Once you’re done setting up a domain and building your website, it’s time to get ready to launch!
Preparing for a website launch can often feel quite overwhelming. From performing technical checks to ensuring you have the right security protocol in place, it may seem like there’s a never-ending list of things to do.
That’s why we’ve compiled a step-by-step website launch checklist to help you keep track of all the essentials.
Pre-Launch Checklist
An overview of several key features you should check to ensure your website is ready to go live.
1. Technical basics
Make sure to check your website speed – a faster website means better user experience and lower bounce rates. It’s also good practice to optimize images and compress files to reduce loading time.
2. SEO tasks
Your website launch checklist should include basic SEO tasks, such as generating metadata (meta titles and descriptions) for each page and adding alt text to all images. It’s also useful to do a social preview to check how your content will appear on various social media platforms.
Note: If you’re moving your website from another platform, you may also need to set up redirects.
3. Functional checks
It’s important to test all interactive elements of your website, including forms, links, and buttons, to ensure they function properly. This lets you deliver the best possible user experience (UX).
4. Common mistakes
Before you hit the ‘Publish’ button, make sure you haven’t forgotten to add a favicon or set up website analytics (e.g., Google Analytics or Plausible) to track user interaction.
Website Launch & Aftercare
Everything you need to know about publishing your website and maintaining it afterwards.
How to “go live”
Once you’ve gone through your website launch checklist, it’s time to officially publish your site. You can easily launch your website by following these 3 simple steps:
- Connect the domain
- Enable Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) – some platforms like Webflow and Framer offer this natively.
- Hit the Publish button!
Note: DNS propagation generally takes 24 to 48 hours.
Maintaining your website after launch
One of the biggest mistakes you can make when launching a website is thinking that your work is done once you hit ‘Publish.’ This isn’t the case, especially if you want your site to stay useful and relevant. Maintaining your website is a continuous process, which involves regular checks and updates to keep things running smoothly.
Setting up a website maintenance plan
Implementing a simple maintenance plan can ensure your website remains functional, secure, and up-to-date.
Some common steps include:
- Regularly uploading and optimizing content
- Server maintenance, including backing up your site data
- Checking for (and fixing) broken links
- Updating plugins and apps
Final Thoughts
Congratulations! You’re officially ready to launch and maintain your website. Thanks for following along with this Coastal Themes guide. We can’t wait to see what you create, so please reach out to share the final product with us.
What are you waiting for? Hit publish and launch with confidence!
