Releasing a website into the vast expanse of the web is a significant event. It’s crucial to ensure that every detail is in place before the launch. This list compiles 14 essential checks that cover aspects like usability, accessibility, SEO optimizations, backup plans, SSL for security, and the use of CDNs to enhance load times.
These are the critical boxes to tick to ensure your site is ready for the world.
1. Responsiveness
In the current digital age, making your website responsive is a fundamental part of web development. Your website should be compatible with laptops, desktops, phones, and tablets. It should also be compatible with most newer versions of all browsers. Remember, you can never predict the device and browser your users will use to access your website.
2. Accessibility
Web accessibility means designing and developing websites and technologies that people with disabilities can use. In essence, a website should be accessible to everyone, including individuals with disabilities. This includes adding keyboard navigation, using ARIA roles, ensuring sufficient color contrast between text and background, adding alt text to all images, and using descriptive names for links.
3. Usability
Usability measures how effectively and efficiently a specific user can use a site to achieve a defined goal. Your website should be easy to use, allowing users to find what they need quickly and easily. The content should be consistent across both versions of your website.
4. Short Loading Time
Website page load speed is a critical factor to consider. A slow-loading website can lead to a poor user experience. Your website should load as quickly as possible, especially since site speed is now a top priority for SEO.
5. SSL Certificate
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) enables you to use HTTPS for secure data transfer. It ensures your website is encrypted, preventing hackers from intercepting any of your data. An SSL certificate not only reassures your visitors but also boosts your website’s SEO, as SSL is now part of Google’s search algorithm.
6. Optimize Images
Images are often one of the slowest-loading elements on a page, so optimizing them is essential. Avoid TIFF or BMP images and stick to JPEGs and PNGs. Also, avoid empty image src code lines. Optimizing your images across web pages can significantly improve your page loading time.
7. Use Fallbacks
A “fallback” provides additional options to a browser if it cannot render a specific HTML tag, CSS property, or script. Fallbacks are most commonly used with HTML5 tags and CSS3 properties, which may not be fully supported in some browsers.
8. Double-check All Links and Forms
Always check all your links, buttons, forms, etc., to ensure they are working correctly. Links that work during development may not work after deployment in production. Always check for broken links and documents.
9. 404, Favicon
A custom 404 page is essential to prevent visitors from seeing an ugly error warning if they mistype or click on a bad link.
10. Minify Files
Minification is the process of minimizing code and markup in your web pages and script files. It’s a primary method to reduce load times and bandwidth usage on websites. The main goal is to remove redundant or unnecessary data such as spacing and comments.
11. Professional Domain
If you want your website to look professional, invest in a professional domain. Avoid domains like ‘.netlify.app’ etc. A professional domain always looks better than a subdomain.
12. SEO
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a critical aspect of your website. It improves your site’s rankings in search results, attracting more traffic and converting that traffic into customers.
13. Use a CMS
A CMS (Content Management System) makes it easy for you to change any content without repeatedly editing the code. If your website’s content is created and edited by non-technical people, they need to have a good GUI interface.
14. Bonus Tips
Ensure your websites don’t have any significant vulnerabilities. Put scripts at the bottom and stylesheets at the top. Use a CDN (Content Delivery Network). Avoid redirects. Use caching.
Wrapping Up
Preparing to launch your website can be both exciting and daunting. As you gear up for the big day, keep these 14 points in mind to help you build a site that impresses from the inside out. It’s a lot to consider, but it’s worth it to create something you’re proud of. Remember, improvement is a continuous process.
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