set up Search Console and GA4 early: the former is used to monitor search, crawling, and indexing, while the latter tracks visitors’ behavior after they arrive on the site. Search Console may initially have little data for a new website. The source material notes that this may simply mean data is still accumulating, so blank reports alone do not establish that setup has failed.

At handover, clearly list the ongoing tasks: tracking indexing, fixing newly emerging crawl issues, and ensuring that new pages follow the established categories and URL conventions. A website’s foundations are not something you configure once and then never revisit.