Congratulations! You’re on the brink of launching your brand new website. You’ve poured your heart and soul into crafting the perfect design, honing your content, and ensuring everything is just right. But before you make it live and unveil your masterpiece to the world, there are a few crucial things you need to double-check to ensure a smooth launch and optimal user experience. Here are five important things we always check before launching a website:
1.) Website Responsiveness for Various Devices
In today’s digital age, more people access the internet from mobile devices than ever before. It’s essential to ensure that your website looks and functions flawlessly across various screen sizes, from smartphones to tablets. Test your website on different devices and browsers to confirm that all elements are responsive and display correctly. A mobile-friendly website not only provides a better user experience but also boosts your search engine rankings, as search engines prioritize mobile-optimized sites.
2.) Contact Forms: Verifying Functionality for Seamless Communication
Your website’s contact forms are the gateway for potential customers to reach out to you, so it’s crucial to ensure they’re functioning correctly. Test each form to confirm that submissions are being received promptly and that you’re getting the information you need. Check to make sure you are getting the contact form inquiries. There is nothing worse than feeling like your inquiries aren’t coming through correctly. We recommend filling out the contact form or forms and submitting them to make sure they are sent and submitted correctly.
Also, this will allow you to test any sort of workflows or third party integrations for managing your clients. For example, we use Dubsado for our form so we made sure to test the embedded form and verify the proper workflow is triggered as well.
3.) Website SEO Configuration
Search engine optimization (SEO) is key to improving your website’s visibility and driving organic traffic. Before launching, review your website’s SEO settings, including meta titles and descriptions, and make sure your website doesn’t take forever to load =). Ensure that each page has unique and relevant meta titles and meta descriptions that accurately reflect its content.
Don’t forget to pay attention to image alt tags, heading structure (H1, H2, H3, etc.), and internal links to optimize your site for search engines. Most importantly, submit a sitemap if you haven’t already when you launch your website. A sitemap is crucial for notifying search engines of your website. Otherwise, it could take a while before they start sharing your website as a resource. If you need more guidance on your SEO, view our blog post, “A Simple Guide to A Great SEO Foundation for Your Website.”
4.) Test Your Buttons and Links
Buttons and links are essential elements of website navigation, guiding users to different pages and actions. Before launching, thoroughly check all buttons and links throughout your site to confirm they’re working correctly. Test navigation menus, internal links, external links, and any interactive elements such as buttons or calls-to-action. Ensure that clicking on each link leads to the intended destination without any errors or broken links.
A quick little tip for your SEO: if you do have links going to other websites or resources, make sure to open them in a new tab. You don’t want the user to leave your website. If you open the link in a new tab, your website will still be available for them to access whenever they are done. If you don’t open the link in a new tab, the user will be leaving your website, which isn’t what we want.
5.) Verify Your Email Opt-ins Work
If you’re collecting email addresses for newsletters, updates, or marketing purposes, it’s vital to confirm that your email opt-in forms are functioning properly. Test the opt-in process from start to finish, including subscribing, unsubscribing, and updating preferences. Verify that subscribers receive confirmation emails promptly and that their information is correctly stored in your email marketing platform.
It is especially important to test your freebies. You don’t want your users to sign up for an awesome freebie you created for them to never receive it. Again, if you do have workflows for your freebies, make sure you test to make sure the workflow sends the proper emails. If you are looking to start incorporating workflows for your emails, you can check out Flodesk. We use them for our email marketing, and they are amazing!
Launch Your Website with Confidence
By carefully reviewing these five essential aspects of your website before launching, you can ensure a seamless user experience, improve search engine visibility, and set yourself up for success. Remember, launching your website is just the beginning of your online journey. Continuously monitor and optimize your website as you grow, and don’t forget to send people to your new website to showcase your value!
Happy launching!
