Are you ready to hit “publish” on your website? If not, you may want to ask yourself a few questions first. Launching a website is a huge undertaking, and it’s important to make sure that everything is just right before you go live. In this blog post, we will discuss 20 questions that you should ask yourself before launching your website. By answering these questions, you will be able to ensure that your website is ready for prime time!
So, without further ado, let’s get started.
1) Is your website mobile-friendly?
In today’s world, it is absolutely essential that your website be mobile-friendly. A majority of internet users access the web via their mobile devices, and if your website is not optimized for mobile, you will lose out on a lot of traffic. Not to mention, Google favors mobile-friendly websites in its search rankings, so you’ll want to make sure that your website is responsive.
If you’re not sure whether or not your website is mobile-friendly, you can use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool. Simply enter your website’s URL and Google will let you know if there are any problems with your site’s responsiveness.
Fixing a website that is not mobile-friendly can be a daunting task, but it is well worth the effort. After all, you don’t want to lose out on any potential website visitors!
Next question!
2) Are all of your website’s pages loading quickly?
A website that loads slowly is a major turnoff for website visitors. In today’s fast-paced world, people are used to getting the information they need quickly and easily. If your website takes too long to load, website visitors will likely get frustrated and leave.
You can test your website’s page speed with Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool. Just enter your website’s URL and Google will give you a report on how quickly your website loads. The tool will also provide you with suggestions on how to improve your website’s speed.
It is important to note that website speed is affected by a variety of factors, including image size, page complexity, and server response time. As such, it can be challenging to improve website speed. However, it is definitely worth the effort, as a faster website will result in a better user experience for your website visitors.
3) Do you have an SSL certificate?
An SSL certificate is a must-have for any website. An SSL certificate encrypts the data that is transmitted between your website and website visitors. This is important for two reasons. First, it protects sensitive information (such as credit card numbers) from being intercepted by third parties. Second, it gives website visitors a sense of security, which can encourage them to stay on your website longer and make purchases.
You can purchase an SSL certificate from a variety of providers. Once you have your certificate, you will need to install it on your website. If you’re not sure how to do this, your web hosting company should be able to help you out.
4) Have you selected the right web hosting provider?
Your web hosting provider is one of the most important partners in your website journey. A good web hosting company will provide you with reliable service, great customer support, and all the tools you need to build a successful website. On the other hand, a bad web hosting company can make your life a nightmare.
There are a few things you should keep in mind when selecting a web hosting provider. First, make sure that the company offers the type of hosting that you need (shared, VPS, dedicated, cloud, etc.). Second, read reviews of the company to get a sense of what other customers think. And finally, compare pricing and features to find the best value.
5) Are you using website analytics?
If you’re not using website analytics, now is the time to start. Website analytics tools, such as Google Analytics, allow you to track how people are finding your website and what they do once they get there. This information is invaluable in helping you to improve your website.
Installing website analytics is typically a fairly simple process. Once you have signed up for an account, you will be given a code to insert into your website’s code. After that, website analytics will start tracking data immediately.
There are many different website analytics tools available, so take some time to research which one would be the best fit for your website.
6) Do you have a website privacy policy?
If you collect any type of data from website visitors (such as email addresses), you need to have a website privacy policy. This policy should explain what data you collect, how you use it, and how you protect it. Having a website privacy policy is not only good for your website visitors; it’s also required by law in many countries.
Creating a website privacy policy can be challenging, as there is a lot of legal jargon to wade through. However, there are many resources available to help you, such as the Privacy Policy Generator from TermsFeed.
Once you have created your privacy policy, make sure to add it to your website and include a link to it in your website’s footer.
7) Do you have a website design that you are happy with?
Your website’s design is one of the first things that website visitors will notice. As such, it is important to have a design that you are happy with.
There are many different ways to create a website design. You can hire a professional web designer, use a website builder, or even design your website yourself using HTML and CSS.
Whichever route you choose, make sure that your website’s design is responsive (meaning it will look good on all devices), easy to navigate, and in line with your brand.
8) Do you have a clear call to action on your website?
Your website’s call to action is what you want website visitors to do when they get to your website. It could be something like “subscribe to our newsletter,” “buy our product,” or “learn more about our service.”
Your call to action should be clear and visible on your website. It should also be in line with your website’s goals. For example, if your website’s goal is to sell products, your call to action should be something like “buy now” or “add to cart.”
Make sure to test your website’s call to action to see if it is effective. You can do this by using website analytics to track how many people are clicking on it and whether or not they are taking the desired action.
If your website’s call to action is not effective, try changing its color, position, or wording.
9) Is your website’s navigation easy to use?
Your website’s navigation should be easy to use so that website visitors can find what they are looking for quickly and easily.
