Deployment is where a local app meets reality. Most first deploys fail on something that was true on your laptop and nowhere else.
- [ ] The app builds from a clean copy. No file exists only on your machine.
- [ ] Environment variables are set on the host. Your local file does not travel with the code.
- [ ] The address in the code is the live address. A hard-coded localhost link breaks everywhere else.
- [ ] The database is the live one, not your test one. Check the connection string.
- [ ] You know the rollback step. The previous version should be one command away.
- [ ] Health and error pages work on the live site. Try a page that does not exist.
- [ ] HTTPS is on. Browsers warn visitors about plain HTTP.
- [ ] Logs are visible on the host. You need them the first time something fails.
- [ ] You deployed it once to a test address first. The live one is the second try.
- [ ] You told someone you deployed it. A second pair of eyes on the live site catches what you missed.
