Launching your business website is a big step, but, if you don’t know how to launch a website the right way, you’re just wasting time. There are many considerations, including design, functionality, SEO, testing, marketing, analytics, and security.
Assuming you’ve designed and built a site that’s ready to go, your website launch checklist should include the following:
Design Verification
Do all your design elements match your message? Can visitors quickly navigate each page and find the information they need? Also, a website must match your branding, as you want your audience to instantly connect it with your company.
Before a new website launch, check over:
- Spacing between all website elements—the site shouldn’t look cluttered.
- The color scheme—a harmonious color palette helps represent your brand.
- Text—it should be legible, while fonts and heading sizes should be consistent.
- Images—should be clear, well-placed, and of limited file size.
- Logos—usually inserted as images, but must be crisp and identifiable.
Once you’ve verified your website’s appearance, test it on popular browsers and devices, especially mobile phones and tablets. Perform a speed test as well. It’s best if a page loads within two seconds.
Functionality
In assessing website performance, test the function of:
- Web forms (that they work and submitted data go where you want).
- Autoresponders, RSS feeds, marketing emails, and CRM and CMS elements.
- Top navigation, footer, social media, and logo links.
Content
Content is still king. A website without updated content is essentially useless. Build your site so content can be easily changed later, but you want to make sure:
- There are no spelling or grammatical errors.
- Content is easily scannable with headings and short paragraphs.
- Placeholding or test content (i.e., Lorem Ipsum) content has been replaced.
- The narrative tells your audience a story.
- All images, videos, and animations are visible and approved.
SEO Review
A properly optimized website can bring in thousands of more visitors. You should consider SEO from day one, but it is an ongoing process, so review your:
- Keywords
- Title tags
- Meta descriptions
- Internal links
- Content quality/originality
Analytics
Tracking your website’s performance requires looking at various metrics. By connecting your site to Google Analytics, you can see how long people are on your site and on which specific pages, where they’re coming from, and what functions they’re using. You can use this information to make future improvements. With Google Search Console, you can track how often your site appears on search results pages and the number of people who see it.
Marketing
A priority for your website post-launch checklist, marketing should include social media. Share links via Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Encourage your audience to visit and sign up with incentives, such as promo codes, contests, or special gifts or discounts. Automated emails with useful information, incentives, and links are effective as well.
Security
Familiarize yourself with the security basics of running a website. There are many cyber threats that can expose sensitive data and compromise your infrastructure. At Power Admin, we offer a server monitoring service that tracks system performance (PA Server Monitor), protects and audits files (PA File Sight), and monitors your storage resources (Storage Monitor), as well as provides ransomware protection for servers.
We make sure your servers and website are always up and running. Call Power Admin at 800-401-2339 or sign up for a free trial to see how our solutions can help.
