About to redesign or migrate? Check it before Google does.
Launch Cover is a second pair of eyes on a redesign or migration before it launches. We check your redirect map against every old URL, run our pre-launch checklist on the new build, crawl the site on launch day, and watch it for 60 days. It costs $3,000 up to 1,000 URLs. If traffic drops because of anything we passed, Rescue is free.
Who writes the redirect map?
We check it: from $3,000
We build our own list of every old URL, then check your map against it line by line: URLs it misses, redirect chains, and old pages sent to the homepage. Book at least two weeks before launch.
We write it: from $5,000
We build the list of old URLs and map each one to the right new page, one to one. Book at least three weeks before launch.
Either way, the rest is the same: the pre-launch checklist on the new build, a launch-day crawl, 60 days of Watch, and the same guarantee.
What will we check before launch?
The checklist, in the order we run it:
URL inventory. We list every URL your current site has, from your sitemap, a crawl of the live site, and older pages in the Wayback Machine’s archive.
Redirect map. We check that your map sends each old URL to the right new page, one to one, or we write the map ourselves. No old URL goes to the homepage unless the homepage is its real replacement.
Redirect rules. We test the map against the new build on staging where your platform allows it: every old URL should return one permanent redirect to its mapped page, with no chains.
Noindex. We read every page template on the new build for noindex tags left over from staging.
Canonical tags. We check every template’s canonical tag points at the new production URL, not the staging site or the old domain.
Robots.txt. We read the new robots.txt for rules that would block Google from pages that should rank.
Rendering. We check your main content is in the HTML Google first receives, not only after JavaScript runs.
Internal links. We crawl the new build for links that still point at old URLs.
Sitemap. We check the new sitemap lists the new URLs, returns no errors, and leaves out redirects and noindexed pages.
Status codes. We check key pages return a normal 200 response, and that missing pages return a real 404.
Launch day: we crawl every old URL and the new site the day you go live. Anything that broke is on your developer’s desk that day.
60 days after: Watch is included. You get a weekly email and an immediate alert if old URLs break, if noindex, robots or canonical tags change on key pages, or if sitemap or status errors appear.
What does the guarantee cover?
If traffic drops after launch because of anything on our checklist that we passed, Rescue is free.
What will it cost, and when should you book?
| Old site | Your map | Our map |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 1,000 URLs | $3,000 | $5,000 |
| Up to 10,000 URLs | $5,000 | $8,000 |
| More than 10,000 URLs | Quoted | Quoted |
How you pay: half at kickoff, half after the launch-day crawl.
When to book: at least two weeks before launch, or three if we write the map.
A short form asks for your launch date, roughly how many URLs you have, and who is writing the redirect map.
Why check before launch?
A broken launch can take weeks to show up as a traffic drop, and by then the old URLs have been returning errors to Google the whole time. Fixing it afterwards means paying for Rescue and losing the months in between. What happens when this is skipped
Domain moves can take a long time to recover. In a study of 892 domain migrations, organic traffic took 523 days on average to return to its old level (Dan Taylor, founder of 10 Spurs, Search Engine Journal, January 8, 2025). Launch Cover can’t make Google move faster. It can make sure nothing on your side slows it down.
Case file: A redesign that left 16 of 30 sampled old URLs returning 404, two months before the traffic fell.
Frequently asked questions
Our agency says they handle redirects.
Good. That’s the version Launch Cover starts with: we check their map against every old URL we can find, from $3,000, and the guarantee covers everything on our checklist that we passed.
We’ve already launched and traffic is down.
Then it’s an Autopsy, and Rescue if the site caused it. Start with the free Cause Check.
What does “anything we passed” mean?
Every item on our checklist that we signed off before launch. If we flagged something and it launched unfixed, or the map changed after our last check, the guarantee doesn’t cover that item. It still covers everything else we passed.
Do you build the new site?
No. We don’t build websites. That’s why we can check the people who do.
Does Launch Cover guarantee our traffic?
No. If traffic drops after launch because of anything on our checklist that we passed, Rescue is free. Rankings after launch are still up to Google.