Website Launch — DNS Migration Plan

Overview

The VCEDC website launch was placed on hold as of 2026-04-05 due to unresolved mobile responsiveness bugs. A DNS migration plan was documented and agreed upon; launch will proceed once the site passes a fresh responsiveness review and the client (Tracy) confirms she has all necessary files from the old site.

Attendees: Melissa Cusumano, Mark Hope, Isalia Ramirez, Aquilino Acedron (Aki)
Meeting source: Fathom call 505913574

Launch Blockers

Mobile Responsiveness Bugs

The site is not production-ready. Identified issues:

• Hero image overflow — main image does not constrain correctly on smaller screens
• Social icons stacking incorrectly — layout breaks at narrow viewports
• Button misalignment — buttons stack or shift at mobile widths

Recommendation: Have a second developer (Eshock or Jeff) review the site with fresh eyes rather than the original developer attempting to self-debug.

Client File Backup Risk

Switching DNS will make the old site inaccessible. The old site was not migrated — it was rebuilt from scratch in WordPress, so no copy of the old site exists in the new environment. Melissa is confirming with Tracy that she has downloaded or otherwise secured all files she needs from the old site before the DNS switch is executed.

DNS Migration Details

• Domain: VilasCountyEDC.org
• Registrar: ForkBund (domain is under Asymmetric control — no client access needed for the switch)
• Current setup: Domain is proxied through Cloudflare, which adds complexity to the nameserver migration
• Expected downtime: ~1 hour during the DNS switch and production push

DNS Records Captured

Mark performed a DNS lookup and screenshotted existing records:

⚠️ The missing DMARC record should be noted and addressed post-launch to avoid email bounce issues.

Launch Sequence

The agreed launch procedure, in order:

1. Pause staging edits — Melissa instructs Aki to stop all work on the staging site. No edits should be made while the push is in progress.
2. DNS switch — Mark updates nameservers via ForkBund, migrating away from the current Cloudflare setup. Expect ~1 hour of downtime.
3. Push staging to production — Mark deploys the staging environment to production once DNS has propagated.
4. Resume staging edits — Once production is live, staging and production are identical. Aki can resume edits on staging; further changes can be pushed again as needed.

Stripe Activation

The Stripe payment gateway is installed on the site but not yet active (intentionally held until the site is live). Post-launch steps:

• Credentials are stored in LastPass
• Mark will activate Stripe after the production push is confirmed
• A call with the client may be needed to complete activation

Key Decisions

• Launch is on hold — responsiveness bugs must be resolved before going live; client pressure to launch same-day was acknowledged but overridden in favor of quality
• Second developer review recommended before next launch attempt
• DNS is under our control via ForkBund — no client involvement needed for the nameserver switch
• Old site will become inaccessible after DNS migration; client must confirm backup before we proceed

Action Items

• [ ] Melissa — Confirm with Tracy that she has all necessary files/access from the old site before DNS migration proceeds
• [ ] Melissa — Email Aki: freeze all staging edits until production push is complete; resume after
• [ ] Melissa — Coordinate fresh responsiveness review with Eshock or Jeff (hero image, social icons, buttons)
• [ ] Mark — Execute DNS migration and staging-to-production push once client backup is confirmed
• [ ] Mark — Activate Stripe post-launch using credentials from LastPass
• [ ] Mark / Melissa — Investigate and add missing DMARC record to prevent email deliverability issues

Related

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