Deploying Next.js to Vercel: A Production Checklist

Deploying Next.js to Vercel is famously easy, but going to production well takes a few deliberate steps. Run through this checklist before you launch.

Environment variables

Set every required variable in the Vercel dashboard for the correct environments. Double-check anything public (prefixed `NEXT_PUBLIC_`) resolves to your real domain, not localhost — a common cause of broken canonical URLs and sitemaps in production.

Database connections

Serverless functions open many connections, so use a pooled connection string for the runtime and a direct one for migrations. Providers like Neon and Supabase give you both. Skipping this leads to intermittent 'too many connections' errors under load.

Before you flip the switch

• Add your custom domain and confirm the non-www / www redirect you want.
• Verify the site in Google Search Console and submit your sitemap.
• Set caching and revalidation intentionally on data-driven pages.
• Turn on error monitoring so you hear about problems before users do.
• Test the full signup, checkout, and webhook flow in production.

After launch

Watch your logs and analytics for the first few days. Check Core Web Vitals in Search Console, and request indexing for your most important pages to speed up discovery.

KitCraft templates are configured for Vercel out of the box — pooled database connections, environment-aware URLs, sitemap and robots, and sensible caching — so deployment is genuinely one click away from working.