There are a lot of elements when it comes to building a new website. Whether you're creating a brand-new website or redesigning an existing one the process of launching your new site can be daunting.
There are a lot of moving parts when it comes to launching a new website. A web design project requires effective communications across the various teams involved in the plan: your marketing team drafting content, your design team choosing the layout and corresponding images, your technical development team working on the back-end. To ensure no ones’ lines get crossed and that everyone is on the same page it’s important to lay out a plan.
Below are some dos and don'ts to help you prepare for the day you've been waiting for, your new website's launch!
Dos
Set a launch schedule. Make a checklist, and share it with the entire team. Who’s in charge of QA and when is it taking place? What time exactly is the launch? These are questions you want answered before your site goes live.
List out action items, roles, and responsibilities and make sure you have a plan for a worst-case scenario. Start testing that your website performs well in all major browsers, on mobile as well as tablets. Conduct a stress-test and double-check that your site will not crash do to many users at once.
Have several members of your team conduct a QA of the site at large. Ensure all internal and external links are in working condition and make sure your site logo links to the homepage. Check to see that all external content is in the correct place and is labeled correctly. Use a crawler to assist if necessary and make sure you don’t run into any 404 errors on your pages.
Take the time to do a deep review of content and copy, reading through for spelling and grammar errors. Ensure your site is ready for new visitors who will be looking at the page with fresh eyes. Also be sure to comb through and check for any left over Lorem Ipsum, or other placeholder text and images.
Don'ts
Don’t try to do it on your own. Delegate jobs across your team. If you try and handle everything by yourself things will slip through the cracks.
Don’t forget about social media. Make sure your visitors can easily find the links to your social channels on the home page and across the site. Social media is an essential digital marketing strategy and should go hand in hand with your website. You can also use your social channels to promote your new site once you are ready to go live.
Don’t assume people will just find your new website. Make sure to invest in pre and post-launch marketing. Share the news about the new website and build up anticipation and excitement with your audience. Once you’ve launched, follow through and continue to ramp up marketing efforts to direct traffic to your new site.
Don’t ignore data and analytics. Make sure your website is set up to capture web data and analytics. Make sure to add Google analytics to your site and continuously track and utilize this information. This will help you to continually improve your website as you grow and move forward
Ensure your website's success
This list is by no means exhaustive and there are many nuances that you will want to check and double check to ensure everything runs smoothly before launch. Take a deep breath and remember that you are bound to encounter a few hiccups during your launch process. That's okay! Once again ensure you have a great team behind you and a plan in case you do run into any major issues. Launching your organization's new and improved website is exciting. You're on your way to more engagement and a complete and well-rounded brand for your company.
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