When your shiny new WordPress website is ready to go, it can be tempting to just push the “Go Live” button. After spending time and effort in polishing the design and content of your website, there are certain important steps you must follow to ensure that things don’t get missed.
Every WordPress website I design goes through the same process, regardless of project scope or budget. Here’s a comprehensive checklist of the steps I take to ensure that each website launch goes as smoothly as possible…
Navigation & Usability
- Check all header and main menu navigation links.
- Check all footer navigation links.
- Check all body copy links.
- Test usability on mobile and iPad – is the mobile navigation easy and intuitive to use?
- Check “Page not found” error page – how can this be used in a helpful way to direct users to key pages?
- Check output of any social sharing buttons – when the page is shared, is a suitable title, description and image thumbnail being displayed?
- Configure default/fallback images for Facebook sharing – if the page doesn’t have a dedicated image, does a suitable alternative get shown instead?
Functionality Testing
- Test all contact forms: check that messages get sent correctly, check that suitable error/validation messages appear, check that notification emails are received and properly formatted.
- Make sure contact forms are directed to client email address after testing.
- Test search facility and search results listing.
- If an e-commerce site, thoroughly test each stage of the user journey: customer account creation, shopping cart functionality, checkout procedure, payment gateways, and order confirmation emails (both customer and admin notifications).
Content & User Interface
- Generate and upload a suitable favicon at recommended sizes and formats – I recommend creating a 600 pixel square/circle version of the logo, then using an online Favicon Generator.
- Content checking and proof-reading (spelling, sub-headings, paragraphs).
- Check list formatting (i.e. full stops or semicolons).
- Check alignment of images inserted via the CMS, and check that they resize correctly.
Responsive & Mobile
- Perform extensive testing on all pages – do pages scale down effectively? Is any content inaccessible? Is navigation easy to use? Can main site tasks (e.g. contact forms, account registration, basket/checkout) be accomplished?
- Check general alignment of all page elements at a range of browser sizes.
- Test on Android device (usually my OnePlus 3).
- Test on iPhone and iPad devices.
- Test on small browser screen (1024 by 768 pixels).
- Test on large browser screen (1400 pixels and above).
Compatibility & Validation
- W3C validation of HTML and CSS.
- Test in all major desktop browsers (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Opera).
- Test in Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer.
- Check font rendering in IE, particularly if using custom fonts.
- Check for incorrect text characters in IE (box characters in amongst text).
- Install GDPR cookie consent plugin.
Performance
- Test loading speed on GTmetrix before performance tweaks.
- Install Smush plugin for image optimisation.
- Set up and configure caching plugin (I recommend W3 Total Cache).
- Use image sprites wherever possible, to improve loading speed and reduce HTTP requests.
- Test loading speed again on GTmetrix, to check improvements made.
Just before launch
- Set up Google Analytics and ensure client has access.
- Check SEO (meta titles and descriptions, plus URLs).
- Set up XML sitemap.
- Set up robots.txt files.
- Set up Google Search Console profile.
- Add sitemap to Google Search Console.
- Add sitemap to robots.txt file.
- Remove any remaining placeholder content.
- Check for missing content.
Just after launch
- Submit site to search engines.
- Install and configure Wordfence plugin.
- Install Redirection plugin.
- Check old site pages via Google and set-up necessary 301 redirects.
And that’s about it…
If you have a website project that you would like help with, please feel free to get in touch and I would be happy to help.