Most MVPs ship missing half of these items. Then founders wonder why users do not trust the product, why Google does not find it, or why they cannot debug issues when things break. Here is the non-negotiable checklist before you tell anyone your product exists.
Authentication
Email and password at minimum. Google sign-in strongly recommended. It removes friction and increases signups by 30 to 40 percent. Never build auth from scratch. Use a service that handles sessions, password resets, and OAuth flows out of the box.
Payments
If your MVP has a paid tier, payments must be live before launch. A waitlist with no payment option is just a list. A waitlist with a "pay to skip the queue" option is revenue. Set up checkout, billing portal, and webhook handling before you announce anything.
Error Tracking
Set up error tracking on day one. You need to know when things break before your users email you. Shipping without error tracking means you are flying blind. Your first production bug will take ten times longer to fix without proper tooling.
SEO Basics
Title tags, meta descriptions, and social share images on every page. A sitemap that search engines can find. Canonical URLs to prevent duplicate content. This takes a few hours and determines whether Google ever indexes your product.
Analytics
You need to know which features get used, where users drop off, and what the conversion funnel looks like. Without analytics you are guessing. Set up a product analytics tool before launch, not after.
Mobile Responsiveness
Test on a real phone before launch. Not just browser developer tools. A real phone. Half your users will be on mobile within the first week. If your checkout does not work on a phone, you are losing half your potential revenue.
The Rest of the List
SSL certificate (non-negotiable). Loading states for every data fetch (users should never see a blank screen). Privacy policy and terms of service (required for payment processors). Confirmation emails after signup (users need to know it worked). Rate limiting on authentication endpoints (prevents abuse).
Want all 12 built in from day one?
Every MVP I ship includes every item on this checklist. No shortcuts, no "we will add it later."
Start your MVP