How to Launch Your Website Like a Pro
As if all the time and energy you’ve put into creating your website wasn’t enough - then comes the stress-induced task of actually publishing it for all the world to see. While I don’t have a magic cure for those butterflies (btw, I’m sure your site is AWESOME), I do have this handy launch checklist for you to use as a final check for your site.
Here are all the things I personally double and triple check before publishing a website:
Proofread your site
Ask a friend to proofread your entire site for grammar, punctuation and typos. In addition to that though, make sure it is all understandable by someone NOT in your industry. It can be easy to use industry jargon throughout our copy - but this can leave your audience confused and feeling like maybe you’re not for them simply because they don’t know what the heck you’re talking about!
Check for any potential copyright issues
Make sure you’re not using any graphics, images or music that’s not yours. For example, pulling images off Pinterest and using them on your website is against copyright law. You’ll need to source other images that you have the rights to use. If you need to use stock images, check out my blog post on quality sources here!
Check the quality of your graphics and images
Make sure the graphics are not pixelated, blurry or low quality. Also, know that large image file size is the number one reason for a slow site - so make sure they aren’t too big. Check out this blog post for information on how to optimize the appearance of your photos on your site.
Test every single link
Go through your site and click on every link and button on every page to make sure the links are setup correctly and working. Also be sure to check each social media link in your navigation menu or footer.
Test your contact form
Submit a test to make sure your contact form is working. Do the same thing with your newsletter signup or opt-in if you’ve included one.
Customize your 404 page
A 404 page, or “Error Page” is the page users are directed to when the link they clicked doesn’t exist. Hopefully this won’t happen because you’ve tested all your links, but if they manually enter a URL for your site that doesn’t exist this can happen too. It’s always helpful to customize this page and add links back to your home page or wherever you want them to go.
Implement SEO
If you want to show up on search engine results, make sure you’re doing at least the bare minimum when it comes to search engine optimization. Check out this blog post all about SEO for some pointers!
Cookie Banner
You want to make sure you’re letting your audience know how you’re using their data. Websites with visitors from the EU must use a consent banner that provides EU citizens with these rights. You can research GDPR to learn more.
Test your website on mobile
Don’t forget about mobile! Open your site on a mobile device, tablet, and multiple desktop monitor sizes to make sure it’s loading properly and all the text is easy to read.
Debug your Facebook preview link
Sometimes when you post your site to Facebook and it shows preview information, it doesn’t load the most recent thumbnail or website title. To fix that, go to the Facebook Debugger Tool, paste in your domain and click “debug.”