Planning a website redesign and launch can be overwhelming, especially if you haven’t had the experience of planning one in the past. In this blog, we’ll provide a website launch checklist you can use to get a better understanding of what the journey ahead will look like.
How Long Does A Website Redesign Take?
Every website redesign project is unique and involves many moving parts from start to finish. There’s no telling what obstacles or unforeseen circumstances will emerge during the process. However, typically a website launch timeline will consist of 6 main stages:
- Planning and discovery (2-10 weeks)
- Content and SEO (5-15 weeks)
- UI/UX design (4-12 weeks)
- Developing and coding (6-15 weeks)
- Testing and review (2-7 weeks)
- Official launch (1 day-3 weeks)
Remember, the timing of these stages will vary depending on your goals for the project and the scale of work required to reach them. Another component that will influence your website launch timeline is the number of stakeholders involved in the redesign process. For example, if every service team’s lead needs to review each piece of the project, it will take longer to finalize.
Pre-Website Launch Checklist
A lot of hard work goes into a website before it can be pushed live, and it can’t all be completed by one person. A successful website launch depends on the work of skilled individuals who all have a different role to play.
In the following sections, we’ll break down some of the main steps and roles that should be included in your pre-website launch checklist.
Website Relaunch Developers & Web Designers Checklist
The first part of a website relaunch checklist is dedicated to developers and web designers. These individuals will work to ensure the site functions smoothly on the back end as well as the front.
1. Check site speed.
Not only does a faster page load speed provide users with a better experience, but it also is an important Google ranking factor. Faster loading times mean higher rankings for your site in search engine result pages. Therefore, it’s important to check your site’s speed before launching to make sure it’s loading at a quick rate.
2. Create a custom 404 page.
404 error warnings are shown when a server can’t find what was requested by the user. This could be from typing the wrong URL into the search bar or clicking on a dead link. Setting up custom 404 pages for your site ensures visitors are made aware of the error, but don’t have to see the generic warning message.
3. Check your site’s compatibility on different devices and web browsers.
Before launching your site, take the time to see what each page looks like on different devices and when searched in different browsers. Doing this will help you identify and fix areas that could negatively impact user experience like text and buttons being too small or content falling off the page.
4. Validate code and CSS.
Validating code and CSS ensures each page on your site looks and functions the way it should. Before launching, developers can check for things like syntax errors, typos, missing tags, and other issues to confirm the site is compatible with all browsers, accessible for all devices, and complies with web standards.
5. Check that your site serves HTTPS.
Hypertext transfer protocol secure (or HTTPS), is used to keep information sent from a device to a website private. Once it’s set up visitors will know their sensitive information like IP addresses or credit card numbers won’t be accessed by unauthorized individuals.
6. Ensure your site complies with privacy laws.
It’s no secret that visitors are more likely to trust your site when they know you follow privacy laws. There are different privacy laws around the world such as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).
7. Review third-party tools and integrations.
Before launching, review all your third-party tools and remove any integrations that aren’t necessary or fix any that aren’t working properly. Doing this will improve UX, boost site speed, and lead to better search engine rankings.
Website Relaunch SEO Checklist
Next in our website launch checklist, we’ll introduce SEO specialists. These individuals work to keep your site relevant and showing up in search results for users to see.
1. Check for possible indexation and crawling issues.
Search engines collect data by crawling your site and then store it through a process called indexing. This affects what results appear when a user searches for something online. SEO specialists can identify indexing issues and manage crawler traffic before a site is launched, making it easier for search engines to identify and display your content.
2. Make sure URLs & redirects are search engine friendly.
We talked about 404 errors earlier, and one of the ways these can occur is if a link is broken. Before launching, all old site pages should be redirected to the new ones. Creating permanent redirects (known as 301s) will automatically send users to the new pages if they accidentally visit the old URL.
3. Install Google Analytics.
Analytics software, like Google Analytics, allows you to retrieve valuable insight into what your users are doing on your site. It’s important to set up analytic tools before your site goes live because you’ll want to begin gathering data from the moment you launch. If your old site had analytics set up, verify that they are still working properly with the new site.
4. Use keyword mapping.
Keywords will play an essential role in the performance of your site. Keyword mapping is an SEO strategy that helps assign target keywords to specific pages on your site. With the help of an SEO specialist, these keywords can assist in performing goals, driving traffic, and improving search rankings.
5. Optimize meta tags, titles, descriptions, and content.
As we mentioned above, your site needs keywords to gain visibility. Optimizing meta tags, titles, descriptions, and site content will help search engines index your page efficiently. Each page on your site should have a unique title and description in addition to the keywords SEO specialists provide.
6. Use schema to mark up content.
Schema is what tells search engines what your data means and helps represent it in a more user-friendly way. Using special microdata language, SEO specialists can tell search engines more about the content on your site and control how it appears in search results.
7. Check UX.
User experience (UX) is how a visitor interacts with your site. Having a good UX depends on a variety of factors. You want to make sure your site is easy to navigate and accessible to everyone, regardless of possible impairments or technological limitations. Adding alt text to images, captions to videos, and choosing the typography and font size are only a few of the ways you can improve your site’s UX.
Website Relaunch Content Checklist
The last few steps of our website launch checklist belong to content marketing specialists. These individuals take care of all the content that will be seen by users when they visit your site.
1. Make sure content adds value.
The content on your site should be valuable to any user who visits. This means not focusing purely on self-promotion, but also including expert advice, actionable takeaways, and resourceful information. There are many distractions online and offering valuable content is one of the best ways to keep users engaged and coming back to your site.
2. Proofread content.
It may seem obvious, but grammar errors happen more often than we realize, and while everyone makes mistakes, there’s no doubt that these errors will hurt a brand’s credibility. Proofreading content is a way to show visitors that you care about your brand’s image and their user experience.
3. Use proper formatting.
Proper formatting is an essential part of any content specialist’s writing and publishing process. Using SEO content writing techniques like headlines, lists, and high-quality images improves readability and makes your site more visually appealing.
4. Ensure content is factual.
As we mentioned before, your content needs to be valuable to your readers. In the same respect, it needs to be factual. If search engines find your content to be fake or misleading they won’t display it on result pages. Additionally, if a user notices misinformation on your site, they are less likely to return.
5. Keep content style concise.
Your content style will speak to who your brand is and how you should be perceived by others. Keeping the tone and voice in your writing consistent will make you stand out among competitors. Every piece of content, from blogs to videos to downloadable files, should reflect your brand’s message and personality.
Remember, this website launch checklist is only the beginning, many more pieces contribute to a successful site launch, fortunately, you can get help from digital marketing experts to ensure your site turns out exactly how you envisioned.