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9Oct2013

The Toughest Mudder Website Launch Checklist

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Below are what I consider important items to review before launching a new website.

If you get through this list and you survive, you should get yourself a drink as you are ready to launch!

Copy Checks

  1. Check spelling.
  2. Check tone of voice.
  3. Check details such as company, phone numbers, email address, copyright year, ABN.
  4. Check “hidden” copy such as ALT text on images.
  5. Check that there are no test copy or missing content such as test comments, lorem ipsum, xxx text or empty pages.
  6. Check that the Company logo appears at the bottom, if required.

SEO

  1. Test Speed, now considered about 20% of the Google algorithm.
    1. Check that the image are optimised.
    2. Check caching is enabled, if required.
    3. Reduce http requests.
    4. Minify Java & CSS files.
  2. Check that keywords are present on body text.
  3. Check META titles and description.
    1. Forget META keywords, they are a waste of time.
  4. Check URL structure. Need to be short and relevant.
    1. This applies also to page and files names as well as folder structure.
  5. Check sitemap, you’ll need:
    1. HTML sitemap.
    2. XML sitemap.
    3. Consider specific sitemaps if website has very custom section e.g. video sitemap.
  6. Check Canonical redirect on search and results pages.
  7. Forward the WWW and NOT-WWW to 1 version
  8. Avoid duplicate pages.
  9. If the website is an upgrade, 301 redirect all links from the old site to the new one. Esure you do this for the most viewed page (at least).
  10. Check there are “ALT” & “TITLE” on HREF and images tags.

Standards & Variations

  1. Accessibility such as:
    1. Search Engine access - Robot file (robots.txt).
    2. External access.
    3. Level 1 (sA) of the WCAG 2.0 Accessibility standard.
  2. Ensure website meets standards at: http://validator.w3.org/.
    1. Validate HTML & CSS.
    2. Validate JavaScript.
  3. Have all the browser been tested?
    1. Windows (Xp and 8) and Mac.
    2. Chrome, IE 8 and up, Safari, Firefox.
    3. Mobile, desktop and tablet.

Site Functions and misc

  1. Are the calls to action working?
  2. Contact form working? Are the SMTP details correct?
  3. Are add to cart buttons working?
  4. Is checkout working?
  5. Is live chat working?
  6. Is the search working?
  7. Is print style CSS being tested?
  8. Is the 404 page working?
  9. Are all links working?
  10. Is SSL in place? (if required)
  11. Also make sure a reminder is set for when that SSL will expire as some SSL forget to send updates and web designer are forgetful.
  12. Have all the test data been removed? E.g. comments, users, test orders ...
  13. Is the favicon showing up?

Tracking

  1. Google analytics on all pages.
    1. Exclude your Office IP and all client PCs.
  2. Ecommerce tracking if required.
  3. Analytics URL on all links in all automated emails tracked https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/1033867?hl=en.
  4. Add an annotation in Google Analytics showing the date the site launched and any major deployment.

Good Practices

  1. Button
    1. Text should never have “SUBMIT”. Use descriptive words of what will actually happen when the user clicks the button.
      An example is the contact page "submit" should be "send my question" or "send my inquiry".
    2. Also all links and button should be have a pointer on hover.
  2. Testimonials need to be real.
    1. When possible have a name and location. Testimonial without these information are considered fake.
  3.  RSS Link
    1. If it's a blog, you should have an RSS feed.
  4. Text size need to be proportionated and readable.
  5. Main company logo should be clickable and redirects to the homepage.

Post Launch items

  1. Submit sitemap to search engine.
  2. Add site on webmaster tool https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/home?hl=en
  3. Test website with a live and real transaction. Yes real money.
  4. Check Analytics and goals are tracked properly.

If WordPress

1. Check the time zone (Setting > General).