In the excitement and rush to launch your new website it can be all too easy to overlook some very important things. Drawing on our extensive web design and development experience, we’ve compiled a simple at-a-glance checklist to help you optimise your website before you go live.
The design and build stage
Text font and size – ensure all text is clear and easy to read with good line spacings. Large text and plenty of white space works well on the web.
Contrast – today’s screens show up subtle differences in colour, so make sure your design and text complement each other and enable maximum clarity.
Consistency – this is vital across your entire site so that users don’t get confused or fed up. Consistency also makes you look professional. Buttons and links should be obvious, while headlines and sub-headlines should be consistent in style, size and colour.
Coming Soon – it’s a good idea to include a ‘Coming Soon’ page to encourage users to bookmark your site. But make sure it’s just as impactful and well designed as the rest of your site.
Pre-launch checks
Whatever you do, do not skip these vital checks before launching your site!
1.Proofreading
Nothing says unprofessional as immediately as poor spelling and grammar. Spellchecks are important but not good enough on their own (especially if you’re a UK site and your spellchecker automatically changes things into American spelling!) – you should proofread everything twice, especially to check that no ‘lorem ipsum’ test content are still in place.
Triple check that all contact details are correct – names, phone numbers, email addresses etc.
2.Navigation and Functionality
Check everything is exactly where it should be, functions properly and that all buttons and links take you to where they should take you. It’s also a good idea to make sure your logo links to your home page.
3.Updates
Give your audience a quick and easy way to receive new updates without always having to visit your site. Let them subscribe free to an RSS feed link via your Blog so that any updates can automatically be available to them.
4.Cross-browser checks
Your website needs to work across all the most popular browsers, including Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari and Google Chrome.
5.Compatibility and Validation
Compatibility – make sure your website works across all devices, including desktop and mobile.
Validation – sites often fail to validate for simply rectified reasons. It’s important to understand any errors in order to be able to remove the causes.
JavaScript – for security reasons, many web browsers turn off JavaScript. So you need to ensure any response forms or similar will still complete server-side validation checks without Java-Script. This is especially important when talking about ecommerce London projects so please make sure this requirement is not overlooked.
Continue reading here:
Your Essential Checklist before launching your website. Part 2