It’s finally time to launch your new website!
You’ve got an amazing website design, filled the pages with compelling content, eye-catching pictures and crisp, clean graphics. You’ve set your analytics, page names and tags. Your to-do list is checked.
Forms and surveys
Offers and coupons
Social media incorporation
Secure payment
So you’ve done all the hard work and are ready to push the launch button? Before you start the final countdown, make sure you’ve handled these five must-do items, which sometimes slip through the cracks.
- Proof your copy for typos, grammatical errors and make sure there is a consistent flow from page to page. This may seem basic, but it’s one of the most common oversights we encounter. We had a client who launched their website with misspelled names of a couple members of their board of directors. This was a big oops. Many times businesses launch a new website for reasons of branding and small things like this do not ensure confidence, portray professionalism or reinforce a positive image of your brand. (Full disclosure: we did not work with this client on their website!)
- Test your site on multiple browsers. See how your site functions on Chrome, Explorer, Firefox, Safari, etc. and fix any glitches before you take your site live.
- Add a favicon. This little thing makes a big impact. It helps internet surfers identify the tabs in their navigation and provides a subtle but constant reinforcement of your company. Some design templates accept a regular logo and will convert it automatically. If not, there are lots of favicon generators.
- View your site on cell phones, tablets and computers and use Android, iOS, Windows and BlackBerry’s OS. Ensure the tablet and cell versions of your site are acceptable. It might surprise you how the site performs differently on the various devices and operating systems. Tweak your website on the back end as needed.
- Check and re-check every page, every link and every navigation tab. No spot checks – every page. Browse the site as a user and make sure when you click, you go where you are supposed to go and your logo, when clicked, will bring you back home. It is a frustrating experience for users of your site to end up on the wrong page or a non-existent page. You’ve reached this page in error is not a customer-service friendly message and most times means goodbye to your website.
Though this list is published too late for healthcare.gov, we hope your next website will include these items on the to-do list.
We’d love to hear about your website launch success stories or issues. LGK’s successful website launch in November was the inspiration for sharing this message. Let us know what you think about LGK’s new site.
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