Website Launch Checklist: The SiteCrafting Guide to Success
Introducing a new website can be nerve-wracking…
Website design and development projects are full of ups and downs and launching the final product after putting in so much time and energy is a pivotal moment. So, what steps can you take to ensure a successful website launch?
Here at SiteCrafting, we use this exact checklist to ensure every website launch is a success. Here is a list of items from our own quality assurance tests that we review before the go-live moment.
Content Review
Have you ever gone to a website and seen a strangely placed photo or text that looked like gibberish? These are most likely remnants of the website from its development stage. Before you launch, ensure that all placeholder content is removed and updated, all forms are tested, and visual components are optimized.
- Web copy has been proofread and edited for spelling and grammar
- Content is properly formatted with good use of headings, sub-headings, lists, etc.
- Any placeholder content has been removed or replaced with real content
- Company contact info is easily accessible and accurate throughout the website
- Images are properly displaying and aren’t broken
- Videos are properly embedded and play across devices
Functionality
Pretend that you are a customer visiting your site. Follow the links that should lead you to your goal. Did you get there? Can you sign up for your newsletter? Make sure the customer journey doesn’t have any roadblocks.
- Forms submissions and notifications have been tested
- Navigation links are working properly and linking to the correct page
- Links in page copy are directing to the proper page or external website
- Social sharing features are working properly
- Feeds are working (RSS, Social Media)
- Brand logo links to the homepage
- Integrations with 3rd party tools work properly (CRM, Email Platform, E-commerce, etc)
Analytics
Analytics provide valuable insight to help you understand what is and isn’t working on your website. Make sure to check these items to get the most out of your analytics.
- Analytics tracking codes are installed and tested (we recommend implementing through Google Tag Manager)
- Google Webmaster Tools is enabled
- Google Webmaster Tools, Analytics & AdWords have been properly linked if applicable
- E-commerce tracking is enabled, if applicable
- Event tracking, goals and funnel paths are set up, if applicable
Design
A website has to look beautiful on more than your personal computer. With multiple browsers and operating systems in use, your site must display well on as many devices as possible.
- Website is compatible across platforms if responsive (Phones, Tablets, Desktops)
- Website is compatible across browsers (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge)
- Favicon is in place
- Page not Found (404) and search page templates are in place
Search Engine Optimization
In today’s competitive search environment, it’s more important than ever to ensure search engine optimization (SEO) basics are implemented on your website prior to launch. Not sure how to implement search engine optimization for your website? Here’s a resource to get started.
- 301 redirects have been created for any URLs that changed from the old site to the new site
- All images have alt text
- Unique title tags are written for each page (fewer than 70 characters and include keywords)
- Unique meta descriptions are written for each page (fewer than 156 characters and include keywords)
- Page content integrates important keywords without “stuffing” (fewer than 10 keywords on a page)
- Website has an XML sitemap that has been submitted to Google Search Console
- Page URLs reflect site structure and support keyword strategy
These items should be just the start of your website’s SEO journey. In order to continuously outperform your competitors, you’ll need to closely monitor your rankings and performance.
Domain Name System
Once your site is ready for launch, keeping it up and running is the next big step. Having reliable website hosting is vital to the health of your site and having a registrar you trust ensures your website never goes down because someone forgot to renew your domain name(s). All these elements should be in place before you go live.
- Hosting contract is in place
- Contact info for domain registrar OR login info for domain management
- SSL certificate configured so that site traffic travels over HTTPS
- Any supporting of alternate domains redirect site traffic to the primary domain
Schedule
Your content is ready, SEO is in place, analytics are set up and you’re ready for launch. At this point, you need open lines of communication between your internal team and your web development team. Launching a website isn’t instantaneous; DNS can take 24-48 hours to propagate. You want a team in place to monitor how the launch rolls out.
- Launch date set internally
- Web developer notified of the launch date
- Launch date confirmed by web developer
- Website team available to monitor launch
Launch + Promote
Now that you’re ready to launch, don’t forget to make a plan for introducing your new website to the world. After two decades of launching new websites, our team has developed a surefire plan for success. Here are some ways to share about your launch.
- Send an update to your email list
- Post on social media
- Implement Google Ads (optional)
- Implement social media ads (optional)
Check out this blog post for more best practices on How to Introduce your New Website. Happy launching! 🚀
