Production Deployment Checklist for Next.js & Vercel
A release checklist covering environment variables, builds, redirects, metadata, caching and the final production verification pass.
Verify the build environment
Confirm required environment variables exist in the deployment project and that public versus private variables are used correctly.
Run the production build before release so type errors, missing imports and route-level failures are caught before visitors see them.
Check the production URLs
Verify your canonical domain, redirects, sitemap, robots.txt and important route paths. A deployment is not finished when the homepage loads; the supporting pages need to work too.
Check both direct navigation and internal links so route behavior matches the intended information architecture.
Run a real-world smoke test
Open the site on a phone and desktop, submit the main form, inspect the navigation, test the critical CTA and review the first contentful experience on a slower connection.
A ten-minute smoke test can catch usability issues that automated build checks cannot see.