{"id":15701,"date":"2020-09-16T14:54:46","date_gmt":"2020-09-16T19:54:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/?p=15701"},"modified":"2020-09-16T15:05:48","modified_gmt":"2020-09-16T20:05:48","slug":"final-checklist-before-launching-website","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/final-checklist-before-launching-website\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Final Checklist Before Launching Your Website"},"content":{"rendered":"

You\u2019re so close. Your designer has sent over the finished website. It looks good and checks all the boxes you need it to. You\u2019re almost<\/em> ready to launch.<\/p>\n

This is a big moment, but before you actually put your website out into the world, you want to be extra sure everything is just right. Devote a little more time to completing these 15 steps and you can launch with total confidence that your website is ready.<\/p>\n

Review Every Page<\/h2>\n

Your first few steps can all be treated as one big project. You want to go through the entire website, page by page, and do each of the following on every page as you go. Keep a spreadsheet as you go through this process to help you keep up with which pages are complete and what updates you still need to make.<\/p>\n

1. Proofread each page.<\/h3>\n

Even the best writers and editors know how easily a typo or misused word can slip through. Even if your copywriter or content team proofread everything once already, do it one more time. Read over every page on the website to make sure it makes sense, supports your brand strategy, and doesn\u2019t include any embarrassing typos or grammatical errors.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0Check that paragraph styles and spacing are working correctly.<\/h3>\n

Sometimes the formatting that looks just right in a word processor ends up looking funny on your website, or the spacing gets messed up in the transfer.<\/p>\n

In addition to checking for typos, check to make sure the text on each page is formatted in a way that looks good and makes it easy to read, and that the spacing is consistent throughout.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0Check the links on each page.<\/h3>\n

While you\u2019re on each page of the site, go through and click on every link. You want to make sure that:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. None of the links are broken.<\/li>\n
  2. They all take you to the page they\u2019re supposed to.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    In the future, you can use a free broken link checker tool<\/a> to help, but for now when you want to check for all three things, you should do it manually.<\/p>\n

    4. Confirm that all images load correctly.<\/h3>\n

    A website with images that don\u2019t load looks sloppy and will tarnish your brand\u2019s reputation. Review each page to ensure that all images are showing up as they should both the important images that are large on the page, and the smaller stuff like social media icons.<\/p>\n

    Nothing turns a user away than arriving on a website that looks like this:<\/p>\n

    \"Check<\/p>\n

    5. Confirm on-page optimization.<\/h3>\n

    Search engines completely dominate the way people use the web today. Therefore, every website owner has to think about SEO. Hopefully, by the time you\u2019ve reached this point your webpages are already optimized for SEO, but you should make a point to check that all of them have basic on-page optimization down.<\/p>\n

    That means that you\u2019ve:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Determined a keyword to optimize each page for based on research<\/a>.<\/li>\n
    2. Included the keyword in: the URL for each page, the title tag, the page headings, the copy for the page and the image names and alt text.<\/li>\n
    3. Write a meta description that includes the keyword.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      While you\u2019re checking that each of these fields has been filled in and includes your keyword, also make sure that everything is spelled correctly. Sometimes it\u2019s easy to forget to proofread the stuff that\u2019s not on the page itself. Don\u2019t make that mistake.<\/p>\n

      Keep in mind here that you don\u2019t want to overdo it. Keyword stuffing is bad for SEO<\/a> and more importantly, for the user experience. Make sure all uses of the keyword feel natural and don\u2019t hinder how a visitor would experience and understand the page.<\/p>\n

      6. On each page, ask yourself: is it clear what you want the visitor to do next?<\/h3>\n

      Before you move onto the next webpage, confirm that you know what the goal for the page is and feel confident that the design, copy, and images all work to support that goal. If you want people on that page to sign up for your email list, make sure the email signup form is easy to find and the page makes it clear why it\u2019s worth it for visitors to do so.<\/p>\n

      If the goal of the page is to sell a product, make sure that the copy is persuasive and the next steps to complete a purchase are clear.<\/p>\n

      Your website as a whole should have a goal, but each individual webpage should as well. Use this step to make sure those goals are clear and the pages are ready to meet them.<\/p>\n

      Check the Website Functionality<\/h2>\n

      The page-by-page review will take time, but it accomplishes some really important tasks. Once you\u2019ve gotten through that, there are a few things you need to look into about how the site works as a whole.<\/p>\n

      7. Check how it looks on mobile.<\/h3>\n

      A lot of the people that come to your website will be doing so on their mobile devices.\u00a0 You have to make sure your website is mobile friendly. If you are using a mobile responsive design theme (most are these days), you can mark this off your to-do list!<\/p>\n

      Start by simply pulling up your website on your own mobile phone and doing some browsing. Does it look ok? Is it easy to find what you need and move from one page to the next? Try filling out a form or making a purchase. Was any part of the process difficult to do? Are all the buttons large enough to easily tap with your finger?<\/p>\n

      You can also use Google\u2019s mobile-friendly test<\/a> tool to see if the search engine deems your website a good experience on mobile (which matters for SEO). If the tool determines that your website isn\u2019t mobile friendly, it will give you tips on what changes to make.<\/p>\n

      \"Mobile<\/p>\n

      8.\u00a0Check the site speed.<\/h3>\n

      People don\u2019t have the patience for a slow loading website. In fact, people now expect websites to load in less than a second<\/a>. If your website makes them wait, there\u2019s a good chance they\u2019ll click away<\/a> and find themselves another website to visit instead, potentially one of your competitors.<\/p>\n

      Site speed is also an important ranking factor for search engine optimization. So you’ll want to make sure that your website loads quickly.<\/p>\n

      You can find a number of free site speed tools on the internet to test your site with, such as GTMetrix<\/a> and Page Scoring<\/a>, both of which provide reports that help you understand what\u2019s working and what\u2019s slowing your site down if it\u2019s not fast enough.<\/p>\n

      \"GT<\/p>\n

      \"Page<\/strong><\/p>\n

      9.\u00a0Test it on different browsers.<\/h3>\n

      Different visitors will be coming to your website through different browsers. By this point, you\u2019ve checked how the website looks through the browser you use the most often. Now it\u2019s time to go back and test it out in all the others.<\/p>\n

      The most popular browsers<\/a> you should be sure to check are:<\/p>\n