8 Things to Check Before You Hit Publish

August 28, 2025 General

You’ve typed the final sentence. You’ve adjusted the formatting. You’re about to hit that bright, shiny “Publish” button.

But wait, are you sure your piece is actually ready?

Publishing isn’t just about writing words and shipping them into the world. It’s about making sure your content is clear, compelling, and optimized to do what it’s meant to do whether that’s educate, inspire, convert, or entertain.

Think of it like baking a cake. You wouldn’t pop it out of the oven and serve it without checking if it’s fully baked, right? Same goes for your writing.

Here are 8 things to check before you hit publish, a quick, powerful pre-flight checklist to make sure your content not only looks good, but performs like a pro.

1. Is the Headline Strong and Clear?

Your headline is your first and sometimes only chance to get someone to stop scrolling and click. So it needs to do a few things really well:

Grab attention
Include a clear benefit or idea
Match the tone and topic of your content
Include a keyword if it fits naturally

Weak headline: “Some Writing Tips”
Strong headline: “8 Writing Habits That Help Content Creators Stay Consistent”

Make sure your headline is specific, relevant, and gives people a reason to read more.

If you’re not sure, test a few versions using a free tool like CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer.

2. Does the Intro Hook the Reader?

After the headline, your introduction is your next biggest make-or-break moment. If the first few lines don’t grab people, they’re gone.

A strong intro does one or more of the following:

Hooks the reader with a question or bold statement
Addresses a pain point or curiosity
Teases what the post will deliver
Builds trust by showing you “get it”

Keep it short, punchy, and human. Skip the long-winded intros or textbook-style openings. People want a reason to stay, give it to them fast.

3. Are Subheadings Logical and Clear?

Subheadings are the skeleton of your content. They break up long blocks of text and guide the reader through your ideas like mile markers on a road trip.

Before you publish, check that:

Each subheading clearly reflects what the section covers
The order of subheadings makes sense
They could stand alone and still make sense
You’ve used consistent formatting (usually H2 or H3)

Remember, readers scan before they read. Strong subheadings help them jump to what matters most.

Bonus: Good subheadings also make your content more SEO-friendly and increase time on page.

4. Did You Fix Grammar and Typos?

Nobody wants to read a post filled with “their” instead of “they’re” or sentences that run on longer than a bad dinner story. Typos and grammar errors don’t just annoy people, they can make your content seem less credible.

Quick ways to check:

Use spellcheck and grammar tools (Grammarly, Hemingway, or ProWritingAid)
Read your post out loud (you’ll catch awkward sentences fast)
Take a break and come back with fresh eyes
Ask a friend or colleague for a quick proofread

No need to be a grammar perfectionist but do clean it up enough to be clear and confident.

5. Is It Easy to Scan on Mobile?

More than half of all web traffic now happens on mobile devices. That means your beautifully written content needs to look just as good on a small screen.

Check these things before publishing:

Are paragraphs short (2–4 lines)?
Did you use bullet points and numbered lists when possible?
Is there plenty of white space?
Are images sized correctly and responsive?
Do buttons and links work on mobile?

If your post looks like a wall of text on your phone, chances are, your reader will bounce fast.

Tools like Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test can help you see what’s working (or not).

6. Did You Add Links (Internal + External)?

Links make your content more useful and more connected. They also help with SEO and credibility.

Before you publish, check for:

Internal links: Link to other relevant content on your site. This keeps readers engaged and boosts your site’s authority.
External links: Reference trustworthy sources to back up facts, statistics, or quotes.

Make sure links:

Open in a new tab (especially external ones)
Are relevant and not spammy
Add value for the reader

Don’t overdo it. A few well-placed links are all you need to guide your reader deeper.

7. Is the Call-to-Action Clear?

Every piece of content should end with one question: What do I want the reader to do next?

Your call-to-action (CTA) doesn’t have to be pushy. It just has to be clear:

Should they leave a comment?
Subscribe to your newsletter?
Read another article?
Download something?
Contact you?

Make it easy. Make it obvious. And place it where it makes sense usually near the end, after the main content.

Pro tip: Keep CTAs conversational. “Let me know what you think in the comments!” sounds better than “Submit your response below.”

8. Did You Double-Check SEO Basics?

Even the best-written post can disappear into the digital void if it’s not optimized for search.

Before hitting publish, do a quick SEO scan:

Is your focus keyword used naturally throughout the post?
Is it in the headline, intro, and at least one subheading?
Did you write a meta description that includes your keyword?
Are images labeled with alt text?
Did you use a clean URL (slug) with the keyword?

You don’t need to be an SEO wizard. Just cover the basics and make sure Google knows what your content is about.

Need a hand? Tools like Yoast SEO or Rank Math (for WordPress users) make this process painless.

Don’t Just Hit Publish, Hit “Prepared”

Publishing is exciting. It means you’ve created something. But before you send it out into the world, give it the final polish it deserves.

Use this checklist to turn good writing into great content:

A strong headline
A magnetic intro
Clear structure
Error-free grammar
Mobile-ready formatting
Helpful links
A smart CTA
SEO in place

Once you've hit every mark, then it’s time. Hit publish with confidence and know your content is ready to do what it was made for.