{"id":55,"date":"2026-04-24T17:15:55","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T17:15:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/docs.fasterthemes.com\/best-classifieds-wordpress-theme\/2026\/04\/24\/going-live-checklist\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T17:15:55","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T17:15:55","slug":"going-live-checklist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/docs.fasterthemes.com\/best-classifieds-wordpress-theme\/2026\/04\/24\/going-live-checklist\/","title":{"rendered":"Going Live Checklist"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Going Live Checklist<\/h1>\n\n\n<p>The pre-launch checklist for getting your Best Classifieds marketplace into production. Work through this in order \u2014 each section builds on the previous one.<\/p>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><strong>Time estimate:<\/strong> 2\u20134 hours of focused work, depending on whether you&#8217;re migrating data or starting fresh.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Content sweep<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>The WOW Feeder fills the site with great-looking demo content. Replace it before launch.<\/p>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Pages to rewrite<\/h3>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table>\n<thead><tr>\n<th>Page<\/th>\n<th>What to do<\/th>\n<\/tr><\/thead><tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>About<\/strong> (<code>\/about\/<\/code>)<\/td>\n<td>Replace the demo &#8220;local-first marketplace&#8221; copy with your actual mission, founder story, location<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Contact<\/strong> (<code>\/contact\/<\/code>)<\/td>\n<td>Real email + business hours + (optional) physical address<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Privacy Policy<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Required by GDPR\/CCPA. WordPress has a generator at <strong>Settings \u2192 Privacy<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Terms of Service<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Required for payments. Cover: prohibited content, refund policy, dispute process<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Demo listings<\/h3>\n\n\n<p>You have two options:<\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Keep demo listings as seed content<\/strong> \u2014 they&#8217;ll show &#8220;real&#8221; activity to first visitors. Mark them with a tag like <code>seed-content<\/code> so you can identify and remove them later.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Wipe everything via &#8220;Reset all demo data&#8221;<\/strong> in the WOW Feeder admin and start with a blank board. Better if you want zero demo bias.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<p>We recommend <strong>wiping<\/strong> before launch. A homepage with 48 random listings looks weird if those are clearly not from your area.<\/p>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hero copy<\/h3>\n\n\n<p>Customize \u2192 Best Classifieds Options \u2192 Hero. The default &#8220;Discover what&#8217;s nearby&#8221; works for many sites. Swap to something specific to your niche if it fits:<\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;Buy and sell <em>used books<\/em> in Boston.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Find your next <em>apartment<\/em> in Pune.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;<em>Trades and services<\/em> across the Bay Area.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<p>The <code>&lt;em&gt;<\/code> italicized word picks up your primary color automatically.<\/p>\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Categories audit<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>Customize the 8 default categories to match your marketplace:<\/p>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Renaming or removing<\/h3>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Rename via <strong>Posts \u2192 Categories<\/strong> \u2192 click the category \u2192 change name + slug.<\/li>\n<li>Remove unwanted ones (e.g. if you&#8217;re vehicles-only, remove Pets, Jobs, Services).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Adding new ones<\/h3>\n\n\n<p>If your niche needs categories not in the default set (Real Estate Rentals, Boats &#038; Watercraft, Industrial Equipment, etc.), see <a href=\".\/categories-locations\/\">Categories &#038; Locations<\/a> for adding them with the right icons.<\/p>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Category descriptions<\/h3>\n\n\n<p>Each category has a description field. Write 1\u20132 sentences explaining what belongs there. The description appears at the top of the category archive \u2014 good SEO real estate.