The launch of a website is always an exciting – and stressful – time for everyone.

It’s that ultimate moment when your business becomes even more official. Websites are a simple indicator that your business means business. And with your own website, of course, you can reach almost anyone in the world. That’s no small achievement.

But before you get carried away telling everyone all about your shiny new digital home, there are a few things you should check over to make sure your website is as ready as can be.

We say a few.

We’ve put together 57 things to check over before you launch your website so that you’ve got all the help that you need, in one place.

Page content

You’d be surprised at how many spelling errors survive beyond the design phase. Though it may seem a little bit obvious, it’s so important to read through your website several times to pick out those little spelling and grammar hiccups.

Spelling and grammar errors make your website look unprofessional and unfished – potentially turning away customers who now believe you don’t take things seriously.

Don’t get caught out with this one – go back and check, check, check.

*A handy tip here is to imagine yourself as a customer on your own website. Experiment with different journeys, and pay attention to every single snippet of content that engages with you.

Functionality

How easy is it to use your website? Does it anticipate well what you are looking to achieve with it? And are you thanking customers when forms are submitted, or subscription details are entered?

Effective customer relationship techniques rely on links that work and confirmation e-mails that stand-out. How are you interacting with your customer on and off your website?

Functionality is all about ensuring your website works. Have friends and family use your website as they would any other. How do they

SEO

Getting your SEO right is crucial if you want a website that’s going to perform well and get your mission out into the public.

Make sure to include relevant keywords throughout your content, being careful not to over do it. Again, think about your audience. What might they be searching on the internet? Have all your meta descriptions in place to make it easier for them to find you, and make sure those descriptions contain relevant keywords.

Analytics

To better inform and shape your marketing campaigns going forward, it’s a good idea to set up your Google Analytics as soon as possible. You’ll want to exclude the relevant IP addresses too, so that your internal business traffic doesn’t corrupt customer data.

Set up goals such as contact form submissions, payment confirmation, and e-mail subscription confirmations so you can track your performance.

If you’re unfamiliar with how to use Google Analytics, you’ll find amazing (free) tutorials provided by Google so you know what you’re looking for.