Launched a site built by an AI tool? Check these six things first
· 2 min read
AI builders make pages that look finished but leave the invisible parts half-done. Here are six faults to check before you send anyone to your new site.
Why the polish hides the gaps
AI builders are excellent at what you can see: layout, wording, images. The parts you cannot see — sending an email, taking a payment, hiding a config file — are where things get left unfinished. Nothing on the page tells you, because the page still looks perfect.
Here is the checklist, in the order that costs you money.
1. Does the contact form actually deliver?
Fill it in from your phone on mobile data and wait ten minutes. A thank-you message is not proof. This is the single most common fault and the most expensive one.
2. Are your payment keys live, not test?
Test keys work perfectly for you and fail for every real customer. Look in your payment dashboard for a test-mode switch, then make one real purchase of the cheapest thing you sell. Refund it afterwards.
3. Is a secret key visible in your page source?
Open your site, view the page source, and search for sk_. A publishable key starting pk_ is fine and meant to be public. A secret key starting sk_ in the page means anyone can charge cards or read your customer list. Treat that as an emergency.
4. Can anyone download your config file?
Try adding /.env to the end of your web address. If you see a page of settings instead of an error, your database password and API keys are public. Block that path today and change every password in the file.
5. Is your email set up to be trusted?
Check that SPF, DKIM and DMARC exist for your domain. Without them, mail from your site and your inbox both drift into spam.
6. Can search engines and AI assistants read you?
Look at yourdomain.com/robots.txt. If it says Disallow: / under User-agent: *, nothing can index you. A staging setting left switched on is a common cause. While you are there, decide whether you want AI assistants to read you, since more customers now ask an assistant instead of searching.
Do it once, then automate it
Every item here can break again later, quietly, months after launch. Checking once is worth a lot. Being told the hour it changes is worth more.