Guide 12 · Developer docs

Performance, caching, deployment and go-live

How Core dna caches pages, what makes a render fast, how code reaches a site and what stays behind, the go-live checklist, and running a site once it is live. For developers, leads and site operators who already build pages in a theme repository.

L2–L3

Unit 05 of 06 6 pages

Go-live

Updated 23/10/2026 01:48

The go-live checklist, ordered by when each item must be done, and the pages behind the items that need explaining: redirects, test providers, search continuity, the first hour and rollback. For the person who owns the launch.

Start with The go-live checklist: print it two weeks before launch and work down it. Every item that needs more than a line links to a page in this unit.

Two items need deliberate checking, because nothing else catches them: the redirect map from the old site, and a test payment or tax provider left active. Each has its own page. The search continuity page covers what the old site's rankings depend on, the launch-day page says what to watch in the first hour and what number means act, and the rollback page separates what can be undone (code) from what cannot (orders, payments, content), so the decision is made on evidence. Read the rollback page before launch day, not during it.

In this unit

Read in order

01 The go-live checklist One page to print and tick, ordered by when each item must be done rather than by topic. Each item links to the page that explains it. 02 Redirect mapping Every URL the old site served needs somewhere to go. Building the map, how the platform matches a redirect, importing the map in bulk through the REST API, and testing every entry with a script rather than a sample by hand. 03 Disabling test providers A test payment or tax provider left active on a live site produces orders that look real and are not. Which providers to switch off, the check that none is selectable, and the one real order that proves the live setup works. 04 SEO continuity A migration should not cost the client their search traffic. One hostname, canonical URLs, structured data, robots and the generated sitemap on launch day, crawl budget on a large site, and the checks that prove nothing was lost. 05 Launch-day monitoring The first hour after the DNS switch decides whether a launch is a launch or an incident. What to watch, where to watch it, who watches what, and the thresholds that mean roll back rather than fix forward. 06 Rollback Code can be rolled back in a minute; content, orders, payments and members cannot be rolled back at all. How to revert a release, what to do instead for everything else, and the procedure that makes the call on evidence.