There are many different ways to create website navigation, so take some time to experiment and find what works best for your website. Some common methods of navigation include menus, breadcrumbs, and search bars.
Once you have settled on a navigation method, make sure to test it out to see if it is effective. You can do this by asking people to use your website and giving them specific tasks to complete. Then, observe how they use your website’s navigation and see if they are able to find what they are looking for easily.
10) Do you have a website favicon?
A website favicon is the small icon that appears in a browser’s tab when someone visits your website. This icon can be your website’s logo or something else that represents your brand.
Adding a website favicon is fairly simple and only requires adding a few lines of code to your website. However, if you are not comfortable with code, you can hire a professional web designer to do it for you.
Once you have added your website favicon, make sure to test it out in all major browsers to see if it appears correctly.
11) Do you have any broken links on your website?
Broken links are links that lead to pages that do not exist. They can be caused by typos, website changes, or deleted pages.
Broken links can be frustrating for website visitors and can cause them to leave your website. As such, it is important to regularly check for broken links and fix them as soon as possible.
There are many tools that you can use to check for broken links, such as the ahrefs Broken Link Checker tool. Once you have found any broken links on your website, simply update the URL or delete the link.
12) Do all of your website’s images have alt text?
Alt text is a description of an image that is displayed if the image cannot be loaded. It is also used by search engines to help them understand what an image is about.
Adding alt text to your website’s images is fairly simple and only requires adding a few lines of code. However, if you are not comfortable with code, you can hire a professional web designer to do it for you.
Once you have added alt text to your website’s images, make sure to test them to see if they appear correctly. You can do this by turning off the image display in your browser or using a screen reader.
13) Have you tested your website on multiple browsers and devices?
It is important to test your website on multiple browsers and devices to make sure that it works correctly. This is because different browsers and devices can render website differently.
There are many tools that you can use to test your website, such as the BrowserStack website testing tool. Simply enter your website’s URL and choose which browsers and devices you want to test it on. Then, observe how your website looks and works on each browser and device.
14) Is your website free of spelling and grammatical errors?
Spelling and grammatical errors can make your website look unprofessional and can turn website visitors away. As such, it is important to proofread your website carefully before publishing it.
If you are not a good speller or grammar, you can hire a professional proofreader to do it for you. Once you have proofread your website, make sure to test it out in all major browsers and devices to see if there are any errors.
15) Is your website’s content well-written and engaging?
Your website’s content should be well-written and engaging in order to keep website visitors interested. If your website’s content is boring or poorly written, website visitors will likely leave your website and never come back.
There are many ways to make sure that your website’s content is well-written and engaging. One way is to hire a professional copywriter or editor to write or edit your website’s content. Another way is to read your website’s content out loud to see if it sounds natural.
16) Do you have an email capture form on your website?
Email capture forms are forms that website visitors can fill out to subscribe to your website’s email list. They are a great way to grow your website’s audience and keep them informed about new content or products.
17) Have you thought about security?
If you are selling products or services on your website, it is important to think about security. This is because you will need to protect your website’s transactions and customer data from hackers.
There are many ways to secure your website, such as installing an SSL certificate, web application firewall (WAF), malware scanning/hardening and using a secure payment gateway. You can also hire a professional web security company to help you secure your website.
18) Have you created a sitemap for your website?
A sitemap is a list of all the pages and posts on your website. It is used by search engines to index your website and by website visitors to navigate your website.
Creating a sitemap for your website is fairly simple. There are many plugins and tools that you can use, such as the SEO Framework plugin for WordPress.
Once you have created your website’s sitemap, make sure to submit it to all major search engines, such as Google and Bing. This will help them index your website more quickly.
19) Have you submitted your website to directories?
Submitting your website to online directories can help improve your website’s visibility and search engine ranking. There are many website directories that you can submit your website to.
Simply find a directory that is relevant to your website’s content and follow the instructions to submit your website. Make sure to read the guidelines carefully so that your website is not rejected.
20) Do you have a backup system for your website?
Backing up your website is important in case something goes wrong and you need to restore your website. There are many plugins and tools that you can use to backup your website, such as the UpdraftPlus WordPress plugin.
Once you have chosen a backup system for your website, make sure to test it out to ensure that it is working properly. This will help you rest easy knowing that your website is safe and sound.
That’s a wrap!
Launching a website is no small task. There are many things to consider before pressing that big, green “launch” button. That’s why we put together this list of 20 questions you should ask yourself before launching your website. If you can answer these questions thoughtfully and honestly, you’ll be in a much better position for success when your site goes live. Of course, if all of this sounds overwhelming and you need help getting started, our team at Graticle is here to assist you. We have years of experience creating beautiful and effective websites that drive results for our clients. Contact us today to get started! Call (360) 450-3711
