Can you believe it? Your website is almost ready! The developer just sent you a link so that you can see what they’ve finished. It’s almost across the finish line.
But now what? What is there left to do?
Well, there are two more steps left before people can see the website: review it and launch it.
After all, just because you’ve gotten the website back doesn’t mean it’s ready to be live yet. There are things you need to look at and check. After all, this is your presentation to the world.
And then there are even a few steps to take to launch it.
So today, let’s go through this one last crucial part of the process.
What to check on the review
So obviously, you’re going to want to one last look over the website before the public gets to see it. Again, this needs to be perfect for it to help your business.
But the first time you look at it, it might be a little bit too much to take in. And it can even be difficult to know where to begin reviewing the website and suggesting changes.
So first off, you want to make sure the site is usable. Can you navigate around to all of the pages? Can you use the different bits of functionality, such as purchasing a product or filling out the contact form? If not, there’s problem number one.
Next, review all of the content to make sure that it’s correct. If you’ve followed this guide, you already know that you should have checked it before you sent it to the developer. But you should check it again just to make sure it all transferred correctly from that email or word doc on to the actual website. Again, grammar mistakes as well as factual errors and spelling errors are real turn offs for prospective customers.
Then look at the website with a phone and a tablet if you have one. What does it look like at those screen sizes? Does it still look good and convincing or does it still need work?
Then, when you are satisfied with all of that and any changes are made, you can then start to launch it.
Deep breathes on the launch
So now the website really is ready for launch. Now what? Well, if you’ve hired a developer, there’s probably not a whole bunch you need to do, so sit back, take some deep breaths and chill out.
If this is the first website for your business, you’ll probably need a domain name and web hosting, which your developer can help out with. This is something y’all really should have discussed back during the discovery phase.
But aside from that, whenever the developer has all of that sort of information, they’re the ones who are going to be taking it live.
So just sit back and wait for that long-awaited email saying that your website is actually live.
Celebrate and let people know
When it is finally live, celebrate and tell everybody. This is the moment for your business, whether this is the first website for your business or just a refresh for the business.
This process has likely taken several months to complete, so kick back and enjoy a beverage of your choosing. And then let yourself finally relax.
When that’s done, tell the world about your website. Push it out on social media. Put a sign in your storefront window telling everybody about the new website. Even roll out fancy new ads if that’s your thing.
There’s been a lot of hard work that’s gone into this website. Now just let the world know about it; you deserve it. And see how people like it.
Get ready for the future
Once you’ve relaxed and told the whole world about your website, it’s time to gear up for the future for your business and website. Because honestly it just doesn’t stop.
We’ll talk about this next time when we sort of go over the post-launch stage, but you really need to be thinking about the future of your website. Who’s going to run it? Who’s going to update it? How are content changes going to be made? Those are some of the things we’ll be asking next time around.
So enjoy this moment, but also be thinking ahead. That’s how you stay ahead of the game.
Next steps
So again, congratulations! You’ve basically reached the end of what has been a long and very tiring process. So enjoy it. You absolutely deserve it.
Next time we’ll talk more about how you can maintain this website, both the code side and the content side. That way your website will be able to run for a long time and truly help your business grow.
If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in comments below or reach out on social media. You can also learn more about creating a website for your business over on my website. I have a bevy of resources and blog posts that can help you make informed decisions during this entire process.
When you’re ready to move on to the final step, I’ll see you in the next video.
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