Congratulations! Your new website has finally gone live, and you can cross “launch website” off your checklist. Now that the project is complete, you may think your work is done. But there are still some last-minute tasks you need to accomplish first.
Our website post-launch checklist will guide you through these essential final steps.
1. Test the site again for user experience (UX).
To ensure there were no problems with the implementation, double-check that the UX remains the same as before the site went live.
- Does your design display correctly across browsers and devices?
- Is CSS/HTML accurately validated?
- Is CSS styling displaying correctly?
- Are internal links working accurately across web pages?
- Are external links also working correctly? And do they open in a new tab?
- Are favicons in place and displaying correctly?
- Are social media share icons functioning properly?
- Are feeds working correctly (social media, news, RSS)?
- Is the company logo linked to the homepage?
- Are 404 Redirect pages in place (page-not-found.aspx)?
2. Ensure your conversion path works appropriately.
Test and validate all the various features on your website. Ensure that lead generation forms, CRM integration, and every other technology works perfectly across your website.
- Are forms submitting data accurately?
- Is form data getting emailed to a recipient and/or stored in a company database?
- Are there page displays or thank you messages after forms are submitted?
- Are auto-responders working correctly (if applicable)?
3. Confirm that integrations with third-party tools are functioning smoothly.
Integrations such as your e-commerce software, CRM, and/or marketing platform link to your website and help you conduct business. You must find any possible issue that can cause data loss immediately.
4. Ensure backups are in place.
Check the implementation of your backup strategy. To avoid losing all your hard work, make sure that ongoing copies of your website are being created and stored regularly.
5. Verify your site is secure.
This step is undoubtedly the most critical post-launch step because your website must be secure and safe from hackers.
- Install 24/7 monitoring scripts.
- Establish a plan for updating plugins (if applicable).
- Purchase an SSL certificate, if necessary. Since it takes up to two weeks to set up, make sure you have the SSL certificate before your launch date.
- Ensure that relevant parties know your company’s password etiquette policies.
6. Follow all applicable laws.
Does your website comply with all applicable laws and regulations? Internet law can be complicated, and every industry has specific rules. This post is not legal guidance, so consult with your legal counsel to ensure you aren’t missing anything.
7. Crawl your site to check your technical SEO components for errors.
Crawl your site again to ensure that no errors occurred post-launch. Compare this crawl to the previous one and look for discrepancies. Also, make sure all formatting is consistent.
With your crawl, recheck your technical SEO components again.
- Are all page titles, meta descriptions, and URLs present and accurate?
- Is load time acceptable and optimized?
- Has a dynamic XML sitemap been created and submitted to search engines?
- Do page URLs consistently reflect site information architecture?
- Are 301 redirects in place for all old URLs (redirecting old to new pages)?
- Are rel=“nofollow” tags in place on relevant pages and links?
- Are images on the site adequately compressed to help with load time?
8. Optimize your metadata.
- Are spelling and grammar correct in all metadata?
- Have alt tags been added to every image?
- Is metadata properly in place for any content in an RSS feed?
- Is metadata accurately in place for any social media sharing content?
9. Verify your analytics are working correctly.
Ensure your website is set up to capture analytics and web data. Having data for the first few months of your website’s launch is invaluable – it will provide key customer insights that will help you lay the foundation for a successful brand.
- Have analytics codes and tracking scripts been inserted on the website?
- Have relevant IP addresses been excluded from analytics tracking?
- Have funnels and goals been created correctly in your analytics software?
- Have Google Webmaster and Google Analytics accounts been appropriately synced?
- Have Google Ads accounts been synced (if applicable)?
10. Create a backup copy of the final website.
Once everything is finalized and functioning smoothly, you need to save a pristine copy in case you encounter data loss or corruption.
11. Promote your new website.
Finally, have fun promoting your new website! Creating a buzz around your new site launch will increase brand awareness and traffic to your site. Here are some of the best ways to get the word out.
- SEO – Search engine optimization is a vital source of organic traffic. If you have authoritative content tied to relevant keywords and your on-page SEO is up to speed, you should rank for queries essential to your business. Traffic to your site will increase once you start ranking on page one.
- Email Campaigns – Use your existing database and send an email promoting your new site. Explain what’s new and highlight valuable features. You may want to consider an email marketing campaign.
- Social Media – Promote your website launch on all your social media channels. Create engaging videos and add calls to action to your posts.
- Paid Advertising – Paid advertising can boost traffic – especially in the short term. There are many tools that will get your website in front of the right customers.
Bottom Line
Launching a new website is not a simple task – it takes tedious and dedicated work. Our pre-and-post launch checklists will help streamline the process and ensure nothing gets overlooked.
If your current website needs a refresh or you’re a new business ready to make a name for yourself online, contact us today for a FREE consultation.
Read More: What to do Before Beginning a Website Design
Read More: Website Pre-Launch Checklist