Launching your website: The ultimate checklist - Part 2

Launching your website is an important step for any business. So you should take the time to do it right. In our first blog post in this series, we discussed what you should do before you decide to launch your website. In this second part, we will cover what you should be doing during your website launch in order to make sure that it goes as smoothly as possible.

1. Check your content - Just prior to launching your website, you should double-check your content. Get a second opinion by asking your friends, business associates or trusted partners to take a look at your website too. You may have written the content yourself, but we are only human, and mistakes do get missed. Check all of your content before launching your website to the public.
2. Check your images - On occasion a web designer will put a placeholder image until they receive the correct one. Ensure these are all removed and the right images are displayed before you launch your website.
3. Check your styling preferences - Is your branding correct are the colours and styling consistent throughout your website? Are your paragraphs, headers and other formatting correct? Although these are small details, they are important to ensure your website is aesthetically pleasing - it does represent your business after all.
4. Test the user experience (UX) - You have the final say on your website and it's important that it reflects you and your business. But you should check your website from a customer perspective too. How easy is it to navigate? Is it simple and straightforward, or does it make your website look like a messy free-for-all of information?
5. Check your forms - If you have any forms on your website - you should check that they are working correctly. Does the data go where it should go? Are there contact forms? If so, check that the emails submitted actually go to their destination.
6. Check your licenses - Ensure the rights to images, fonts and other content have been properly licensed or cited. Even if you outsource your website design, you are still responsible. Make sure any images or fonts being used are licensed or properly cited.
7. Ensure website links work correctly - Does clicking on buttons take you where they should? Are there any dead-links in the footer that shouldn't be there? This will also influence the user experience.
8. Check your backup strategy - Although website issues are few and far between, you should be prepared just in case. Your website should have the proper security and backup to ensure you don't lose any data. Luckily for you (if you are a Web Guys customer), we take care of all of this for you. So you never have to worry about losing any important information.
9. Social media - Social media is a must when promoting your website launch. Whether you already have channels set up or you are just starting out, you should be posting all about your new website on there.

Whether this is your first website or you are launching a newly revamped website - you should be following this checklist to ensure the best possible website launch. Keep your eyes peeled for part 3 coming soon. We hope that you got value from our blog post to help with your business. If you are looking to create a new website or your current site need updating then contact our director of business development Gary on sales@thewebguys.co.uk to take your online presence to the next level. If you need help and assistance with a brand new website, then why not schedule a 1-2-1 chat with our Web Guy Jon? He can talk you through all the ways you can make your website work. We can help you to create a top-quality website that you can use to sell your products or services – we will help you to get your website up and running and advise you on how to really make the most of your website >>> Get started today.

Essential Tools for Your Pre-Launch Technical Audit

Simply clicking around your site isn't enough. To ensure a technically sound launch, you should use specialised tools to audit performance and functionality. This demonstrates a professional approach and helps prevent common post-launch issues.

• Link Checking: Use a tool like Screaming Frog SEO Spider (the free version can crawl up to 500 URLs) to automatically find broken links (404 errors) or incorrect redirects. Manually checking every link is prone to error.
• Page Speed Analysis: Test key pages with Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix. These tools analyse loading speed and provide specific recommendations, such as optimising images or leveraging browser caching, which are crucial for both user experience and search rankings.
• Mobile and Browser Compatibility: Your site may look perfect on your screen but appear broken on others. Services like BrowserStack allow you to see how your website renders on dozens of different devices and browsers, helping you find and fix styling issues before users do.

How to Effectively Test Your Website's User Experience

The original article mentions checking UX from a customer's perspective, but how do you do this effectively? You are too close to the project to be objective. Follow this simple process to get real, unbiased feedback.

1. Define Key User Journeys: Identify 2-3 critical tasks a user should be able to complete easily. For example, finding your contact information, signing up for a newsletter, or purchasing a product.
2. Recruit Fresh Eyes: Ask 3-5 people who have never seen your website before to test it. These can be colleagues from other departments, friends, or family members.
3. Assign Tasks, Not Instructions: Don't tell them how to do it. Simply say, 'Please find our phone number' or 'Try to buy this item'.
4. Observe and Take Notes: Watch them navigate the site. Pay close attention to where they hesitate, seem confused, or click in the wrong place. This silent observation provides more valuable insights than directly asking for their opinion.

This method uncovers usability issues that you, the creator, would naturally overlook.

Frequently Asked Questions About Website Launches

Here are answers to some of the most common questions business owners have during the final stages of launching a new website.

• What is the most common technical mistake at launch?

  Forgetting to remove the 'noindex' tag. Developers often use this tag to block search engines from indexing a site during development. If it's not removed, your new website will be invisible to Google and other search engines.

• How do I check if my analytics are working?

  After installing your Google Analytics (or other) tracking code, use the 'Realtime' report. Open your website in a different browser or on your phone. If your visit appears in the Realtime report within a minute, the tracking is working correctly.

• Should I submit a sitemap immediately after launch?

  Yes. An XML sitemap helps search engines discover all the pages on your new site more quickly. Once the site is live, generate your sitemap and submit its URL through Google Search Console. This is a crucial step for prompt indexing.

The Critical SEO Pre-Launch Checklist

Beyond content and design, a successful launch requires ensuring your website is ready for search engines from day one. Missing these steps can seriously hinder your visibility.

• Title Tags and Meta Descriptions: Quickly review every key page. Does each one have a unique, descriptive title tag and a compelling meta description? These are critical for click-through rates from search results.
• Robots.txt File: Ensure you have a robots.txt file in your root directory. This file tells search engines which pages they should not crawl. Check that it isn't accidentally blocking important parts of your site.
• Analytics and Search Console: Verify that your analytics platform (like Google Analytics 4) is installed and collecting data. Also, ensure your site is verified with Google Search Console, which is essential for monitoring search performance and submitting sitemaps.
• URL Structure: Are your URLs clean, logical, and easy to read? For example, your-site.com/services/web-design is better than your-site.com/p?id=123. Confirm your final URL structure is in place before launch.