A competition website is ready to launch only when the advertised rules, payment flow, entry records, customer communications and winner process have all been tested together. Use this 30-point checklist to find gaps before paid traffic and real entrants reach the site.
The checklist is designed for WordPress and WooCommerce competition websites. It supports practical planning but is not legal, payment or security advice.
How to use this launch checklist
Assign an owner and evidence to every item. “Installed” is not evidence that something works: use a screenshot, test order, exported record, written decision or restore test. Record any accepted limitation and the person responsible for fixing it after launch.
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Ready | Tested with evidence and an owner |
| Blocked | Must be resolved before launch |
| Accepted risk | Documented limitation with approval and a follow-up date |
| Not applicable | Reason recorded rather than assumed |
Promotion and rules
1. Define the promotion model
Record whether entry is paid, free, skill-based, judged or determined by chance. Confirm the territories, eligible ages and how the promotion is intended to operate.
2. Obtain appropriate legal review
Do not rely on a plugin setting or another operator’s terms. Review the Gambling Commission guidance, the CAP Code and advice specific to your promotion.
3. Finalise promotion-specific terms
State the promoter, eligibility, entry methods, price, limits, opening and closing dates, prize, winner method, contact process, claim deadline and any sell-out or cancellation policy.
4. Display significant conditions before entry
Put the information customers need to make an informed decision near the entry control. A footer link alone may not give important restrictions enough prominence.
5. Test the free entry route
If the model uses a free route, confirm its prominence, instructions, validation, deadline and entry-allocation process. Follow the guide to free postal entries.
6. Confirm prize ownership and restrictions
Keep evidence that the prize can be supplied. Check delivery areas, age limits, transfer rules, running costs, taxes, insurance and any third-party conditions that entrants need to know.
WordPress, hosting and security
7. Update supported software on staging
Test the intended WordPress, WooCommerce, theme and plugin versions together before applying them to production.
8. Verify backups and restoration
Confirm automated off-site backups cover the database and uploads. Perform a restore test; a successful backup notification is not proof that recovery works.
9. Protect administrator access
Remove unused accounts, assign the least access needed, use unique passwords and enable two-factor authentication for administrators.
10. Review caching and performance
Exclude basket, checkout, account and personalised competition states from inappropriate page caching. Load-test realistic entry and checkout traffic.
11. Configure monitoring
Monitor uptime, PHP errors, failed scheduled tasks, payment-webhook failures and transactional email delivery. Decide who receives alerts.
12. Check privacy and cookies
Document personal-data use and retention. Make consent choices work as described and avoid loading optional tracking before the relevant consent where required.
Payments, orders and entries
13. Confirm payment-provider acceptance
Describe the business model accurately during underwriting and obtain the provider’s decision. Do not assume general WooCommerce compatibility means the activity is accepted.
14. Place successful test orders
Use every intended payment method. Confirm totals, order status, entries, ticket numbers, availability, email and customer-account display.
15. Test failed and abandoned payments
Ensure no valid entry survives and that temporary number or capacity reservations are released at the documented time.
16. Test refunds and cancellations
Verify the effect on eligibility and availability matches the terms, while the original entry and order history remain explainable.
17. Test the final available entries
Use concurrent sessions to attempt the last tickets. The system should prevent duplicates, excess allocation and a misleading availability count.
18. Test entry limits
Check the basket, repeat orders, guest checkout and customer accounts. Confirm the wording explains why an attempted quantity is rejected.
19. Reconcile orders to entries
Choose a sample of successful, failed and refunded orders and prove that the entry ledger reflects each state. Read how WooCommerce competition entries and tickets work.
Content, trust and accessibility
20. Make the promoter identifiable
Publish genuine business and contact information. Ensure checkout descriptors, emails, terms and support replies use consistent names.
21. Check every competition page
Verify prize details, imagery, price, dates, capacity, entry controls, restrictions, terms links and closed or sold-out states.
22. Test mobile and keyboard use
Complete number selection, basket, checkout, account, terms and support journeys on a phone and without a mouse. Check visible focus and error messages.
23. Review urgency and availability claims
Countdowns, closing-soon messages and remaining-entry counts must reflect the real rules and current data. Remove test notices and placeholder numbers.
24. Proofread transactional messages
Check sender names, reply addresses, support links, order references, entry numbers, prize names and mobile rendering. Confirm messages reach major providers.
Draws, prizes and operations
25. Write the competition-close procedure
Define who stops entry, processes final free requests, reconciles payments and refunds, freezes the pool and authorises the draw.
26. Test the draw or export workflow
Confirm eligible and excluded entries can be reviewed and explained. Preserve the pool and selection evidence described in the guide to verifiable random draws.
27. Reconcile instant-win inventory
Match configured, awarded, claimed, fulfilled and remaining prizes. Test known winning and losing entries and repeated payment callbacks.
28. Prepare winner contact and reserves
Use a documented contact sequence, verification process, claim deadline and reserve or redraw procedure that reflects the terms.
29. Assign customer-support ownership
Prepare responses and escalation routes for payment questions, missing entries, free requests, refunds, winners and complaints. Do not expose customer information in public replies.
30. Run a controlled launch
Begin with a manageable product and traffic level. Watch orders, entries, availability, email and support in real time, then record lessons before scaling campaigns.
Final go/no-go questions
- Can we explain exactly who is eligible and how to enter?
- Can we connect every valid entry to its source order or free request?
- Can customers find their confirmed entries without contacting us?
- Can we recover the site and records after a failure?
- Can we prove how the winner pool and result were produced?
- Do we know who owns payments, support, closing, drawing and fulfilment?
If any answer is “not yet,” delay the relevant campaign rather than discovering the gap after customers have paid.
Build your WordPress competition workflow
Follow the setup steps for building a WordPress competition website, explore raffleWP features and keep this checklist with your launch record.
Use the raffleWP Launch checklist in your dashboard
RaffleWP now brings selected-competition readiness and site setup into a collapsible dashboard checklist. It checks recent successful scheduled tasks, offers actual-page Mobile, Tablet and Desktop previews, and sends labelled sample ticket and winner emails without allocating entries or credit.
You confirm inbox receipt and gateway test-purchase completion yourself. Relevant settings changes invalidate earlier confirmations, helping your launch record stay current. Follow the dashboard Launch checklist guide.
Before promotion, model costs and break-even, preview starter pages and prepare your campaign artwork and links. Plan the winner claim process and results approval workflow before the draw closes.
Use the connected launch tools
Explore starter layouts and launch checks, cost and break-even planning and ticket management to prepare the working parts of the site.