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Launching a website is an exciting but sometimes stressful time. Months of hard work are finally coming to a close and your customers, no, The World will finally get a chance to see your amazing new site.
Before you start thinking about popping the champagne there are a few important steps that you can take to ensure things go smoothly.
Check the Functionality
Is it working?
Websites can range from the simplest of brochure sites to the most custom and complex builds. Regardless of your website’s functionality, it still needs to be given a thorough test both before the launch button is pressed and after.
This might include the most basic of visual checks through to more user intensive ones such as:
- checking forms submit properly
- emails are sending
- and, in the case of an eCommerce website, that orders can be processed effectively
You DO NOT want to be launching a website that is broken!
Be Prepared
Have your launch-day mise en place ready to go
Ease the stress of launch day by making sure you are prepared and everything that needs to be is ready to go.
However, also be aware that some things can take time and in some cases, you will not be in control of them. A classic example of this is when getting your website’s domain configured and pointing to your new website. Waiting at least for some time while the change propagates is inevitable.
This waiting time is an excellent opportunity to ensure that the pre-propagation checklist that you prepared earlier has been all checked off.
Check the Content
Too many cooks can spoil the broth
Content and copy errors are more likely to occur if you have multiple different people loading content into the site. Multiple people means multiple ways that content can be loaded either incorrectly, inconsistently or in an unfinished state.
Be sure to give the site a good read and check for common errors such as spelling mistakes, unwanted lorem ipsum text or incorrect/inconsistent heading text.
Think About SEO
You don’t want to lose your authority
A common scenario when launching a website is that the new site is replacing an existing site. This can throw up its own set of problems, not least of which is how your new site is going to be interpreted by search engines.
This problem arises because search engines already have a wealth of knowledge about your existing site. This memory of your old site, in conjunction with your new site’s sudden appearance, can confuse search engines and cause a drop in rankings, affect how your site is represented in search results pages, and lead to a dropoff in your search traffic.
As such, good SEO practices such as setting up redirects that point from the old site’s pages to the new ones must be adhered to.
Let Google Know
If Google can’t find you, no one else can
Speaking of search engines, the next step to ensure your website launch is successful is by telling the search engines (especially Google) about it! This gives them a chance to index your site (store information about it so it can be ranked in search results) and therefore get it in front of people’s noses.
The best way to do so is by carefully constructing a useful sitemap and submitting said sitemap to Google via Google’s Search Console.
Spread the Word
Is everyone in the know?
Chances are your new site is not completely new and is more of an upgrade on an existing site. In this case, you might have existing customers, users, or regular visitors to your website who may need or want to know about your site’s latest makeover.
So make the most of this glorious opportunity and let them know! A simple email (you have a newsletter set up right?) showing off your brand new website can prompt users back and drive a new wave of user engagement.
So that is that and your website has been successfully launched. Congratulations!
But that doesn’t mean you take a back seat and assume your new website will generate visitors all on its own. There’s still plenty to be doing to get your site out there and bringing the customers in.
To explore what Mogul can do for you and your business get in touch today.
