TL;DR
- You review a private copy of your new site. Your live site isn’t touched.
- We send a link, usually with a recorded video tour.
- The copy asks for a login because it’s password protected.
- Approve in writing. Go live as-is, or with a final list of changes.
Where Do I See My New Website Before It Goes Live?
On a development site, a private copy where we build and test. Your current site stays live the whole time. Beth’s promise to one client: “We’ll build on a development server to not interfere with your current live site.” See What Is a Staging Site, and Do I Need One?
- A link by email. Your review link, plus any questions we have for you.
- A video tour. A screen recording that walks you through what we built. As Beth wrote to one client, “I created a tour video to show you what I did and below is the staging site.”
- Smaller jobs work the same way. For a homepage-only redesign, we use a staging site or a new page showing the layout. “Either way, live site won’t be affected without approvals.”
Why Does My Development Site Ask Me for a Login?
It may be password protected, so only people with the login can see it. We send you the login with your review link.
Development copies also need to stay out of search engines. One business we work with had a staging copy (a test copy of the site), set up by a previous vendor, show up in Google. The vendor had missed the setting that asks search engines not to list the site. Customers placed orders on the copy. In Beth’s words, “It’s a simple mistake, however, it’s problematic.” The previous staging copy was removed.
How Should I Review My New Website?
- Go page by page. Read your content for accuracy. For a full list, see What Should I Check Before My New Website Goes Live?
- Look at it on your phone and your computer.
- Send one list of changes by email. As Beth told one client, “Get me your list of changes ASAP.” See How to Send Website Change Requests to Your Webmaster
- Prefer to talk it through? We can go page by page on a video call.
How Do I Approve My Website?
In writing, by email. As Beth wrote to one client, “I need your approval to move forward – either to go live as-is, or with a list of changes first.”
The simplest approval is one word. Beth’s request to one client: “If all is great please email me my favorite word, ‘Approved’.” A full sentence works too, like this one she has asked for: “website in development is approved to go live.”
A change of direction at this stage, like a new logo, adds time and cost. We’ll tell you what it adds before any work starts.
What If I Need More Time to Review?
That’s fine. We’ll check in. While you review, we keep the development site updated and secure, which is ongoing work. If a project stalls for a long time, we’ll give you your options and a date to decide by. Unused development sites get removed, because an abandoned copy is a security risk to our servers.
What Webmaster For Hire Recommends
- Review soon after you get the link. Approvals set the pace of your launch.
- Collect your changes in one email.
- Approve in writing, even if we’ve already talked it through on a call.
:: Common Questions ::
Will Building My New Site Affect My Live Website?
No. Your live site stays as it is until you approve the new one. Time-sensitive updates go on both sites, so neither falls behind. If page names change, we set up redirects, so old links still work.
Why Does My Login Prompt Keep Showing Up?
Tell us which page. Sometimes a page is still set to private on our end. After one fix, Beth told the client, “Clear cache and try again.” Clearing your cache means deleting the saved copies of pages your browser keeps.
What If I Find a Problem After I Approve?
Tell us. You get 30 days of post-launch support for bugs, overlooked items, and small adjustments. See Can We Launch My Website Now and Finish the Edits Later?
Ready to See Your New Site Take Shape?
See our Website Design Services, or request a consultation.
