TL;DR
- You check your content. Hours, prices, phone numbers, names, and every page you expect to see.
- We check the technical side. Mobile layouts, links, redirects, tracking, and search settings.
- Launch needs a few things from you, including written approval, final payment, and access to your domain.
- We never launch on a Friday. That keeps any problems from running into the weekend.
What Should I Check Before My Website Goes Live?
You know your business better than we do. Your review is about accuracy:
- Current details. Hours, prices, phone numbers, addresses, and staff names.
- Every page you expect. Services, team, contact, and your legal pages. See What Pages Should a Small Business Website Have?
- Your forms. Send a test message through your contact form, and make sure it reaches the right inbox.
- Your phone. Look at the site on your phone, not just your computer.
What Does Webmaster For Hire Check Before Launch?
- Your latest updates. Before one launch, Beth wrote, “I will look for updated information first to add prior to going live.”
- Mobile. From one of Beth’s launch emails: “I’ll get the team to verify all on mobile and final ‘to live’ tasks and get the site live.”
- Links. No link should lead to an empty page. Links to unfinished pages get removed or pointed to the main page above them.
- Redirects. A redirect sends visitors from an old page address to the new one. If page names change, we set them up, so search traffic and old marketing links still land somewhere.
- Tracking. If your site uses Google tracking code (the code that counts your visitors), we confirm it’s in place.
- Search settings. Development copies are set to stay out of search engines. At launch, the live site needs to be open to them.
What Happens on Launch Day?
- We move your site from the development site (a private copy) to your live hosting.
- We update your DNS. In Beth’s words, DNS “dictates where domain points for your site and also email.” That’s why we need access to your domain registrar.
- The change spreads. As Beth explains, “It will take up to 72 hours to propagate (typically will see the site anywhere from an hour to four hours).”
- We check the live site. “After the site is live and I do a QA (quality assurance), we’ll schedule a training with you.”
Why Don’t You Launch Websites on a Friday?
Problems can show up after a launch. Nobody wants to fix them over the weekend when they’re meant for personal time.
What Do You Need From Me Before Launch?
- Written approval, to go live as-is or with a final list of changes. See How Do I Review and Approve My New Website Before Launch?
- Final payment. Launch is scheduled once it’s received.
- Access to your domain registrar, where your domain is registered.
- A list of who needs logins, and any email addresses you want set up.
For the full project timeline, see What Happens During a Website Design Project, Step by Step?
What Webmaster For Hire Recommends
- Send the updates you already have. New staff, prices, and hours are easiest to add before launch. Content that isn’t ready yet can go up after.
- Find your registrar login early. We can’t point your domain to the new site without it.
- Review on your phone. In Beth’s words, “A lot more people are viewing websites on mobile or tablets before desktop these days.”
:: Common Questions ::
Can We Launch the New Site and Keep the Old One?
For a while, yes. One client already owned two domains. The new site went live on the main one, and the old site stayed on the second, with a redirect planned for later. If the old site can’t be updated anymore, don’t keep it long. Beth’s warning to one client: “the themes won’t update. That causes a security hazard.”
What Happens After Launch?
We check the live site, then schedule your training. You also get 30 days of post-launch support for bugs and small adjustments. See Can We Launch My Website Now and Finish the Edits Later?
Getting Close to Launch?
See our Website Design Services, or request a consultation.
