You’ve spent hours creating your website and the page/s you are creating are looking as close to what you wanted … but your friends say they cannot find it on Google. So what is going on? In my experience it is easy to forget that your new site is initially hidden from search engines, to protect you during the development phase (in stealth mode your errors and omissions won’t be seen by anyone). But while we’re thinking about it here’s a run down of things to think about before your launch …
Quick Website Launch Checklist
1. Content and Design
- Delete Placeholder Content: Remove all demo posts, pages, and media.
- Remove any Categories and Tags: associated with the placeholder content.
- Check for Dummy Text: Ensure no “Lorem ipsum” or placeholder text remains.
- Widget Areas: Remove placeholder or default content from sidebars and footers.
- Menus: Confirm all menu items link to real pages without dead ends.
2. Social and External Links
- Update Social Media Links: Ensure icons link to the correct accounts.
- Check External Links: Test external links work properly.
- Check Mailto: Links: Test that your mailto:me@mylovelysite.com work.
3. SEO and Visibility
- Allow Search Engines: Go to Settings > Reading and uncheck “Discourage search engines from indexing.” (this is critical you will not be found)
- SEO Best Practices: Ensure titles, meta titles and descriptions are clear, page content is long enough and relevant, and if you use headings (H1, H2, etc.) they are structured properly for search engine indexing (in other words do not use for para content). Check all your images are labelled and include as a minimum a title and an alt-tag, optionally caption and description (this is all good housekeeping so you can find and reuse images in your posts).
4. Functionality and Responsiveness
- If using a Form: Submit test forms to confirm they are working, forms are notoriously tricky and can cause grief (either don’t arrive, get spammed and attarct spam).
- Mobile-Friendly: Review the site on multiple devices to ensure it looks good.
5. General Settings
- Set Site Title & Tagline: Check Settings > General for accurate branding.
- Permalinks: Ensure the permalink structure is user-friendly (e.g., “Post name”).
6. Legal and Compliance
- Privacy Policy: Include a privacy policy and terms of service.
- Cookie Notice: Implement a cookie consent if needed.
Final Checks
- Favicon: Set the site icon in Appearance > Customize > Site Identity.
- Broken Links: Use online tools to find and fix broken links.
Image: Stigmaria root, East Lothian