Congratulations! Your website is live, and it’s time to celebrate. 🎉
But before you kick back with a well-deserved office party, there are a few important tasks to tackle. Think of this as your website post-launch checklist—designed to help you get the most out of your new web design.
What’s Ahead?
Website Post-Launch Checklist
1. Submit Your Website to Google Search Console & Bing Webmaster Tools
First things first, let’s make sure your website gets noticed.
Head over to Google Search Console and submit your site. This is like sending Google an invitation to come check out your new digital digs.
Don’t forget Bing! It may not be as popular as Google, but it’s still a search engine worth your attention.
According to Statista:
“Bing accounted for 10.51% of the global desktop search market, while market leader Google had a share of around 81.95% while Yahoo trails behind with a market share of 2.67% (as of July 2023).”
Just think, even if you only got a few clicks through Bing — and one of them converts into a new customer each month — how much additional revenue would that be?
So yes, take 10 or so minutes to verify your website with Bing.
Pro Tip: Submitting your XML sitemap to these platforms helps search engines index your site faster, making it easier for people to find you. A properly submitted sitemap is a crucial part of every website post-launch checklist.
2. Claim Your Google Business Profile
If you’ve got a physical location or serve a specific area, claiming your Google Business Profile is a must. This is how you get your business to show up on Google Maps and in local search results—super important for attracting local customers.
Got a Virtual Office?
Even if your business operates from a virtual office or offer online services (like I do), you can still claim a Google Business Profile.
Google allows service-area businesses (SABs) to list their profile without showing the exact address. This is perfect for businesses that operate online or offer services in specific regions without a brick-and-mortar location.
Your Google Business Profile is Important
A verified Google Business Profile lets you add all the juicy details about your business, like hours, contact info, and even photos.
Plus, it’s a great way to gather and showcase customer reviews. Don’t skip this step in your website post-launch checklist if you want to boost your local SEO.
3. Add Your Website to Online Directories
Directories are like the online equivalent of the Big Yellow Phone Book (remember those?).
In fact, back in 2010, Yellow Pages Group (YPG) recognized the shift in customer habits due to the rise of the internet and smartphones. They stopped delivering residential phone books in cities like Toronto and Cambridge, urging customers to use their online directories instead.
Anyway, getting your website listed in as many relevant directories as possible can give your SEO a nice boost and make it easier for people to find you.
Where to Find Local Business Directories?
Just Google it! Look for local directories, industry-specific directories (like Houzz for home services or Healthgrades for healthcare), and general ones like Yelp and Foursquare.
The more places your business is listed, the better! Including directory submissions in your website post-launch checklist can help increase your online visibility.
Got a Canadian business?
I’ve curated a list of the Best Canadian Business Directories. Click that link to check ’em out. I’ll continue to add more as I test and find quality directories for us Canucks!
4. Set Up Analytics & Other Tracking Tools
Now that your website is live, it’s time to see what’s happening behind the scenes. Understanding how visitors interact with your site is crucial for making data-driven decisions that can improve user experience, boost conversions, and refine your overall strategy.
Google Analytics (GA) is the go-to tool for tracking a wealth of data on your website. You can set up goals to track specific actions, such as form submissions or purchases, and use this data to optimize your marketing efforts.
But here’s the thing:
I find Google Analytics to be a bit clunky and, more importantly, invasive of people’s privacy. With all the recent concerns around data protection and user privacy, it’s worth considering an alternative that respects your visitors’ privacy without sacrificing the valuable insights you need.
That’s why I use Fathom Analytics .
- Privacy-First: No cookies or personal data tracking, keeping your site GDPR-compliant without cookie banners.
- Ethical Tracking: Respects user privacy while providing essential insights.
- Simple & Fast: A clean, easy-to-use dashboard that doesn’t slow down your site.
Best of all, you can get $10 off Fathom Analytics with my affiliate link. When you switch to Fathom, you’ll be supporting a company that values privacy and simplicity, all while getting the data you need to grow your business.
Need More Tracking Tools?
If you’re looking to dive even deeper into understanding your website’s performance and user behavior, there are several additional tools worth considering. These tools can help you visualize how visitors interact with your site, test different elements, and gather valuable feedback to refine your online strategy.
Here’s a few tools I like to use:
- Hotjar: Offers heatmaps, session recordings, and user feedback tools to visualize user interactions and identify areas for improvement.
- Crazy Egg: Provides heatmaps and scroll maps, helping you quickly spot what’s working and what’s not on your pages.
- Optimizely: A robust A/B testing tool that allows you to test different versions of your website elements to see which performs best, driving more informed decisions.
