The pre-publish check
What Tessolo's pre-publish check flags before a site goes live — SEO, dead links, images, forms, collections — and which issues really matter.
Every time you publish, Tessolo scans your pages and lists what's worth a second look.
None of it blocks you. The panel says so: these don't block publishing, but they affect sharing previews, search indexing and the visitor experience.
What it looks for
Search and sharing
| Finding | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| The page has no title | It's the line people click in search results |
| No page description | Shown in search results and share cards |
| The SEO title is too long | Search results cut it off — measured including your site-wide title pattern, so the part that gets lost is usually your brand name |
| The SEO description is too long | Same, on the grey summary line |
| This page has N main headings (H1) | Search engines only honour one |
There's no "missing share image" finding. If you don't set one, Tessolo generates a share image from the page — flagging it would be a false alarm, and a checklist you learn to ignore is worse than no checklist. You can still set your own under page settings.
Nothing is flagged for being too short, either. A short title is a missed opportunity, not a defect — the length bar in page settings points it out while you're writing, which is the right moment for it.
Dead ends
| Finding | Usually means |
|---|---|
| Button "X" has no link yet | Left over from a template |
| "X" points at a page that no longer exists | The page was deleted after the button was set |
| "X" jumps to a block that no longer exists | An in-page jump broke — jump targets follow headings, so renaming one silently breaks it |
| The file linked from "X" was deleted | Visitors get a 404 |
| "X" still points at the example.com placeholder | Sample copy that was never replaced |
The dead-link check needs the full page list, so it only runs when Tessolo can see every page — that's the normal case when you publish a whole site.
Images
| Finding | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Image has no alt text | Hurts search indexing and screen readers. Covers images in rich text and carousel slides too |
| This image is still hosted on someone-else.com | If they take it down you get a blank spot. Upload it to your media library |
| A hotspot has no link | It won't appear at all once published, so the region simply does nothing |
| A hotspot has no name | Screen readers and search engines have nothing to read |
Stock photos that came with a template are not flagged — those hosts are known.
Forms and surveys
| Finding | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| The form has no Submit button | Visitors can't send it |
| Question "X" isn't inside any form | Answers go nowhere. Drag it into the form block |
| Some questions share a name | On export they split into "name" and "name 2" columns, which is easy to misread |
See building a form and survey questions.
Blocks you started but didn't fill in
| Finding |
|---|
| The social icon row has no platforms yet, or some icons have no link |
| The timeline has no stages yet |
| Allocation adds up to N%, not 100% |
| "X" has nothing to copy yet |
Each of these publishes as an empty area or a missing icon, which looks like a bug rather than a blank.
Collections and references
| Finding | Usually means |
|---|---|
| An entry points at something that was deleted | The referenced entry is gone, so the field renders empty |
| An entry points at something still in draft | It exists but visitors can't see it — publish it too |
Selling, members and bookings
| Finding | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| There's a Buy or Add to cart button, but online purchase is off | Visitors are told the site isn't taking orders |
| Something adds to the cart, but the site has no Cart drawer | Tapping the cart icon does nothing |
| Online purchase is on, but the page buyers return to has no Order summary | They pay and land on an ordinary page with no confirmation at all |
| There's a time picker, but the form has no bookable times set | Visitors see an empty list of slots |
| There's a member entry or My orders, but the site has no sign-in box | Tapping Sign in does nothing — the button scrolls to a block that isn't there |
Embeds and video
| Finding | Usually means |
|---|---|
| This embed doesn't look like a valid embed link | Wrong link for that service, or still empty |
| This embed contains a script, which needs Starter and above to publish | Third-party code, same as custom code |
| This video link isn't a platform we recognise | It publishes as nothing at all, and the editor only ever shows a placeholder — so this is the one place you'd find out |
| This is a short link we can't expand | A b23.tv/… from a phone share sheet. Open it in a browser and paste the full address |
Plain iframe embeds — maps, forms, video, design files, product demos — are unaffected and work on every plan. See custom code and embeds.
Fixing them
Findings are grouped, so twelve images without alt text is one line rather than twelve.
Each finding has Fix, which selects the block on the page so you can type the answer, and Open this page if it's on a page you're not currently editing.
Descriptions can be filled in right there in the panel — no navigating. That's the one to take advantage of, since it's the most commonly skipped and the easiest to fix.
Which ones actually matter
Ranked by consequence:
- A form with no submit button, or a question outside the form. The form is decorative, or the answers are silently dropped. Fix before publishing.
- A button with no link, or a link to something deleted. Every click is a dead end. Very common after using a template.
- An unfilled block — a social row or timeline with nothing in it.
- Missing description. Search engines write their own summary, usually a poor one.
- Missing alt text. Real cost to people using screen readers, and to image search.
- Missing title. Falls back to the page name, which is often fine.
Publishing anyway
Publish anyway goes ahead. Legitimate reasons: a decorative image that should have empty alt text, a page you're deliberately keeping out of search, a button whose link is coming tomorrow.
The check is a reminder, not a gate. It's designed for you to disagree with occasionally.
What it doesn't check
It can't tell you your copy is weak, your prices are wrong, or your layout breaks on a phone.
Before publishing something that matters: read it once at phone width, click every button in Preview, and submit the form yourself.