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Production checklist

Go live only when the public story matches the operator reality.

This checklist keeps the launch honest: open core first, privacy claims bounded, conversion paths real, and proof artifacts available before broad distribution.

Public home

Production domain, TLS, canonical URLs, sitemap, robots rules, favicon, Open Graph image, and short share preview verified before broad release.

Host routing

The canonical public site stays on https://thegateway.pro/. Before broad traffic increases, confirm that public host routing, redirects, canonical metadata, and support paths all point visitors to the same production surface.

Redirects

Release checks should confirm alternate hosts resolve back to the production site so visitors only see one public surface.

Publication hygiene

Public product copy stays focused on operator value, product readiness, support boundaries, privacy limits, and evidence before launch.

Artifact hygiene

Published assets should avoid private notes, local paths, credentials, temporary hosts, and machine-specific assumptions.

Security audit

Security checks report no unresolved high-severity issues before broad release.

Operator proof

Install transcript, screenshots, demo clip, route/DNS evidence, leak check, fallback drill, backup restore, and redacted support bundle example linked.

Screenshot handling

Published screenshots use realistic synthetic values and note the claim each image supports.

Privacy boundaries

Anonymity claims stay qualified, credential handling is explicit, remote access requires approval, and intake retention is documented.

Conversion paths

Sponsor, guided setup, appliance waitlist, MSP pilot, and evidence submission flows reach real inboxes or forms.

Operations loop

First runbook, support boundaries, launch metrics, issue triage, changelog cadence, and public roadmap review are ready.

Go / no-go gates

Use concrete blockers instead of launch optimism.

Go

Domain, email, repository, license, support policy, install evidence, rollback evidence, privacy boundary, and contact paths are all live and checked.

No-go

Any placeholder endpoint, unsupported hardware claim, missing rollback path, unclear credential custody, or unverified privacy claim blocks broad launch.

Hold for review

Partial evidence, pilot-only hardware, incomplete analytics privacy, or new managed-service claims should stay gated until reviewed.

Proof assets

Do not open broad traffic until the visual evidence matches the claim set.

Redacted Gateway dashboard showing route, DNS, tunnel, device, and backup status cards
Public proof Readiness at a glance.

Supports claims about route, DNS, tunnel, device, backup, and operator posture visibility.

Redacted Gateway routing policies screen
Policy proof Traffic intent is named.

Supports route ownership, fallback, and per-group policy claims before release promotion.

Redacted Gateway backup and recovery screen
Recovery proof Rollback is visible.

Supports backup, restore, and rollback claims that should be reproducible before launch.

Launch roles

Each production surface needs a named owner before it can receive traffic.

Website owner

Maintains canonical URLs, sitemap, public copy, noindex gates, accessibility checks, and visual smoke tests.

Repository owner

Maintains license, security policy, contribution rules, issue templates, change summaries, and install support boundaries.

Evidence owner

Publishes redacted proof artifacts, links claims to evidence, and marks uncertain or unreproduced results clearly.

Support owner

Confirms intake privacy, redaction rules, escalation path, remote-access approvals, retention expectations, and stop conditions.

Next action

Clear external launch blockers in order.

Wire domain, email, repository, forms, support and privacy boundaries, proof artifacts, the first runbook before sending public traffic to the production site. Confirm host routing during release validation, and review redaction guidance first if any proof bundle needs to leave the machine.