<\/p>\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Payments configuration <em>[Pro]<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re charging for listings:<\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>[ ] Live Stripe keys (not test) at <strong>Classifieds Pro \u2192 Settings \u2192 Payments<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>[ ] Live Razorpay keys (if relevant)<\/li>\n<li>[ ] Webhooks configured at both gateway dashboards<\/li>\n<li>[ ] Currency set correctly at <strong>Classifieds Pro \u2192 Settings \u2192 General<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>[ ] Tax handling configured (if applicable)<\/li>\n<li>[ ] Test transactions completed end-to-end (post a listing, pay, verify it goes live, refund it)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re NOT charging (free marketplace):<\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>[ ] Disable both Stripe and Razorpay in settings<\/li>\n<li>[ ] Delete or hide the paid packages, leaving only the free one<\/li>\n<li>[ ] Hide the &#8220;Promote&#8221; \/ &#8220;Bump&#8221; buttons from the dashboard via a setting<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. SEO basics<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>The theme is search-engine-friendly out of the box, but you should still:<\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>[ ] Install <strong>Yoast SEO<\/strong> or <strong>Rank Math<\/strong> (free is fine)<\/li>\n<li>[ ] Set the site title + description in <strong>Settings \u2192 General<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>[ ] Configure social-share image and meta description per page<\/li>\n<li>[ ] Generate an XML sitemap (Yoast\/Rank Math does this) and submit to:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<p>  &#8211; [ ] Google Search Console &#8211; [ ] Bing Webmaster Tools<\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>[ ] Verify the listing schema is rendering \u2014 view source on a listing page, look for <code>&lt;script type=&quot;application\/ld+json&quot;&gt;<\/code> containing <code>&quot;@type&quot;:&quot;Product&quot;<\/code> (the theme adds this automatically)<\/li>\n<li>[ ] Set canonical URLs (Yoast does this; double-check)<\/li>\n<li>[ ] Verify robots.txt isn&#8217;t blocking listings (especially if you came from staging)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Listing URLs<\/h3>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Free theme: <code>\/category\/{cat}\/{listing-slug}\/<\/code><\/li>\n<li>Pro CPT mode: <code>\/listing\/{listing-slug}\/<\/code><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<p>Both work; we recommend the CPT mode for cleaner URLs once you have 100+ listings.<\/p>\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. Performance<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>A fresh Best Classifieds + Pro install scores ~95 on PageSpeed mobile and ~99 on desktop. To keep it there:<\/p>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Caching<\/h3>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>[ ] Install a page cache: <strong>WP Rocket<\/strong> (paid, easy) or <strong>Cache Enabler<\/strong> (free)<\/li>\n<li>[ ] Configure cache exclusions: <code>\/post-a-listing\/<\/code>, <code>\/my-account\/<\/code>, <code>\/checkout<\/code>, <code>?bcpro-action=*<\/code><\/li>\n<li>[ ] Install an object cache (Redis or Memcached) \u2014 your host probably offers this<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Image optimization<\/h3>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>[ ] Install <strong>EWWW Image Optimizer<\/strong> or use a service like ShortPixel<\/li>\n<li>[ ] Convert large images to WebP automatically<\/li>\n<li>[ ] Verify lazy-loading is on (WordPress 5.5+ does this automatically; theme is compatible)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">CDN<\/h3>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>[ ] Cloudflare (free tier is plenty for most sites)<\/li>\n<li>[ ] Or BunnyCDN for less than $1\/mo if Cloudflare is overkill<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">6. Security hardening<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>Listing sites attract spammers and scammers. Don&#8217;t be casual about this.<\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>[ ] HTTPS forced everywhere \u2014 your host should do this; if not, install <strong>Really Simple SSL<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>[ ] Strong admin password + 2FA via <strong>Wordfence<\/strong>, <strong>iThemes Security<\/strong>, or any 2FA plugin<\/li>\n<li>[ ] Hide <code>wp-admin<\/code> behind a custom path with <strong>WPS Hide Login<\/strong> (you&#8217;ve already done this on <code>themeshopsv2<\/code>)<\/li>\n<li>[ ] Limit login attempts (Wordfence \/ Limit Login Attempts Reloaded)<\/li>\n<li>[ ] Disable XML-RPC if you don&#8217;t use Jetpack: <code>add_filter(&#039;xmlrpc_enabled&#039;, &#039;__return_false&#039;);<\/code><\/li>\n<li>[ ] Block PHP execution in <code>\/wp-content\/uploads\/<\/code> via .htaccess or nginx<\/li>\n<li>[ ] Set up daily database backups (UpdraftPlus is fine)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Spam protection<\/h3>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>[ ] Akismet API key configured<\/li>\n<li>[ ] hCaptcha or Cloudflare Turnstile on the submission form<\/li>\n<li>[ ] <strong>Classifieds Pro \u2192 Settings \u2192 Submission \u2192 Require approval<\/strong> = ON for first month (review every submission manually)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">7. Email deliverability<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>When listings get posted, payments succeed, or messages arrive, the site sends emails. Make sure they actually arrive.