Here at Charley Grey, we know how important a website can be to the success of your business. There is a lot that goes into building a website, and getting all of the details right can make or break your brand. When a website goes live, small details are often overlooked or completely forgotten, resulting in a poor launch that can ruin the website’s unveiling and add unnecessary costs. For this reason, making sure your website is ready to go live before launch is essential.
Whether you’re the owner of a business or a website developer, you must know what should be on your to-do list before you can launch the site. Going live is a delicately coordinated dance of activities, so our staff here at Charley Grey has compiled this helpful guide to make sure your website launch goes off without a hitch.
How to Make Sure Your Website is Ready to Go Live!
Domain Name
Your website’s domain name is essentially an easy-to-remember shortcut for clients and customers to access information about your business. In today’s technological society, people are always accessing the Internet, so it is crucial to choose a domain name that reflects your brand. This name will be the foundation of your website and will be the reason many people visit it, so it’s important to choose something catchy and informative.
Browser Check
Before deeming your website design perfect and complete, be sure to check that the look of your website is the way you want it across multiple Internet browsers and devices. Some website design features display differently on Google Chrome than on Firefox, and some display improperly or not at all on Internet Explorer. It is vital to make sure your website is compatible with all major web browsers and that the feel of your website is exactly what you want it to be, no matter how people are accessing it.
Proofread
This may seem unnecessary, but spelling mistakes on websites can have a significant effect on how much traffic your site receives. Before launching your new website, be sure to double and triple check all page titles and descriptions as well as any other text for spelling and grammar mistakes.
Make sure there are clear and concise headlines on every page so clients and customers can scan your website’s content to find exactly what they’re looking for. You should read your entire site before going live to ensure its quality and content. We also suggest having someone else look over it, just in case there’s anything you missed. You want to be sure there are no mistakes on your websites before you launch!
JavaScript
For your website to support and grow your business, it must be completely operational when JavaScript is turned off. JavaScript is a high-level programming language that most Internet users turn off to ensure the security of their devices. Because of this, it is imperative that your website works and looks perfect with JavaScript turned off. You can test your website’s JavaScript compatibility by disabling JavaScript in your browser and navigating your website to ensure everything is functioning correctly.
Demographics
Before launching your website, you want to ensure that it will appeal to your target audience. Do market research on your target audience depending on age, location, or interests, and be sure your website gives them the best user experience. It can also be helpful to check out your competitors and see what they may be doing correctly or incorrectly. This research can give you a better idea of what your website needs to be ready to go live.
Content Creation
To guarantee the success of your website, we suggest having at least a month’s worth of content ready before your launch. The first few weeks are critical to a website’s success as you scramble for new traffic. Having blog content prepared ahead of time allows you to provide a steady stream of information to your clients and customers. It also proves that your website is a serious source of information that your website visitors need!
SSL Certificate
It is imperative these days that sites are secured with an SSL Certificate. You can purchase one of these easily through your web host. Google will soon stop ranking sites that are unsecured and therefore potentially open to threats of data theft.
Is Your Website Ready to Go Live: Final Checklist
Once you’ve completed all of the above, your website is almost ready to launch! Before going live, we suggest double-checking these final questions:
- Is your website’s hosting account prepared?
- If you have an existing website, did you back it up?
- Did you fully complete alpha and beta testing of the site?
- Did your web developer complete their pre-launch checklist?
- Is your site’s content and data structure optimized?
- Do you have an SSL Certificate ready to be installed?
Choose Charley Grey, Indiana’s Best Web Design Agency
If this all sounds like a headache to you, we get it! That is why at Charley Grey, we offer fully managed websites, complete with ALL of the above and so much more. Stop fussing with your website, hosting, security, and all of the other upkeep it takes to have a successful website in today’s internet world. For more information about how Charley Grey can help you meet all of your website goals, visit us on our website.