The launch date for your new website is getting close! It’s a very exciting time, but it can also feel a little scary since your site will soon be live for everyone to see.
The role of web developer goes beyond writing code. I also ensure every detail is checked before your website is made public.
Here’s a checklist that I use before launching a website.
Proofread everything
- Look at key pages and ensure there is no typos and grammatical errors. As a client who will use and update the website, it’ll also be your responsibility to check headlines, captions etc on other pages.
Images
- Check the quality – high enough so it’s not blurry, low enough so it doesn’t take ages to download. Use websites like tinypng to optimise your images.
- Images have alt text, and optionally a caption
Links
- Check internal and external links to avoid linking to a 404 page.
Unpublish / delete test pages
- When developing a website, we often create test pages to experiment with layouts or for training. Even if these pages aren’t visible in the navigation, search engines can still find and index them, which can hurt your site’s credibility. It’s important to make sure we either unpublish or delete these pages before the site goes live.
Finalise legal pages
- Privacy policy, terms & conditions and cookie banners are now elements that must exist on the website. Make sure those are up to date before launch.
Review security / SSL
- An SSL certificate needs to be set up through your hosting provider. Make sure it’s installed and active so your website uses a secure HTTPS connection.
Set up analytics and tracking
- The only way you can measure your website’s success is if you can track how it is being used. There are multiple tools available that would help you track who goes to your site and what they are doing.
Basic SEO
- Make sure your key pages have a SEO friendly title and description.
- Make sure that URL structure follows a logic pattern
I hope this checklist is a useful guide for you. A successful website launch isn’t just about flipping a switch; it’s about making sure your site is a strong, credible, and high-performing asset from day one.
If you’re planning a new website and want a partner who can handle every detail—from the initial design to the final launch—I’d love to chat. Feel free to reach out and let’s talk about how we can make your next project a seamless success.