Production readiness: the checks between “it runs” and “it's done”

Code that runs is not the same as a service that's ready for users. Production readiness is the unglamorous list in between: backups you've actually restored, alerts that reach a person who can act on them, certificates that renew on their own, logs you can search when something breaks, and a rollback you've practiced.

This section is where we keep that list. Articles here are checklists and post-deploy tests for specific kinds of sites and apps, from SaaS dashboards to small business websites where a broken contact form means lost customers. We explain why each check exists, what failure looks like if you skip it, and how to verify it after you ship.

Staging helps, but it isn't proof. Production has real traffic, real DNS, real mail servers and real data. The checks in this section assume that difference and test for it.