Website Launch Checklist 25+ Things to Check Before Launching Your Site

Are you preparing to launch your WordPress website? To help make it a success, we created this handy website launch checklist to ensure a smooth launch when you make your site public.Well cover everything from proofreading to testing performance. And while some of these tips might seem a little basic, thats kind of the point! We want to help you make sure that you didnt accidentally overlook some small, but important, aspect of your website.To do that, take a few minutes and run your website through this list Content should be easy to read font size, short sentences, bullet points, lots of white spaceImages must be optimized, properly labeled and have alt textAudio and video files need to work properly2. Make sure you have a contact pageNot only does a contact page allow visitors to get in touch with you, it adds credibility and improves the trust quotient of your website. Find out how to add one to your website in this post.3. Test your sites usabilityCheck that all functional aspe cts of the website work as intended. Usability is important for conversions as well as for overall SEO. Most importantly, you need to look at each element on your website just as a visitor would.Ensure that images are optimized for speedIn particular, test all call-to-action forms and contact formsOn a multi-user site, check the login procedure, roles, and credentialsCheck out overall experience through the eyes of a user consuming content on the websiteIn case youve put autoresponders in place, make sure they respond as you intendedIf your website is going to accept payments, do a test run of each step in the purchase/payment process, including the success page redirect. This includes downloads, sign-ups, shopping cart functions, payment processing, email notifications, buttons, and links4. Make sure your navigation worksAt no point should visitors be unsure of which button to click next on your website. Besides, your on-site search should work smoothly and accurately. Try moving t hrough the different locations on your website as a casual visitor would.Read this post for more tips on how to create a great navigation structure.5. Check for mobile-friendlinessTesting for compatibility with mobile devices is now an essential part of any website launch checklist, given Google’s focus on mobile-first indexing. Consequently, your website must be mobile-friendly, and just as functional and pleasing on mobiles as it is on desktops.In other words, text should be easy to read on mobile devices, content should be the same on both versions of your website, navigation is easy, buttons have proper spacing, etc.Fortunately, you can use Googles own tool, Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test  to test these aspects.6. Review browser compatibilityIts not enough to view the website from your browser alone. Additionally, you need to see how it appears in different versions of major browsers. At the bare minimum, youll need to test it on Chrome, Firefox, and Safari.Again, youll find free tools like  Browsershots  for this purpose. It uses a number of computers at different locations to open your website in various browsers. It then captures screenshots of your web pages in different browsers and uploads them to a central dedicated server for your review.7. Run compatibility testingSometimes, it can happen that plugins dont play nice with each other. Therefore, its advisable to run a compatibility test using plugins like PHP Compatibility Checker. This avoids glitches on account of plugin, theme, or WordPress update conflicts. PHP Compatibility Checker Author(s): WP EngineCurrent Version: 1.5.0Last Updated: July 30, 2019php-compatibility-checker.1.5.0.zip 66%Ratings 904,470Downloads WP 3.5+Requires 8. Get ready for 404sSure, 404 errors are not likely on a new website. Nevertheless, a visitor may mistype or somehow land on a â€Å"Page Not Found† error message. Just so you dont lose this visitor, and to improve user experience, crea te a custom 404 page. 404page your smart custom 404 error page Author(s): Peter RaschendorferCurrent Version: 11.0.4Last Updated: October 6, 2019404page.11.0.4.zip 98%Ratings 875,900Downloads WP 4.0+Requires Not only that, you can set up email alerts to track 404 errors from the moment your site goes live, and fix them early.9. Make sure URLs are correctOften, when a site is moved from the staging area to production, its necessary to change all the URLs. Make sure to double-check that all the URLs are correct on the live version of your site before you move any further through the website launch checklist.10. Make sure you have clear calls-to-actionThis is one check you cannot afford to ignore ensuring the site has clearly defined call to action elements. Call to actions help funnel your visitors to the most important locations. Or, they can help you build an email list, if thats your goal.11. Install and configure an SEO pluginInstall the  Yoast SEO plugin  or any oth er SEO plugin to optimize for SEO. Make sure every page has a unique title, a meta description, and is optimized for keyword usage. Learn more about basic WordPress SEO here.12. Configure your permalinksUsing permalinks that describe the content of each page makes them easy to remember, more usable, and more SEO-friendly. Find out more about how to configure permalinks in this post.13. Check your XML sitemaps/HTML sitemapMost SEO plugins usually build a sitemap for you automatically, but you should double check that it:Really does exist.Is working properly and includes all the content it should.14. Check your robots.txt FileA robots.txt file also helps search engines to crawl your website more efficiently. You can learn more about this in Googles guide on the subject, and we have an article on how to optimize your WordPress sites robots.txt file.15. Test for AMP compatibilityIn case you’re using Google’s AMP project to speed up your site for mobile visitors, hop on a m obile device or an AMP tester tool and make sure that everything is working properly.16. Test social media integrationTry out your social icons to see if they are working as they should. Do they link to the right pages? Do you have the right buttons installed? Does the share functionality work right, if youre using it?17. Check your sites accessibilityAccessibility is all about making sure your site is usable for  everyone, even those with disabilities. Learn more about WordPress accessibility.18. Put a backup solution in placeRight before launching your website, take care to install a suitable backup solution and test it before you hit the launch button. It can save you a load of heartache and sleepless nights if something happens to your site after launch.19. Secure your websiteSimilarly, you really should take security seriously from the very beginning. In particular, the Admin area  should be made as secure as possible to prevent entry of malicious bots and hackers.20. Confi rm your SSLDo you know that your website runs the risk of being labeled as Not Secure if it does not have an SSL certificate? Our earlier post can help you with adding an SSL certificate to your site. Also, you can use free online checkers to find out if theres anything missing with your certificate.21. Keep out spamBecause of WordPress popularity, ensuring you have an  anti-spam solution  is a necessity when going through any website launch checklist. It makes comment management easier and your website safer.23. Update the timezoneAll scheduled activities and plugins rely on the time maintained by your WordPress. Therefore, its important to set up the timezone properly on your WordPress site. You can do this by going to  Settings General and looking for the  Timezone drop-down.24. Take care of the boring legal stuffTruly, this is the most boring part of our website launch checklist. However, its necessary if you dont want to get into legal issues later.Take care that requi red licenses are in place for images, fonts, plugins, etc.Consider including a Terms of Service to explain your services in detail.  Auto Terms of Service and Privacy Policy can help you get started with thisIn case your website is an ecommerce store or deals with money in any way, you should add a comprehensive Terms and Conditions sectionIf youre collecting data, its comforting to users if your Privacy Policy reassures them that their personal details are in good hands. Compliance with the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is necessary, too.A cookie warning is a legal requirement in many jurisdictions, so take care to include oneCheck out the legal requirements in different geographies for age verification, consent requirements, credit card processing and more.25. Delete any unwanted pluginsFinally, you should check your dashboard for plugins that are no longer needed and delete them to keep a lean and efficient WordPress site. While building your site, you mightve insta lled plugins that you ended up not using. Get rid of all those in preparation for launch day!Wrapping upThis website launch checklist is quite comprehensive, but by no means exhaustive. Whys that?Because once you finish out this website launch checklist and make your site live, there are also plenty of  things to do right after you launch your website!Have any other tips? Let us know about them in the comments section! 25+ things to check before you launch your #WordPress #website!