PRE-LAUNCH
Redesigning your website is part of staying up to date with trends, technology, or the latest search engine algorithm. But it's not just a matter of rejigging, adding, subtracting, refuelling, lighting a match and yelling LAUNCH!
If you don't want to disappear off Google's radar and therefore your customers, then here's a starting list of things to think about:
- Write a Launch Checklist
- If it's a new domain, then a full migration is recommended. Please contact us and we'll point you in the right direction here. Kitestring highly recommends this action.
- Benchmark your site statistics - this will let you monitor the changes after launch. They include, domain authority, indexes, cache date and crawl errors.
- Get your staff talking - Make sure everyone knows who is doing what, and set realistic time frames. Usually management always wants it live tomorrow.... If you don't have time to do a rewrite, (hey who does?) then outsource it or rethink the deadlines.
- Review all high quality links ponting to your site - you don't want to lose those. See Google analytics/Traffic Sources. The links will need redirecting to your new website.
- If possible, upload the most currently viewed page content and images and check site structure.
- Include unique metadata
- 301 Redirect all current pages to new pages. Any that are being deleted should be redirected to another chosen page, not neccessarily the home page.
LAUNCH
- Light a match, stand back and yell 3,2,1 LAUNCH!...
POST LAUNCH
- Check robots.txt file for blocked access.
- Remove 302 redirects and make 301.
- Check 404 for http status
- Check missing metadata
- Check non www redirects
- Make sure all forms etc are working and forwarding
- Tell everyone its live!!! Use Social media, the phone, pigeons, whatever you've got!
Alternative Action
Just give us a call and we'll help you find solutions to launching your new site that will keep your brand flying sucessfully.
Image and video from Thunda Down Under 2014 in Qld. Photo - by Darrell.