Here is our website launch checklist, or the 5 fundamental things you need to check before your website goes live.

Considering that you’ve probably invested quite a bit of effort if you’ve made it to this point – you definitely want to make sure that everything is perfect. Indeed, a website that has been set up correctly can really make a difference for your business!

But what if you missed something that could compromise your traffic and revenues? Don’t worry, we got you covered!

1. Check that your website is secure with an SSL certificate

Have you ever seen this message? 👇

This is what Google Chrome shows when a website is not secure. Browsers block websites they mark as unsafe for users, because they see them as a threat for their privacy.

As a website owner, you definitely don’t want your reputation be damaged by a message like this. Moreover, almost everyone visiting your website would instantly close it if it were shown as unsafe.

How can you avoid it?

Check that your website has an SSL certificate and is working properly.

By confirming your SSL certificate, your URL will start with HTTPS and not just HTTP. An HTTP URL would be shown as non-secure and this could highly affect traffic and trust.

If you still don’t have an SSL certificate, you can generate one for free on websites like Let’s Encrypt.

2. Check responsiveness and speed

Did you know that 40% of people abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load? 

That’s why you want to make sure that your website is loading fast. There are 3 things that it’s important to test:

👉 how long it takes to open your website;
👉 how long it takes to see the first piece of content on your home page;
👉 how long it takes for a page to load all the elements.

Speed is crucial for SEO and traffic. A responsive website is also a website with a lower bounce rate. Basically, people will less likely to close your website if it loads fast. 

A few things you can do to improve your website’s speed are:

• optimize your images;
• check that the files you’re using are in the right format;
• if you’re using a CMS and you’ve installed plugins, check that they aren’t slowing down your pages.

3. Check that your website is accessible to everybody

One thing that you should never forget is accessibility. A website that is accessible is a website that everybody can use, regardless of their abilities or disabilities. 

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 provide the standard for accessible websites. Here are a few things that you could do to improve your website’s accessibility:

Following WCAG guidelines doesn’t only allow everyone to use your website fully, but it can also give you a slight SEO advantage.

4. Check that your website is optimized for mobile

It’s a fact: today, most people access websites through their mobile phones. According to the latest stats, 62.06% of website traffic comes from mobile devices. And this explains also why Google has switched to a mobile-first indexing approach, meaning that the mobile version of a website is indexed first.

So having a website that is optimized for mobile view is key.

As a rule of thumb, the mobile version of your website should have the same content as the desktop version, the images should be optimized for a smaller screen, as well as the overall spacing and elements (you can check here for more best practices on website development and design). 

5. Check that your website is legally compliant

Last but not least, you shouldn’t forget your legal documents. 

Legal compliance is often overlooked, but it shouldn’t. You surely wouldn’t want your website to be shut down after its launch. 

Now more than ever, people are conscious about privacy and how their data is used. Being transparent with them allows you to build a relationship based on trust, which will likely last longer. 

Moreover, legal compliance is beneficial to you, too, because it prevents liabilities and unpleasant consequences. For example, almost every US privacy law allows users to sue businesses that collect and process personal data unlawfully.

How do you comply with privacy laws?

The first thing to do here is to determine your law (or laws) of reference, that is the law that applies to you. 

Then you should create and add your documents. 

Each website has its specific needs, so the documents you need may vary. However, generally speaking, a website will most likely need:

This was our website launch checklist!

Let’s recap:

We know that some of these things will probably require some effort on your side, but it’s important to set everything up because they will save you a lot of time and money in the future!

However, some things don’t need to take that long. 

👀 See more:

• Top 7 Hosting With Website Builder Included
• How Much Does Website Development Cost? A Comprehensive Breakdown
• A Quick Overview of European Privacy Laws