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It goes without saying that creating a website to promote your brand is a highly beneficial, yet demanding task. We all know that the devil’s in the details! Therefore, you need to be extremely alert as to what could possibly go wrong. Under such circumstances, a website launch checklist can be of great help.
Let’s think of launching a website as a journey. Wouldn’t you write/imagine a to-do list to make the most out of your trip and make it a delightful experience and avoid any trouble? Well, by creating a website launch checklist, you make sure you have a well-developed platform to promote your business and boost website conversion for it.
In this article, we have provided you with a complete guide on launching a website to help you overcome the struggle! The precise checklist we have prepared for you helps you build everything up from scratch! However, if you’re running a hectic lifestyle and need a CRO tool to help you keep an eye on everything, sign up here to get the best results!
Let’s dive right in then!
Building a Website Checklist
Like any other task you want to do perfectly, creating a well-designed website checklist requires a flawless plan. The purpose of having such a detailed and precise plan is to help the users easily browse and find what they are looking for.
There shouldn’t be too many categories because users will get confused and leave your page, actually, the best design is one in which visitors are able to find what they want in three clicks. Your website checklist should also include three different sections:
1- Pre-launch checklist
2- During the launch checklist
3- Post-launch checklist
Let’s dive a bit deeper into each checklist for a website launch.
1- Website Pre-Launch Checklist
Before you launch, you need to create a checklist of the requirements. While stepping on this path, you need to think of your purpose and have an answer to “why should I build a website?.” After that, you have to consider adding related content in an eye-catching way.
| Before You Launch |
| Identify your purpose |
| Choose your web-building way |
| Check visuals |
| Check content |
| Check the layout |
| Pick the best pricing plan |
| Go for your website address |
1- Identify Your Purpose
The very first step to take is identifying the purpose that lies behind building a website. This step is crucial since, in the long run, you will face less difficulty with the content you want to share, the design of your website, your website’s type, and of course, its name!
You should also be aware of different types of websites and their usage; for example, the blog is the most common type of website and is mainly used for writing guest posts and lifestyles. A portfolio is another common website type and is used for photography and graphic design.
2- Choose Your Web Building Way
At this stage of the website launch checklist, you normally face one of the three options below. Although the three options are practical and useful, you need to choose a method based on your ability, needs, and budget.
- Ask a web designer to help
It is always wise and easy to ask professionals to help; they can do what you want in a faster and more efficient way. It may sound easy; however, you still need to participate in every single step to make sure the designer is doing the exact thing you want.
- Use an open-source platform:
More and more people are turning their faces toward open-source platforms such as WordPress or any other similar platforms. Still, WordPress is the most popular platform.
- Use a website builder:
Website builders are quite easier, faster, and more cost-friendly than other options. These kinds of websites provide you with a considerable number of templates that are editable; therefore website builders come in handy for very basic websites to professional ones.
3- Check Visuals
How your website looks is an important matter. So make sure you include this in your website launch checklist. Basically, you want to make it aesthetically pleasing, eye-catching, and at the same time, easy to follow. All you need to do is consider a couple of factors.
- White spaces
Your visitors will soon leave your page if they face lots of lines with no white space. All they see would be sentences running into each other, and they will have sore eyes after a couple of minutes.
- Fonts
You probably know the font you choose needs to be appropriate for the purpose of your website; for instance, gothic font is definitely inappropriate for a cooking blog.
- Images
Make sure to include images on your web page but choose them wisely. The images you upload should be related, unique, and high-quality.
4- Check Content
Content is the most important part of your website. The content you share tells everything about you. After ensuring your content is good enough, it is time to check for any grammatical or spelling errors. In the end, it is the links’ turn. Check the links to see if they are working correctly and if they are directing you to the page you want.
5- Check the Layout
Do not forget to check your website layout on different devices. It should look good on mobile devices, tablets, and desktops.
6- Pick the Best Pricing Plan
Free trials are always tempting, but remember, they are often extremely limited. The worst part comes when the free trial time ends, and you lose complete access unless you upgrade to the paid plan. Although they are satisfying for the start, for a professional website, it is better not to use them. The next step is to think of the features that are required for your website and then, its future. Is it going to get bigger? If yes, choose a plan that has space for getting bigger.
7- Go For Your Website Address
In my opinion, choosing a domain name is the nicest part. It feels like deciding what others should know you with, and call you. Still, you need to think of some points before it is too late.
- Keep your domain name simple.
- Choose a memorable name.
- Avoid confusing parameters such as numbers or hyphens.
- Don’t copy another website’s domain name.
- Think and decide fast before the domain name is taken.
