Website Launch Checklist for Philippine SMEs: From Zero to Live in 30 Days

Many Philippine SMEs run on a Facebook page and a Viber group for years before building a website. That works until you want to rank on Google, run ads that convert, or look credible to corporate buyers. The good news: a focused, lead-ready website can go live in about 30 days if you make decisions in the right order. Here's the plan we follow.

Week 1: Foundations and decisions

Domain

Choose a short, easy-to-spell domain. A .ph or .com.ph domain signals that you serve the Philippine market, while .com works if you plan to sell abroad. Register it under your company name and keep the login yourself.

Platform

• WordPress suits service businesses that want to publish content and edit pages easily.
• Shopify suits product businesses that need inventory, shipping rates and checkout without custom code.
• Custom or static builds suit businesses that want maximum speed and security with fewer moving parts.

Goals and pages

Decide what a “lead” means for you: a call, a Messenger chat, a booking or a quote request. Then plan the pages around what customers search. For most service SMEs that's: Home, one page per main service, About, Contact, and a page per city or branch if you serve several areas.

Week 2: Content before design

Write the words first. Pages designed around placeholder text end up with copy squeezed into boxes. For each page, answer the questions a buyer has: what is it, who is it for, how much (or what affects the price), why trust you, and what to do next.

• Write in the language your customers search in. Most Filipino buyers search in English, but conversational Taglish can work well in headings and ads for consumer brands.
• Collect real photos of your team, location and work. Stock photos of people who don't work for you cost trust.
• Gather proof: client logos you have permission to use, permits, certifications, years in business and genuine reviews.

Week 3: Design and build for mobile first

Most Filipino visitors will see your site on a phone, often on mobile data. Design for that screen first.

• Put the main call to action in the first screen: “Call”, “Message us on Viber/Messenger” or “Book now”.
• Keep pages light. Compress images, avoid auto-playing video and heavy sliders, and aim for a mobile Largest Contentful Paint under 2.5 seconds.
• Use click-to-call phone links and a sticky contact button on mobile.
• If you sell online, integrate a local payment gateway so customers can pay by GCash, Maya, cards or bank transfer. Offering cash on delivery can lift conversion for first-time buyers.

Week 4: SEO, tracking and launch

On-page SEO

• A unique title tag and meta description for every page, with the service and location where relevant.
• One clear H1 per page, logical H2s, descriptive image alt text and internal links between related pages.
• LocalBusiness or Organization structured data, plus FAQ and Product markup where it fits.
• An XML sitemap and a robots.txt file that doesn't accidentally block the site.

Tracking

• Google Analytics 4 with conversions for form submits, calls and chat clicks.
• Google Search Console, verified, with the sitemap submitted.
• Meta Pixel and Conversions API if you'll run Facebook or Instagram ads.

Legal and trust

Add a privacy policy that explains how you handle personal data under the Data Privacy Act of 2012, a consent checkbox on lead forms, and your business address and contact details in the footer. Ad platforms check these too.

Pre-launch test

Test every form, phone link and payment option on an actual phone. Check the site on Chrome, Safari and a slower connection. Then launch, submit the sitemap and announce it on your Facebook page and email list.

After launch: the first 90 days

A website is a starting point, not a finish line. In the first three months, publish helpful content around your services, build your Google Business Profile and reviews, and consider a small ad budget to get early enquiries while organic rankings grow.

If you'd rather have one team handle the whole launch, our website design and development services cover every step above, or start with a free audit of your current online presence.