Site handoff checklist: speed, accessibility, and baseline tech SEO before you sign

Why accept before sign-off

After launch the vendor is on other work, budget is closed, and “small things” surface for the client: slow mobile load, form fields without labels for screen readers, duplicate titles in search. Without an agreed checklist the debate drifts to “it works on my office Wi‑Fi”.

Transparent acceptance is not nitpicking pixels—it reduces risk: what counts as a finished product at handover. At Bureau this minimum is part of site development; ongoing checks on tech and visibility after release sit in SEO support.

Speed: PageSpeed Insights and common sense

PageSpeed Insights (PSI) gives lab data (emulated device and network) and, when available, field data (real Chrome users, CrUX). Do not mix them up:

• Lab — good for before/after on one page, reproducible in devtools.
• Field — closer to reality but depends on audience and traffic; new sites may have no data.

For a business site, check:

• Mobile runs separately on key URLs (home, services, form);
• do not chase “all green for a screenshot”—fix bottlenecks that hurt LCP (main content slow to appear) and CLS (layout shift);
• third-party widgets, maps, and heavy video backgrounds often “eat” scores—whether that is a conscious trade-off should be noted in the acceptance doc.

The goal is not an abstract “Google ideal” but predictable behaviour for real users and crawlers.

Accessibility: WAVE without panic

WAVE flags accessibility errors and alerts. In practice:

• Errors — real breakage (no text on an important button, empty alt on a meaningful image, contrast below norms, form fields without a label link).
• Alerts — worth a human look, not always a bug.

For acceptance: walk key flows—home, service page, form submit, mobile menu—and record fixed errors. That cuts the risk of complaints and late “accessibility retrofit” work.

Baseline tech SEO

A minimum to verify explicitly before handoff:

Deep SEO content and semantics are a separate stage; here we mean technical hygiene without which later work costs more.

How to record the outcome

1. Save screenshots or PDF reports from PSI and WAVE for agreed pages with a date.
2. Attach a exceptions list to the handoff (e.g. “keep map block, accept LCP dip”) so conscious trade-offs are not re-litigated.
3. Run a manual scenario: lead form from a phone, email, search → home if the domain is already indexed.

At Bureau we use these anchors so client and team share one language—not subjective “I don’t like it”.

Tie-in with meaning and structure

Tech does not replace a clear offer and lead path, and a checklist does not replace structure for demand. Without speed and baseline acceptance you risk a pretty mockup that search and users treat worse than expected.

Takeaway

PSI and WAVE are not a “geek checkbox”—they reduce arguments and post-release surprises. Agree a minimum bar and exceptions before sign-off: easier to tell a bug from a conscious compromise, and calmer to scale the site further.