30 Things To Do Before Launching A Website on The Web.
August 1st, 2016 | by Ravi Chahar || 12 Comments |
Are you thinking about starting a new blog? Are you sure that your website is ready for the online world? You should check it again about the things to do before launching a website. I am sure, you won’t like to provide the bad user experience to any of your readers on the website.
There are millions of blogs running on the world wide web. But do they all fulfill the requirement of a blog which can stand longer? For the web developers and the bloggers, the only thing to keep in the mind is to build a website with the quality and true value.
Are you on the same path? Do you want to build the best blog ever? Then you should know what to do before publishing website. You should double check all the things of your website.
The Things To Test Before Showing Your Website To The World.
Before going to the list, I hope you have chosen the right WordPress web hosting which can provide the best service with the high server time. The domain name includes the niche of your website.
The List of The Things To Test Goes Like This:
1. Check The Design:- If you are thinking about launching your website then the first thing to check is the design of your website. Is it mobile friendly or not? How are the codes embedded in the HTML and the CSS of the theme? The content of your website should be easily accessible to your readers.
2. The Contact Form:- Have you installed any plugin to create a contact us page? If you have done it then check the working of the form. It shouldn’t happen as your readers can’t even able to contact you through the form.
3. The Backup:- Is there any plugin to backup your website and the database from the WordPress admin panel? It’s one of the important things to do. If you don’t have any plugin then you should know the proper way to backup your website using the Filezilla or the cPanel.
4. The About Us Page:- You may have read it many times that you should always have the about us page on your website to tell your readers about the website and yourself. It improves the user interaction with you and your website.
5. The Security:- Though WordPress is a secure platform but still, you should improve the security of your website. You should change the table prefix from the database to make it secure. Disable PHP execution and disable directory browsing. Change the default username. Secure your WordPress login page with any security plugin.
6. Create A Professional Email:- When you enter in the field of blogging then you should have a professional email address which can be created using your domain name. You can access email using the Webmail.
7. The Robots.txt File:- Have you created a robots.txt file for your website? It is the medium to tell the Google bots about the crawling of your website. It is a text file and you should add it on your website to get it crawled.
8. The Sitemap:- One of the things to do before launching a website is to add a sitemap on your website. You can create the sitemap using any plugin. Then add it in the Google Search Console. It will guide the Google about the presence of the posts and the pages present on your website.
9. Check 404 Errors:- If your website is showing 404 error on few pages then it won’t be a good experience for your readers. Go to the Google Search Console and make sure that you fix all the pages with this error. You can create a custom page to show the error. Though it won’t show the content of the page but still it may enhance the user experience.
10. Check Images:- The images you have added on the website should have the visible spot for your readers. If you are getting any broken image link then you should fix it before publishing your blog posts. No one wants to see the blank space in place of the visual content.
11. The Navigation menu:- Make sure that the navigation menu of your website is visible from all the pages. Check the PHP or the HTML code if possible. Check the navigation menu by opening your website in different browsers. It is possible that it won’t appear in any browser.
12. The Redirect:- Have you taken all the necessary steps to remove the duplicate content? Make sure that you don’t have the duplicate content on your website. The 301 and 302 redirect should be done after removing the content.
13. The Loading Time:- The page loading time is one of the most important things to do before launching a website. If the page size is large then try to reduce it using the GZIP compression.
14:- Non-WWW And With WWW:- You may read it that you should redirect your domain with the non-www so that when someone opens your website then he/she doesn’t get an error. The redirect should be done properly.
15. The Scripts are easy to run:- Nowadays, developers are using the scripts to make the website more dynamic. But in few themes, these scripting codes can create the problem. It is recommended that place the scripts together to run them quickly.
16. Check The CSS:- Have you checked that the CSS files are together or split? If you are writing any extra CSS code in the custom CSS then make sure the white spacing should be minimum to keep the size of the file as small as possible.
17. Are You Connected:- Are you thinking what to do before publishing website? Well, stop thinking and check the social connections. All the social buttons should be connected to your social networking websites so that people can connect with you on every social platform.
18. Auto-responders:- If you are using any auto-responder on your website then check it again. The functionality should be great. There shouldn’t be any fault in the message sending.
19. Social Schedulers:- There are many websites like HootSuite and buffer which let you schedule your post to share on the social media platforms. Check your accounts and the working of the apps again. There shouldn’t be any fault in the integration.
20. RSS Feeds:- One of the things to test to make sure that the redirection of the WordPress feeds to the RSS feeds is working properly. You can create the feeds using the Feedburner.
21. No Page-refreshing problem:- If someone visits your website and notices the page-refreshing problem then it won’t be good for your reputation. You should try to solve each and every problem.
22. DNS Server Error:- If your website is showing the DNS server error in the starting days then it would ruin your website because no one would able to access it. Always find the right company to buy the domain name for your website.
23. Check Search Engine Settings:- The question what to do before publishing website would stay as it is if you have checked the checkbox to discourage the search engine to index your website. It’s present in the WordPress settings. Don’t do such type of mistake.
