MVP Launch Checklist

A battle-tested 10-point checklist for web app MVP launches. Based on building 30+ apps.

Philosophy: "Don't overbuild. Just make it stable, usable, and something people can trust."

The 10-Point Checklist

1. Stripe Setup (Payment Infrastructure)

What counts as DONE: - Trials configured with appropriate period - Plan switching works (upgrade/downgrade) - Failed payment handling with retry logic - Webhook endpoint registered in Stripe Dashboard - Live keys tested (not just test mode)

Required Webhook Events: - customer.subscription.trial_will_end - customer.subscription.created - customer.subscription.updated - customer.subscription.deleted - invoice.payment_succeeded - invoice.payment_failed - invoice.created - checkout.session.completed

Verification: See references/stripe-testing.md

2. Mobile-First Design

What counts as DONE: - Tested on real phones (not just browser resize) - Touch targets appropriately sized (44x44px minimum) - Forms work on mobile keyboards - No horizontal scroll on mobile

Key insight: Browser resize mode lies. Real device testing is mandatory.

Bonus (not required): - PWA manifest for installability - Offline capability for core features

3. Smooth Onboarding

What counts as DONE: - Steps kept minimal (3-5 max) - Users guided to a fast first win - Progress indicator if multi-step - Can be skipped/completed later

Anti-pattern: Don't require 10 fields before users see value.

4. AI & Automation Stability

What counts as DONE: - API errors handled gracefully - Retry logic with exponential backoff - Edge cases don't crash the app - Timeouts configured appropriately - Fallback behavior when AI fails

Good defaults: - 3 retry attempts - 30-60s timeout for complex operations - User-friendly error messages

5. Critical Emails

What counts as DONE: - Welcome email (immediate after signup) - Trial-ending email (before trial expires) - Failed payment email (when charge fails) - Password reset (if not using external auth)

Nice to have (don't overbuild): - Support acknowledgment email - Usage milestone emails

6. Error Logging

What counts as DONE: - Error tracking service configured (Sentry, Bugsnag, etc.) - PII scrubbed from logs - Critical errors trigger alerts - Enough context to debug issues

Goal: Catch bugs before users notice them.

7. User Feedback Loop

What counts as DONE: - Simple form or tool to collect feedback - Screenshots/context capture (optional but helpful) - Feedback reaches the team (email, Slack, GitHub Issues)

Examples: Typeform, in-app widget, email link, GitHub Issues integration.

8. Authentication & Roles

What counts as DONE: - Secure page protection (no unauthorized access) - Password reset works (or external auth handles it) - Basic roles defined (admin vs user minimum) - Session management (logout, expiry)

If using external auth (Clerk, Auth0): Most of this is handled for you.

9. Custom Domain with SSL

What counts as DONE: - Own domain configured (no .vercel.app, .replit.app) - HTTPS enabled (auto or manual SSL) - DNS properly configured

Why it matters: Trust. Users won't pay for myapp.replit.app.

10. Real Database & Backups

What counts as DONE: - Production database (not dev/local DB) - Automated backups configured - Point-in-time recovery possible

Good choices: Supabase, Neon, PlanetScale, Convex, AWS RDS.

Anti-pattern: Replit DB, SQLite in production, no backups.

Scoring

Overall (sum of 10 areas): - 85-100: Launch Ready - 70-84: Nearly Ready - 50-69: Needs Work - <50: Not Ready

References

• references/search-patterns.md - Grep patterns for discovery
• references/stripe-testing.md - Stripe CLI verification commands