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Go-live checklist

Check your subscription plan​

In the Control Panel, check the application's Subscription, and that it includes the technical and support resources it will require once the site is live.

Dependencies​

Pin all dependencies in the application, so that future deployments do not introduce unexpected software updates.

Turn off development mode​

Many frameworks include a development mode that exposes additional information. This should not go into production.

  • Django applications: this is handled by the DEBUG setting.

Domains​

  • If you are using existing domains, prepare them for the switch. Ensure that they have low (less than 60 seconds) TTLs. High TTLs can cause problems when the domains are pointed at the new site, including delays in the automatic provisioning of SSL certificates.
  • Check that the live domain for the server is set up for the site in the Control Panel.
  • Check that any domains that should redirect to the primary domain are also set in the Domains setting in the Control Panel.

HTTPS​

Set your application to redirect to HTTPS.

Environment variables​

  • Check that any other environment variables required on the Live environment have been set (see: Environment variables).

File serving configuration​

Check the configuration of static file serving. Files should be appropriately collected, compressed and so on. Hashing static filenames lets you take advantage of caching.

Other settings​

Check your Divio application's configuration for any settings that may have been temporarily configured during development.

Local tests​

In the local environment, run the application in a configuration that is as close as possible to the production configuration. For example, our recommended Docker Compose configurations use development servers for convenience; you can comment out the command entry in the docker-compose.yml file and allow the application to use the Dockerfile's CMD instead, which will use a production server.

See How to run a local application in live configuration for more.

Deployment​

  • If required, copy database and media content to the Live environment.
  • Run a deployment of the Live environment.

After deployment​

  • Run a crawler on the live site to check for broken links, such as the W3C Link Checker or the open-source LinkChecker application.
  • Check your site as a logged-in user, an anonymous user and in your browser's private/incognito mode to verify expected behaviour.
  • Check response times with a tool such as Pingdom.
  • If necessary, allocate more resources to the application via its Subscription and consult the How to fine-tune your server's performance guide.