Launching a new website can be a lengthy endeavor, but no phase is more critical than the few days immediately before and after its launch. This is the make-or-break window of action that will largely determine whether your site is a success or a flop. Use this checklist to help guide your rollout.
Before Your Site Goes Live...
1 - Do a full content review.
No matter how many eyeballs are on your content, there's a high likelihood of mistakes still slipping through. Give every page a thorough rundown, looking for any grammar errors, spelling mistakes, especially homonyms that spellcheck won't catch, missing or temporary graphics, and broken links.
One editing trick that always works: Read the content out loud. You'll virtually always catch more minor mistakes that way, as well as spotting awkward sentences.
2 - Verify your SEO and metadata.
The webpage code should be double-checked as thoroughly as the visible content to ensure full SEO performance. All pages should have unique titles and descriptions, and all major content should have relevant metatags. All code for utilizing outside sites, such as rich media tags, should be tested for functionality.
3 - Test on as many browsers as possible.
Remember, your visitors could be coming from several different operating systems, on devices ranging from 4" smartphones to 40" SmartTVs, each of which inevitably has a range of browsers to choose from. For the best effect it should render correctly on as many as possible, and with nearly identical user experiences on each.
The more browsers testing you do beforehand will ensure the widest range of visitors can enjoy your content, as well as preventing any embarrassing oversights or needless complaints.
After Your Site Goes Live...
1 - Secure everything.
When a site is under development, security is often lax, as many people often need access to the site and server. After it goes live, all passwords should be changed, for safety and general peace of mind. Be sure all passwords are strong, to reduce the chances of anyone breaking in.
2 - Add your robots.txt, XML sitemap, and analytics.
After the site goes live, be certain that web spiders can see and index it properly. This is a good time to verify your robots.txt is properly formatted, and to generate the XML sitemap that ensures Google can see all your pages. Submit the sitemap to Google for faster processing.
Likewise, this is the time to insert the code needed for the analytics system you're using, and to ensure it's working.
3 - Verify your backups.
If the site is heavily-anticipated, it will likely be under the most strain in the first few days. This is when it's vital to have disaster-ready and fully up-to-date backups in place just in case an emergency occurs. You can't afford to stumble during your big debut.
The key takeaway here is simply: Be diligent when launching your site. Thoroughly reviewing your materials is the best guarantee against any potential problems.
