Are you about to launch a new website for your organization? Well, here are nine tips to consider before launching to ensure a smooth, error-free rollout.
Launching a new website is exciting, but getting caught up in that excitement can lead to many rookie mistakes along the way. Having a good website is essential to success, considering website design is cited as the number one factor.
With that in mind, web design experts identify nine common website launch mistakes and how to avoid them.
1. Get SEO Right Early
Holly Morse, senior interactive designer at The S3 Agency, said:
You should focus on on-page SEO tactics like keyword targeting and content optimization and off-page tactics like backlinks and social engagement. “In addition to increasing traffic, a strong SEO will naturally improve the user experience on your site, which is always the end goal.”
2. Analysis settings
Remember to set up your analysis tools in advance so that you can get as much data as possible.
“Setting up analytics is the only way to learn more about your end users, track and measure the success of your website and, more importantly, know where you can improve,” says Morse. You don’t want to wait until it’s too late, so at least initially you should integrate with free tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console.
Related article: Google Tips for Search Console API updates: Impact on your SEO strategy
3. Test your UI and navigation
You want your site to have a simple design and be easy to navigate. “You don’t have to spell out every service you offer,” Russell suggested. Additionally, you need to make sure your website works well on mobile his devices. Having a mobile-friendly website is important not only for users, but also for Google and other search engines.
4. Check for proper SSL configuration
You should set up your SSL certificate in advance and test it before the official launch date. “If you don’t configure SSL security properly, you may see broken URLs, security warnings on your visitors’ screens, or security warnings when your website is accessed securely (https) and insecurely (http). You will experience some problems, such as lower rankings by Google and other search engines, Russell.If you have security warnings or inappropriate links, or if you don’t trust your information to be kept safe. , users hesitate to visit the site.
5. Make contact easier
Contact information is not easy to find on many websites. “In today’s digital age, there are many tools that help him manage contacts through chatbots, his CRM system, and more,” he explains Russell. Curious visitors may become paying customers in the future, so you don’t want to make it difficult for them to get their questions answered.
6. Do you have a call to action?
With a clear call to action, you want your audience to know exactly what to do next. “These actions should flow naturally in terms of how users want to interact with the site and how they want to lead them towards the site’s ultimate business goals,” he says. explains Mr. Having a clear her CTA is essential to an effective digital marketing strategy and gets visitors to start moving down the sales funnel.
7. Don’t rush to launch date
“Of course, you just finished designing and developing your website and are excited to show it to the world,” joked Morse. need to confirm. From a usability perspective, this means checking for broken links and making sure important functionality works as expected. From a design standpoint, this means making sure your style and fonts look consistent, especially if you built your site from scratch. The worst thing you can do is launch a website in a hurry and get bad feedback from early site visitors.
8. Choose your launch date wisely
Avoid launching the website during times when it may be busy. “This is a great idea and may sound like a great way to advertise the start of the weekend or pre-holiday sales, but it sets you up for potential problems,” he said Morse. says. Even with extensive testing, problems will always arise. You don’t want a bad reputation from the start.
9. Always check the quality of your content
I don’t want to republish unoriginal or boring content. To get noticed, you need to make sure your content is original, relevant, and up-to-date.
Samantha Russell, Chief Marketing Officer, Twenty Over Ten, said: High quality content is essential for a successful website launch and increased brand awareness.
“Your site has great content, but it doesn’t stop there,” Morse said, suggesting that all brands should focus on publishing consistent content.
Post-launch, you’ll need to measure audience response to your new site, so don’t forget to launch a Voice of the Customer campaign to keep your consumers and website visitors up-to-date. .
