Going-Live Checklist

Use this checklist before you open your traffic exchange to the public. Work through each section in order.

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DNS Configuration

• [ ] Domain pointing to server — Your domain’s A record points to your server’s IP address
• [ ] www redirect — www.yourdomain.com either has a CNAME to your apex domain or its own A record
• [ ] DNS propagation complete — Test with dig yourdomain.com or a tool like whatsmydns.net
• [ ] Mail DNS records — If sending email from your domain, set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records to improve deliverability

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SSL / HTTPS

• [ ] SSL certificate installed — Your site loads at https://yourdomain.com without browser warnings

For VPS (Let’s Encrypt / Certbot):

apt install -y certbot python3-certbot-nginx
certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com -d www.yourdomain.com

Certbot will automatically update your Nginx config to handle HTTPS and redirect HTTP to HTTPS.

For cPanel: 1. Go to SSL/TLS in cPanel 2. Use Let’s Encrypt (AutoSSL) or install your own certificate

• [ ] APP_URL set to HTTPS — In .env, confirm APP_URL=https://yourdomain.com
• [ ] HTTP redirects to HTTPS — Any request to http:// is redirected to https://
• [ ] WebSocket on HTTPS (VPS with Reverb only) — Reverb must also be accessible via wss://. Configure your Nginx proxy accordingly.

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Email Configuration

• [ ] Outbound email works — Test by using the password reset feature or send a test message from the admin panel
• [ ] MAIL_FROM_ADDRESS is correct — Set to a real, deliverable email address
• [ ] SPF record — Your domain has a valid SPF record allowing your mail server to send
• [ ] DKIM — Configured and verified with your email provider
• [ ] Email verification flow — New member registration triggers a verification email and the link works

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Payment Gateway Verification

• [ ] At least one gateway enabled — Members can see payment options on the upgrade/deposit pages
• [ ] Webhook endpoints verified — Test each active gateway by processing a real (or sandbox) payment
• PayPal: https://yourdomain.com/webhooks/paypal
• Stripe: https://yourdomain.com/webhooks/stripe
• JVZoo: https://yourdomain.com/webhooks/jvzoo
• WarriorPlus: https://yourdomain.com/webhooks/warriorplus
• ClickBank: https://yourdomain.com/webhooks/clickbank
• Explodely: https://yourdomain.com/webhooks/explodely
• [ ] Sandbox mode disabled — PayPal and Stripe sandbox modes are turned off before accepting real payments (PAYPAL_SANDBOX=false)
• [ ] Withdrawal minimum set — TE_MIN_WITHDRAWAL is configured appropriately

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Cron / Scheduler Verification

• [ ] Cron job added — The scheduler cron entry is configured (see Installation)
• [ ] Scheduler is running — Check storage/logs/laravel.log for scheduler activity, or run php artisan schedule:list to see upcoming tasks
• [ ] Queue workers running (VPS only) — Supervisor is running te-worker processes: supervisorctl status

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Script Configuration

• [ ] APP_DEBUG=false — Debug mode is OFF in production (never expose debug output to the public)
• [ ] APP_ENV=production — Environment is set to production
• [ ] License key active — TE_LICENSE_KEY is set and validated (check storage/logs/laravel.log for license errors)
• [ ] Admin panel path changed — You’ve set a custom TE_ADMIN_PATH in .env (default admin is well-known)
• [ ] Config cache cleared — After any .env changes, run php artisan config:clear (and php artisan config:cache on VPS)

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Content and Branding

• [ ] Site name set — TE_APP_NAME in .env and Settings → General match your brand
• [ ] Logo uploaded — Your site logo is set under Settings → Appearance
• [ ] Support email set — TE_SUPPORT_EMAIL and Settings → General → Support Email are correct
• [ ] Default membership level reviewed — Free tier has reasonable credit ratios and limits set
• [ ] Terms of Service / Privacy Policy — Create these pages via Admin → Pages before launch

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Test Surf (End-to-End)

Before opening to the public, perform a test run as a member:

• [ ] Register a test account (use a different email/browser than your admin account)
• [ ] Verify the registration email arrives and the verification link works
• [ ] Log in as the test member
• [ ] Submit a test site to the surf queue
• [ ] Approve the test site in the admin panel (Sites → Approval Queue)
• [ ] Surf a few sites in manual mode — verify credits are awarded
• [ ] Try auto surf mode — verify it starts and awards credits
• [ ] Check that CAPTCHA appears after the configured interval
• [ ] Make a test deposit (sandbox/test mode) — verify the transaction appears
• [ ] Request a test withdrawal — verify it appears in the admin withdrawal queue

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Security Final Check

• [ ] File permissions correct — storage/ and bootstrap/cache/ are writable by the web server, all other directories are not world-writable
• [ ] .env is not web-accessible — Confirm https://yourdomain.com/.env returns a 404 or 403
• [ ] PHP version confirmed — php -v shows 8.3 or higher
• [ ] Admin account uses a strong, unique password

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Launch

Once all items above are checked, set Settings → General → Site Status to Open and share your URL. Congratulations on launching your traffic exchange!

Screenshots