Six Steps to Complete Prior to Website Launch

Whatever your level of experience, launching your website can be a complex, multi-layered, and stressful task. Any number of things could go wrong. You might miss small errors such as a broken link or misspelled word, or you might mistakenly forget to set up the appropriate site redirects.

At NOYO Web Development, we would really like to be your web development team. However, if you want to attempt a DIY website launch, we have created a checklist for you to follow the best practices prior to the big day when your site goes live. We based this list on our extensive website and digital marketing experience. Adhering to each step will help ensure that your website performance remains optimized. If you have an existing site, you can still review this list to improve your website performance.

While your particular project may need to check off the boxes in a different order, generally speaking, you will need to conduct a review on each step.

1. Review all content. Take the time to review all of the content on your site. If you can, hire a professional editor to at least proofread or make suggestions for SEO optimization. In addition, you should review all videos and images to ensure the content is in line with your objectives. You should verify their loading times.
   This is a good time to review your content strategy. Update your target keywords as necessary and make edits across your entire site.
2. Enable responsive design. Hammer out any design issues to make sure that the site draws the viewer in. Now more than ever, it is important to make sure your website is completely responsive and looks great on all web browsers and across all devices. Test out the site on a desktop, laptop, tablet, and mobile device to make sure it projects your desired branding and message.
3. Check functionality. Make sure all details and features are functioning correctly across your site. This may include elements such as lead generation forms, email list signups, comments, and social sharing. Having a function that does not properly work is a great way to turn the user off in a hurry. This can also include internal and external links, as well as optimizing the site speed to make sure it loads as quickly as possible.
4. Prepare analytics. Once you have launched your website, you want to track its performance and make adjustments as necessary. You will need to test various aspects of performance, and you will need to decide which analytics to follow over time to know what works and what doesn’t work. Conduct a web crawl to ensure your analytics programs are correctly reporting the key data you need.
5. Use proven SEO techniques. If you want real visitors to your site, you will need some SEO help to accomplish this objective. And who doesn’t want real potential customers? Use current search engine optimization techniques, such as having unique met descriptions and unique page titles in place prior to launch. You may also want o consider a link outreach plan, including ideas on how to maximize your launch and generate buzz to create success.
6. Back up your site. Lastly, prior to launching your site, back up the data. This will help prevent any loss of data by setting up site security and regularly backing up the site. This will also help address malware attempts while making sure that copies of your site are regularly stored. That’s peace of mind for you.

If you prefer not to do your own website launch, give us a call at NOYO Web Development. We have created highly functional, stunning websites for global enterprises and SMEs. Give us a call at 619-929-0381 today.