The business website launch is no less than going on a trip. The excitement level is at peak. Right? Since you have worked so hard on that dazzling design, rocking content and marvelous UI, you can no longer wait to share it with the world.
However, a test is always required before you move ahead to launch your store. This is important to avoid a lot of things that could go wrong with the website launch. For example, if you forget to test important data capture form, you will definitely lose out on a bunch of leads. Similarly, if you forget to set up proper redirects, you may lose a good amount of traffic. So, to eliminate the if’s and but’s, you must have a comprehensive checklist to run down before your website launch.
Start by writing a checklist that could be used for all kinds of business like enterprise website, landing page and everything in the middle. This list can further be customized based on your business needs.
So, here it is, Let us give a start!
Setup Your Website with Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)
AMP or Accelerated Mobile Pages is a stripped version of a page that helps in loading the content quickly on mobile devices. This should be taken care of nicely because AMP takes care of ranking metrics. Google always gives preference to websites that are optimized for higher search rankings. AMP makes sure that your website pages load quickly and offer a smooth browsing experience. This results in increased Google rankings.
To implement AMP in your website, you can refer online articles and tech support docs. Besides, there are many plugins available for WordPress and Joomla. These plugins will help you integrate the feature in your website.
Test Your Page Loading Speed After the Website Launch
Website speed is the time it takes to load each page. It affects user experience, conversion rate along with search engine ranking. Back in 2010, Google made the page load a significant ranking factor.
It is also recommended to use site speed tester like Google PageSpeed Insights to view a broad picture of website loading speed. Other than this, you should always use high-quality servers that keep up with the website heavy traffic. Browser caching must be enabled and so on. Use of excessive images, video and other media can also potentially slow down the ranking speed of your website. These are some important parameters to look into for maintaining a quick running website.
The Layout Should Look Great
To ensure that your website looks great and is easily navigable, you should have a great logo design. It must be appealing and professional. Images must be positioned optimally. They should be easy to operate on mobile devices also. All these elements collectively contribute to a seamless experience.
The Design Must Be Responsive
It is important to ensure that you have a design that is pixel-perfect. If you have a responsive website, it will look good on the laptop, tablet, desktop, and mobile phones, etc. Similarly, the website pages are compatible across devices like Android, iPhone, Tablets, and Desktop. Responsive websites generate better leads and maintain a competitive edge. To avail of these advantages, it is important to have a responsive website.
Test Whether Your Website Is SEO Ready
Right from the website architecture, content hierarchy, meta data and XML site maps, everything must be assessed properly. A proper keyword research which helps you identify which keyword phrases to target. Each page must have a unique page title. Keyword stuffing must be avoided. Targeted keywords must be included in the meta description, titles and headers. Relevant tags must be added to the content. URL’s should be brief and user-friendly. A dynamic XML sitemap should be created and submitted to search engines. 301 redirects should be in place for all odd URLs.
Have Security And Data Backup in Place
The loss of crucial data can be prevented by setting up site security along with regular monitoring and backups. Password and other crucial data must be stored in a secure database. Copy of the final website should be made for backup purposes.
Ensure that Your Website Complies with Laws and Regulations
It is important to ensure that your website complies with applicable laws and regulations. It is advisable to consult a legal counsel to make sure you are not missing on anything. Here are a few aspects you must consider:
- Web pages should offer accessibility for users with disabilities
- The website should compliant with usage rights for purchased or borrowed code, images and fonts
- Terms and privacy policies should be made visible to website visitors
- The website should be PCI compliant and SSL certificate should be installed properly
Create a Social Media Account for Your Brand
If there is no social media following your brand, people will not be able to reach you. Start by advertising yourself by creating the Facebook page and Twitter profile. Also, research some social media bloggers and reach out to them before the launch.
Monitor Bounce Rates
It is extremely important to analyze the bounce rate of your websites to check how the visitors are reacting to your website. Bounce rates should be as less as possible. A reduced bounce rate results in increased conversions.
Website Launch
Sometimes, obvious things are mostly overlooked. When selecting a website launch date, you need to be aware of certain things that happen around the same time. The launch of the website should be done in presence of IT team, developers and other agencies that are part of the team. Always select the date that has the least amount of impact on your business.
Over to You!
After going through this blog, you must have got a general idea of the important things that are required to be tested before launching a website. This website launch checklist will reduce some stress. By following this, you will know that you are not missing any important detail.
If you have some interesting points to add to this list, feel free to display off in the comments section below.
