Check a change before it goes live

You, a helper, or an AI tool has made a change to your website. Before customers see it, take ten minutes to check it properly. This guide gives you a simple routine: find out what changed, check it in a preview, test what matters most, and only then put it live.

Before you start

• Access to the tool your site is built with.
• A short note of what the change was meant to do.
• Your phone and a computer.
• Ten to fifteen minutes.

Want to do it yourself?

Difficulty

6 out of 10

Estimated completion time

30–60 minutes per small change

Skills you’ll need: Compare versions, use a preview, and test forms, links, and phone layouts. Know how to restore the previous version.

I’ll do it myselfI’d rather get help

How this helps your brand

Checking a website update before and after publication helps keep customer details and important actions dependable. A recovery point lets you correct a bad change without prolonging an interruption.

1. 1

   Step 1: Make sure you can undo it

   Before you check anything, find your way back. Open your tool’s version history, often called “history”, “versions”, or “checkpoints”, and confirm there’s a saved version from before the change.

   If there isn’t one, save one now if you can, or at least take screenshots of the pages being changed.

2. 2

   Step 2: Find out exactly what changed

   Ask whoever made the change, person or AI, for a plain-English list of everything they touched. AI tools often change more than you asked for, so this list matters.

   Compare the list with what you asked for. Anything on the list you didn’t ask for is worth a closer look. Anything you asked for that’s missing is a sign the job isn’t finished.

   Tip: The prompt at the end of this guide asks the AI for this list, plus anything it’s unsure about.

   Illustrated exampleCompare the request with every affected page

   What you asked for

   “Change the initial consultation from $60 to $75 on the Services and Booking pages.”

   PageWhat actually changedReview

   Services

   Consultation now says $75 Matches request

   Booking

   Consultation still says $60 Requested change missing

   Home

   Main heading rewritten Extra change to inspect

   This example is not ready to publish: one price is wrong, and the extra rewrite needs a closer look.

3. 3

   Step 3: Look at it in a preview first

   Most website tools let you see changes before visitors do. It might be called Preview, Draft, or Staging, or it might be a separate test link. Check the change there, not on your live site.

   If your tool publishes straight away with no preview, do these checks immediately after publishing, and be ready to go back to the saved version.

4. 4

   Step 4: Check what matters most

   Go through this on your phone first, then on a computer:

   • The change itself: is it there, and does it look and read the way you wanted?
   • The rest of the page: has anything moved, disappeared, or changed that shouldn’t have?
   • Your main action: can a customer still call you, book, send the form, or buy? Try it.
   • Your details: are your phone number, prices, and opening hours still correct?
   • Links: do the menu and buttons still go to the right places?

   Tip: Ask someone who didn’t make the change to look too. Fresh eyes spot things you’ll skim past.

   Illustrated exampleFollow the customer’s main action

   Example test · in the preview Phone first Computer next

   1. 1
      Services pageInitial consultation$75Book a consultation

      Open the main booking action.

   2. 2
      Expected destinationChoose a timeInitial consultation · $75

      Check that the right service and price arrive here.

   Then check around the change

   Read the phone number and hours. Try the menu and other links. Look for missing or moved content on both screens.

   If your booking flow has more steps, follow them through to a test confirmation before marking it checked.

5. 5

   Step 5: Put it live, then check once more

   If everything passes, publish the change. Then open your live site in a private or incognito window and repeat the quickest checks: the change itself and your main action.

   If something’s wrong on the live site, go back to your saved version first, then fix the problem calmly. Don’t pile more changes on top of a broken one.

   When it all works, save a new version and name it after the change, like “New prices, checked”.

Before this change goes live, I want to check it carefully. I’m not technical, so please answer in plain English.

What I asked for: [describe the change you wanted]

1. List every change you made, including anything you changed that I didn’t ask for, and why.
2. Tell me which pages are affected.
3. Tell me anything you’re unsure about, or anything that might affect other parts of the site.
4. Give me a short checklist of what to test on my phone and computer before I publish, including my [main customer action, for example the booking form].
5. Tell me how to undo this change if something goes wrong.

Don’t make any more changes while answering.