However, keep in mind that some of these tools may impact your site’s performance. For example, HotJar is notorious for slowing down websites. Use these only when you really need your website’s data to make informed decisions about your online strategy.
5. Create & Submit a Robots.txt File
This one sounds technical, but it’s easier than you think!
A Robots.txt file tells search engines which parts of your site to crawl and which to ignore. This is crucial for ensuring that your site’s most important pages are indexed while keeping less critical pages out of search results.
Where to Submit Your Robots.txt File?
In most cases, if you’re using WordPress and have a plugin like Yoast or RankMath installed, the Robots.txt file is automatically created and managed for you.
You can easily check or customize it by navigating to your SEO plugin settings.
How to Check Your Robots.txt File?
You can view your Robots.txt file by adding /robots.txt to the end of your domain (e.g., www.yourdomain.com/robots.txt).
This will show you what instructions you’re currently giving to search engines.
Pro Tip: Double-check that your Robots.txt file doesn’t block anything crucial, like your contact page or blog. If you’re unsure about what should be included or excluded, your SEO plugin will often provide default settings that are a good starting point. This is a small but important part of your website post-launch checklist.
6. Secure Backups & Updates
This one’s all about peace of mind. Keeping your website safe and running smoothly starts with regular backups and updates.
I personally use Kinsta for my hosting, and one of the main reasons is that they provide automatic daily backups. This means that if anything goes wrong, I always have a recent copy of my site ready to be restored with just a few clicks.
Here’s a few reasons why I switched and will forever stay with Kinsta:
- Free Staging Site for Experiments: Another feature I love about Kinsta is the ability to develop and experiment with new ideas on a staging site. This way, I can test changes, try out new plugins, or even redesign a page without worrying about messing up my live site.
- Manual Backups: Even with automatic backups, it’s always a good idea to create a manual backup before making significant changes. It’s quick and easy to do, and it ensures that you have a snapshot of your site exactly as it was before you started tinkering.
- Outstanding Customer Support: Kinsta’s customer support is second to none. Their team is available 24/7, and they are incredibly knowledgeable and responsive. Whether you’re dealing with a technical issue or just need some advice, their support team is always there to help you out.
After using several hosting services, I can confidently say that Kinsta is by far the best WordPress hosting plan I’ve ever used.
Its reliability and ease of use are also why I trust it for my website maintenance services, ensuring that my clients’ sites are always secure, up-to-date, and backed up.
7. Ongoing SEO Efforts
Your SEO journey is just beginning once your site is live.
SEO isn’t a one-and-done task; it requires ongoing attention and consistent effort to keep your site performing well in search engine rankings. Here are some ongoing SEO tips and tricks to keep your site at the top of its game:
- Monitor Keyword Rankings: Use tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush to track your keyword performance and adjust your strategy as needed.
- Build Backlinks: Focus on acquiring high-quality backlinks from reputable sites. Guest blogging, outreach, and content partnerships are great ways to do this.
- Regular Content Updates: Keep your content fresh by updating existing posts with new information, optimizing for current keywords, and removing outdated material.
- Optimize On-Page SEO: Continuously refine your on-page elements, such as title tags, meta descriptions, and header tags, to align with your SEO goals.
- Content Creation: Consistently publish new, high-quality content that targets relevant keywords and meets the needs of your audience. This keeps your site active and relevant.
- Technical SEO Checks: Regularly audit your site’s technical SEO aspects, like site speed, mobile-friendliness, and URL structure, to ensure optimal performance.
- Local SEO: If you’re targeting local customers, make sure your Google Business Profile is up-to-date, and focus on getting local citations and reviews.
- Competitor Analysis: Keep an eye on your competitors’ SEO strategies to identify new opportunities and stay ahead in the game.
- User Engagement: Monitor user engagement metrics, such as bounce rate and time on page, to understand how visitors are interacting with your content and make improvements as needed.
Remember, SEO is a marathon, not a sprint.
Consistent effort over time will pay off in higher rankings and more traffic. Make sure ongoing SEO is always at the top of your website post-launch checklist, and stay tuned for a more detailed blog post where I’ll dive deeper into these strategies.
Final Thoughts
Launching a website is just the beginning.
By following this post-launch website checklist, you’ll ensure that your site remains secure, optimized, and ready to grow. From setting up reliable backups with Kinsta to implementing ongoing SEO strategies, each step is designed to keep your website running smoothly and performing at its best.
But remember, you don’t have to do it all alone.
Whether you need help with website maintenance, optimizing your SEO, or just want to make sure everything is running as it should be, I’m here to help.
Fill out my form with the details about what you need, and I’ll get back to you with a tailored plan to keep your website on track. Your success is my priority, so let’s work together to ensure your website is not just launched but thriving.
