10 Things to Put on Your Website Checklist

Short, tall, big, small, your business needs some kind of website to survive in this day and age. It doesn’t have to be big and flashy, but it does need to exist to make sure people can find you and confirm you are who you say you are. Want to know what should be on your website? We have some ideas in this post here.

But, before you launch your website, here are some things you need to double check before throwing yourself on the world wide web.

1. Spelling and grammar

I know. Who wants to spend all that time searching for spelling mistakes? Well, your customers are going to notice, so you should take more than passing glance at your spelling and grammar.

2. Compatability

Does your website work on all platforms? If it only works in Internet Explorer, you’re going to have a problem. A big problem. Open your website in multiple browsers to see how it looks. If you’re having a real hard time making it show up where it should, you might need to hire a web developer to fix it.

3. Titles and metadata

Okay, this stuff is starting to get a little more tricky. Titles and metadata are mainly things that help with search engine optimization. Even more layman, it helps people find your website. Make sure your pages have page titles at the top and descriptions that the search engines can display.

4. Links

Yes. Check every link. As the Internet gets older, links start to break down and lead to web pages that are no longer there. At your launch, make sure your links aren’t already out of date. Check them all, even if it takes awhile.

5. Check the forms page

Make sure your forms are going to the right email address. If you don’t see anything, you need to recode. People will get frustrated when they can’t seem to contact you.

6. Set up analytics

The go-to is Google Analytics because it’s free and it’s Google. You have to embed a code on your website, but trust me. It will come in handy later so you know what your traffic likes and doesn’t like.

7. Build a 404 page

A 404 page shows up when someone is looking for something that isn’t there. You want to build a 404 page that will be a landing place for people who type something in incorrectly. You don’t want to 404 page to show up everywhere, but you do want a default one that has your header on it so people know something’s wrong.

8. Back it up

You should have a backup of your website somewhere. Just in case.

Trust me.

Just in case.

9. Have content

I know this sounds like a given, but you don’t want to have an empty website. Coming soon pages are okay for a little while, but you want to make sure there’s something there for people to look at.

10. Talk to your employees/coworkers

Have them take a look at the website before you launch it. You should have more than one pair of eyes on the site to make sure you see everything. Have them run some of these checks, too.

If you’re really dead set against getting yourself a website, we understand. Check out this post on how to get your business online without building a website.

What do you check on before you launch a website? Share in the comments below!