<\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>[ ] Configure SMTP via <strong>WP Mail SMTP<\/strong> plugin<\/li>\n<li>[ ] Use a transactional service: <strong>Postmark<\/strong> (recommended), <strong>SendGrid<\/strong>, <strong>Mailgun<\/strong>, <strong>Amazon SES<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>[ ] Set up <strong>SPF + DKIM + DMARC<\/strong> DNS records (your transactional provider has docs)<\/li>\n<li>[ ] Send a test email; verify it arrives in Inbox (not Spam)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<p>Customize email templates at <strong>Classifieds Pro \u2192 Settings \u2192 Emails<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Welcome email (new member registers)<\/li>\n<li>Listing approved (Pending \u2192 Published)<\/li>\n<li>New message received<\/li>\n<li>Listing about to expire<\/li>\n<li>Listing expired<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">8. Legal pages<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>Required by law in most jurisdictions:<\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>[ ] <strong>Privacy Policy<\/strong> \u2014 generated at <strong>Settings \u2192 Privacy<\/strong> + customized<\/li>\n<li>[ ] <strong>Terms of Service<\/strong> \u2014 covers what users agree to when using the site<\/li>\n<li>[ ] <strong>Cookie Notice<\/strong> (EU) \u2014 install <strong>Complianz<\/strong> (free)<\/li>\n<li>[ ] <strong>Refund Policy<\/strong> if you charge for listings (link from checkout page)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<p>Linking them: footer column 4 (or wherever your &#8220;Stay in touch&#8221; widget is). The WOW Feeder&#8217;s copyright string includes Privacy + Terms placeholders.<\/p>\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">9. Analytics<\/h2>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>[ ] <strong>Google Analytics 4<\/strong> (free) \u2014 install via <strong>Site Kit<\/strong> plugin<\/li>\n<li>[ ] (Optional) <strong>Plausible<\/strong> or <strong>Fathom<\/strong> if you want privacy-respecting analytics<\/li>\n<li>[ ] <strong>Microsoft Clarity<\/strong> for free heatmaps and session recordings (massively underrated)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<p>Configure goal events in GA4 for:<\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>New listing posted<\/li>\n<li>Successful paid checkout<\/li>\n<li>Contact reveal clicked<\/li>\n<li>Search performed<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">10. Final pre-launch test<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>Run through these as a logged-out visitor on a real device (not just DevTools):<\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>[ ] Homepage loads in under 2 seconds<\/li>\n<li>[ ] Live search dropdown works (type 2+ chars, see results)<\/li>\n<li>[ ] Click a category card \u2192 archive loads with listings<\/li>\n<li>[ ] Click a listing \u2192 single page renders cleanly<\/li>\n<li>[ ] &#8220;Show Contact Email&#8221; reveals the address on first click<\/li>\n<li>[ ] <em>[Pro]<\/em> Click &#8220;Post Free Ad&#8221; \u2192 routed to login or submission form correctly<\/li>\n<li>[ ] Sign up as a new user \u2192 confirmation email arrives<\/li>\n<li>[ ] <em>[Pro]<\/em> Submit a listing \u2192 reaches Pending or Published correctly<\/li>\n<li>[ ] <em>[Pro]<\/em> Pay for a featured slot \u2192 Stripe\/Razorpay test succeeds \u2192 listing goes featured<\/li>\n<li>[ ] Switch to a phone \u2192 repeat the above; everything responsive<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<p>If everything passes, you&#8217;re ready. Switch DNS, kill any &#8220;coming soon&#8221; plugin, announce on socials.<\/p>\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">11. Day-1 monitoring<\/h2>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Check <strong>Classifieds Pro \u2192 Pending Listings<\/strong> every few hours and approve in real-time<\/li>\n<li>Watch the spam queue (Akismet) \u2014 first day is often the noisiest<\/li>\n<li>Monitor email deliverability \u2014 if welcome emails are landing in spam, fix DNS records immediately<\/li>\n<li>Watch Google Search Console for crawl errors<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<p>After 7 days, start refining: identify what categories sellers actually use, drop the ones nobody touches, raise prices on the popular packages.<\/p>\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What to do if something breaks<\/h2>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Site down (white screen)<\/strong> \u2014 disable plugins via SFTP (rename <code>wp-content\/plugins\/<\/code> \u2192 <code>plugins-old\/<\/code>), narrow it down<\/li>\n<li><strong>Payment failed but listing went live<\/strong> \u2014 check <strong>Classifieds Pro \u2192 Orders<\/strong>, manually refund or correct<\/li>\n<li><strong>Admin login broken<\/strong> \u2014 <code>wp user create<\/code> via WP-CLI to create an emergency admin<\/li>\n<li><strong>All else<\/strong> \u2014 see <a href=\".\/troubleshooting\/\">Troubleshooting<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The pre-launch checklist for getting your Best Classifieds marketplace into production. Work through this in order \u2014 each section builds on the previous one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-going-live-and-support"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/docs.fasterthemes.com\/best-classifieds-wordpress-theme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/docs.fasterthemes.com\/best-classifieds-wordpress-theme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/docs.fasterthemes.com\/best-classifieds-wordpress-theme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/docs.fasterthemes.com\/best-classifieds-wordpress-theme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/docs.fasterthemes.com\/best-classifieds-wordpress-theme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/docs.fasterthemes.com\/best-classifieds-wordpress-theme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/docs.fasterthemes.com\/best-classifieds-wordpress-theme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/docs.fasterthemes.com\/best-classifieds-wordpress-theme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/docs.fasterthemes.com\/best-classifieds-wordpress-theme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}