2- During Launch Checklist
Now that you have created the first checklist, you should make sure that no issue is left unsolved. In other words, this is a checking stage to prevent any possible problem.
| During Launch Checklist |
| Check your text and design |
| Check sign-up buttons |
| Check SEO components |
| Check your meta description |
| Preview your website |
| Time to publish |
1- Check Your Text and Design
It is launch day, and you have to put all your attention into any unrealized errors. You should double-check the spelling or grammatical errors, double-check your design and its appearance, and set up a pre-launch page to find out how it is going to be shown to users.
2- Check the Sign-Up Buttons
Yes, you have checked the links once in the pre-launch website checklist; here, you want to double-check the links, sign-up buttons, and CTAs. Even if a single button is not working, your conversion rate drops drastically.
3- Check SEO Components
Google will rank your website if you know how to implement SEO components. Your website needs unique page titles with a particular purpose. Neither Google nor visitors want an old idea to be repeated.
Another thing to examine is the website load time. A page with a load time of more than 4 seconds is less likely to succeed in converting users. To optimize your site, you should check your keywords, the structure of your page, the pages you link to, and your meta description.
4- Check Your Meta Description
The meta description is a super effective element as it can make users click and land on your site or turn their back and leave. At this stage, you are supposed to check your meta for any spelling or grammatical errors and make sure that your meta is compelling and engaging enough.
5- Preview Your Website
Never underestimate the importance of previewing your website before publishing it. With a simple click and previewing your site before publishing it, you can make sure that there is no issue, and you will rock!
The most common problems that you can find out while previewing are the links and CTA buttons, design issues, and image load time. You also have another chance to check for any grammatical issues, punctuation, or spelling mistakes that you have missed.
6- Time to Publish
This is the coolest and easiest part; all you need to do is hit the publish button, and BOOM! You are done! Now it’s Google’s turn to send its crawlers to your website to evaluate it and decide where to put it. Here is the sweet part; type your website URL, and voila! You can see your website!
3- Post-Launch Checklist
Congratulations on your website launch! But there are still things to check!
No worries though, this is the last checklist you are facing.
| After You Launch |
| Configure SEO plugin |
| Check Emails |
| Backlinks |
| Set up WatchThemLive analytics |
| Add your site to Google Search Console |
1- Configure SEO plugin
An SEO plugin is a must as it allows you to have a more attractive website, have more website visits, and as a result, increase engagement. An SEO plugin enables you to optimize keywords, preview your website to see how they look on search engines, check your content readability, etc.
2- Check Emails
Make sure all the emails you have set work and check the mail button (if you have implemented one) to see if the address is the one that you set. For the last step, enter information and submit to see if you receive the email or not.
3- Backlinks
Backlinks are links from one website to another website, and they are crucial for your website. Asking why? Because backlinks cause your website to be known as a trusted one, and Google will rank it higher if it has a considerable number of backlinks.
4- Set Up WatchThemLive Analytics
So far, you have done so much, now you need to know who exactly your visitors are, where are they from, and how those visitors are interacting with your website.
To get all that information, you can simply install an analytics tool like WatchThemLive and check on your visitors’ behavior with the help of features like heatmaps or session replays. WatchThemLive is a very user-friendly platform, easy to set up, and you can use their free plan.
What Is WatchThemLive?
WatchThemLive is a behavior analytics tool that provides its users with advantageous features to optimize their experience. The features include session recordings, heatmaps, user tracking, and goal tracking.
5- Add Your Website to Google Search Console
The Google Search Console is a tool that helps you check if your website is working properly in the eye of search engines, and you will be notified if it finds any. More importantly, adding your website to Google Search Console enables you to index your website pages and reach some excellent SEO tips.
FAQs about Website Launch Checklist
So far, we’ve discussed every step you need to take to launch your website as successfully as possible. Now, let’s focus on some of your frequently asked questions to help you master the website launch checklist!
Q1. Why WordPress?
WordPress is a great free platform for building complex websites. WordPress is also highly flexible, easy to use, and SEO-friendly. Having all the mentioned qualities, this platform can help in building different types of websites, while you can have an eye on your website’s SEO.
Q2. Should I Be a Web Designer to Launch a Website?
The short answer is no. Thanks to site builder plugins, even inexperienced and amateur people can now create a website with the help of drag-and-drop site editors.
Q3. How Long Does It Take My Website To Be Ranked By Google?
Generally, it takes a recently launched website three to six months to get ranked by Google. However, you can speed up this process by using pay-per-click ads. The ads then show your site in the top results for a specific keyword. Indeed, you will only get the best results if you have checked every step on your website launch checklist!
Conclusion
Any website launch checklist should include a pre-launch checklist, a during-launch checklist, and a post-launch checklist. The checklists can put your mind at ease, help you act more organized, and reduce the mistakes you might make.
For better results, you can make use of a behavior analytic tool like WatchThemLive, which provides you with amazing features such as heatmaps and session replays. The mentioned features help you capture all your users’ interactions and rank higher on search engines safely.
Sign up here and go from zero and build the best website ever with WatchThemLive!
