6.1 Why Put “Going Live” at the End, and Pre-Launch Checks
By the time you finish Chapter 1, you can of course already preview a version, but at that stage it is more like a prototype. Chapter 6 is when it officially makes its debut. Putting going live at the end is not because it is somehow mysterious, but because it should naturally be built on the results of the previous chapters: the page already has a basic form, the content is more complete, and the digital persona looks more like you. Only at that point is the link truly worth someone else clicking.
Why not publish it immediately after finishing Chapter 1
Because Chapter 1 solves “make it appear first,” not “it is ready for others to visit.” A prototype being previewable does not mean it is ready to be public. Many things are still in an early stage: the content may be too sparse, the mobile experience may still be unstable, the chat entry point may not be clear enough, and the digital persona may not resemble you closely enough yet.
Waiting until Chapter 6 to go live is actually a more responsible pace for the whole project. You are not procrastinating; you are waiting for it to grow into something worth someone’s serious attention.
Do a simple self-check before going live
So before launch, the most important thing is not to click the deploy button right away, but to do a simple self-check first. Can the page open properly? Does it work normally on mobile? Is the chat functioning? Is your personal information fully filled in? Are the environment variables and keys in the right place? All of these should be reviewed first. It does not need to become a formal testing system, but at the very least, you should make sure you are not publicly releasing a version that is obviously not ready.
A pre-launch checklist that is more than sufficient is:
- The page opens properly, with no obvious errors
- The mobile reading experience has no serious layout issues
- The digital persona can respond normally
- Your name, profile, projects, and contact information are no longer blank
- The API Key is not hardcoded in the code, and the environment variables are correctly placed
Going live is not an extra task, but part of closing the loop
The significance of this step is not just to reduce the chance of things going wrong, but also to remind you: going live is not an extra add-on task, but part of completing the work. It is not “just publish it while you are at it,” but rather, “this version is now ready to enter a real environment.”
Next Section: Push the Code to a Remote Repository and Deploy with EdgeOne Pages →