Items for your Website Launch Checklist
At the end of every web design project comes the time to actually launch and make your creation live to the greater world. This process is often an exciting time as months of work have led to this exact point. But before you make the full switch, it’s vital that everything has been rigorously tested and ready for a live production environment.
Many designers and developers find having a checklist handy makes this crucial step within the web design process more manageable. By having a consistent process that many members of your team can follow, you can avoid any potential bugs or pitfalls on launch.
While every project is different, there are some overlapping concepts that generally apply to nearly ever website launch. From revising content to testing all of your site’s functionality, performing a series of standardize reviews ensures that your website will be ready on hour one of its launch.
The following are some helpful guidelines to consider when launching your next project. Use them to create your own, unique launch checklist and make sure nothing goes unnoticed.
Content Checks
One of the first things to review is one of the most basic: content. When building websites and design modules, many use either generic text or the ubiquitous “Lorem ipsum” to layout pages. It’s important to review all of your site’s content and make sure all instances of such dummy text have been replaced with real, genuine content. At the same time, it will be helpful to perform one last proofread to find any spelling, capitalization, or grammatical mistakes.
There are some key pages you should ensure exist within your site. If necessary, create and check your site’s privacy policy, nondiscrimination policy, terms of use, or other disclaimer pages. Additionally, have you created and stylized your 404 page yet? While not the most important components of your website, these pages will certainly be necessary when the site is fully live.
Site Functionality
Performing a series of functional tests helps ease fears that certain programmable elements work. If you have created custom modules, test each one in a series of browsers to make sure the functionality is as desired. Check all third-party integrations and make sure data is properly transmitting.
A key component often overlooked is the simple website form. Be sure to test all of your forms to see if they (1) submit, (2) save or send the necessary data, and (3) validate the fields properly.
Browser & Responsive Testing
Testing your site’s design across a wide variety of browsers and devices is one of the most significant tasks you can do before launch. While using developer tools is a necessity, it’s nonetheless important to grab as many actual devices as you can and see how the site will legitimately respond.
When performing such tests, look for how typographical elements respond. Make sure images are all responsive and that they do not exceed the screen width on smaller devices such as phones.
Further, navigate and test your site in a variety of browsers including Chrome, Firefox, and IE/Edge. Look for potential bugs that could be browser-specific such as “return-to-top” anchor links, expandable/accordion modules, and dropdown menus.
Speed & Accessibility Testing
For page speed, use GTmetrix to test a variety of pages on your website. The generated report should give you a decent understanding of where your loading hiccups occur and what you can do to boost performance.
For larger institutions, it will be beneficial to run an ADA report via the Functional Accessibility Evaluator. This report will show how any violations according to ADA standards. Install the AInspector Sidebar for Firefox and you will be able to see specifically where on the page (and in your source code) the violations occur.
Website Accounts
Have you created all necessary third part accounts for the website such as Google Analytics and Webmaster Tools? Are there any additional marketing accounts that need to be created, integrated with the site, or verified? Before launching, it’s crucial that these accounts are established and have proven to report data.
Of course all of these subjects are just a casual review of the many aspects you need to consider upon a website launch. Over time you will find the similar items that you and your team need to test. As you find these common elements, create a master launch list that is customized to your specific needs. With such a list on hand, you can better safeguard against any potential surprises as your website goes live.
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