24. Third Party Softwares:- If you are using any third party software on your website then check its working. You can’t trust those softwares. They should conflict with the functioning of the WordPress.
25. Spelling Mistakes:- Suppose if you have the spelling or grammatical mistake in the first heading of your blog post or the about us page. What would your users think about you and your website? Would it be a good experience? I don’t think so. Keep it your kind and never do such silly mistakes. The bloggers do a lot of WordPress mistakes.
26. Meta Data Is Working:- When you add any social sharing plugin then it’s important to see that it shows the meta data with the post to share socially. It’s an additional thing to do.
27. Spam Comment Protection:- There should be a plugin to protect from the spam comments. You may install the Akismet or any other plugin. Using any CAPTCHA plugin is also an option.
28. Analytics Code Is Added:- You should install Google Analytics to complete the things to do before launching a website. The code should be properly added in your website so that you check the stats using Google Analytics.
29. Secure Username And Passwords:- When you start a new website then you can’t remember the Username and the password of all the accounts. So take the necessary step and store in a secure database.Though you can change the username and the password of the WordPress but still, precaution is better than cure.
30. No law Should Be Broken:- There are some rules of the Google and the world wide web. Check your website if it passes each of them. Don’t build a website which opposes the laws. Otherwise, Your website will have to face the Google penalty.
Have You Checked All The Things To Do Before Launching a Website?
All the points mentioned above have the significance. You should check all the things to test your website before starting it. Is there any question like what to do before publishing website in your mind? If you have any then let it come out. I am sure, it would help others too.
We all are here to share our experiences. If you are going to start a website then you have to think about all the things which should be done before making your site alive on the web.
There may be many other things and the blogging tips and SEO tips to follow for building a better blog. But here you should notice the things to do before launching a website. If you are on the same path then go through the list again.
12 comments
Leave a Reply
Wow Ravi! Oh my, what a list this is! It is a great list! You had me go check a couple of things on my site since it is fairly new.
Thankfully, my site did okay! I do think I will be changing my theme in the next few days as it loaded too slowly. Thanks to this list, I was reminded about all of the important things to check before launching a new website.
I can tell this post took some time. May many new bloggers read this and take it seriously. You will save people a great deal of frustration!
Much success to you, Ravi! Great stuff!
Deborah
Hey Deborah,
There are many things to do when you think about launching your website. You should change all the default settings of the WordPress which can harm your blog in the future.
Of course, the speed of your website matters a lot. You should choose the themes whose size is small and fast in loading. Install a caching plugin to improve the page loading speed.
I appreciate you to take time for spreading your words.
Have a wonderful day.
~Ravi
Hi Ravi! What a fantabulous list! Of course, I shared it because no blogger, including veteran bloggers should be without this list. I’m saving it for future reference!
Happy August!
B
Hey Bren,
There are many people who are eagerly waiting to start a blog to share their thoughts to this online world. They should keep these points in their mind so that there won’t be any mistake.
I hope it would help the people who are striving to start a blog.
Thanks for your support.
Enjoy the day.
~Ravi
Wow Ravi!
What a fantastic list to keep. It is great for the newbie as well as the seasoned person. When working with others, this list is wonderful as a guide to help them. There are a few things I need to check on myself lol.
I’ll pass this on.
-Donna
Hi Donna,
It doesn’t matter whether you are a beginner or a professional. We all make mistakes. You should keep these things in your mind so that you can help others. There are many people who are struggling to start a blog.
They need to have a mentor. I hope this list can help the people with the desire to set up a blog.
Thanks a lot for your valuable comment.
Enjoy the day.
~Ravi
Hello Ravi
Another great valuable post. These plugins that you mention in your post are really all the plugins you will need. It’s great how you explained exactly why these are important when setting up your blog. A post that you can save and have at your disposal. Thanks a bunch. You rock.
Hey David,
The things I have mentioned above consists of many things with the plugins. You should check the permalinks, the default username, and many other things before you think to launch your website.
I hope this post has helped you somehow.
Thanks for showing your presence.
Have a nice day.
~Ravi
Hey Ravi,
You’re making blogging easy for your audience.
There are still some I haven’t looked at.
As for the laws, I have broken 10%. We all do. ?
This is a good resource to use, bro.
Thanks for sharing.
Francis
Hey Francis,
I am glad that you found it helpful.
I agree that it’s not possible to follow all the rules of the Google. But still, try to manage the no as low as possible. You won’t like to get your site penalized.
Thanks for stopping by.
Enjoy the day.
~Ravi
This is a great list Ravi. You listed several things that a lot of people leave off of lists like this, things that affect the longevity or your blog in addition to the user experience. I subscribe to blogs through their RSS feed and I often encounter some where the feed doesn’t work. It also amazes me when I find a blog that isn’t plugged into social media.
Anyway, thanks for sharing a great list.
Hey Ben,
People remain curious before launching their first blog. They forget to do many things. Creating the RSS feeds is important so that people can get the updates.
Social media has the major influence on the traffic of any blog. The bloggers should show the social sharing buttons under or above their articles.
Thanks for stopping by.
Have a nice day.
~Ravi