There is no doubt that WordPress is the best content management system (CMS) for your website. Sure, countless CMS’ are available, ranging from open-source to paid, and you’ll hear evangelists on all sides swearing that their choice is the best. Here is a checklist, if you're thinking to start your new wordpress site.
You should always have a backup solution on your website. Backups are like an insurance policy for your site. If anything goes wrong, you’ll always have a backup to restore things to the way they were. There are many good WordPress backup plugins available, both free and paid. Plus, they usually take only a few minutes to set up.
With a backup solution in place, you should turn your attention to the security of your website. Adding strong security protocols provides even more protection against hackers.
There’s no denying that WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems in the world. But with that popularity comes a big target for hackers to aim for. Many sites run without facing this kind of threat, but it’s better to be prepared just in case.
Most websites these days use a contact form. You might even have forms for subscriptions or generating leads. Before launching your website in WordPress, make sure all your forms display and function properly. Don’t stop at perfecting the design either. Ensure any forms that collect data, store it in the correct place.
It would be nice for your website visitors to all use the same browser. But the fact is, people have their own tastes when it comes to browsing the web. Many still use older versions of popular browsers. With that in mind, you should check your site displays and functions across all browser types.
It’s vital to keep your version of WordPress, along with your themes and plugins, up-to-date to prevent any vulnerabilities. Hackers can easily take advantage of any weaknesses in outdated software.
Before you launch your site, make sure you have a way to track your site’s performance. After all the work spent on building and readying things, you want to know how many users are visiting, how they got there, and where they spend the most time. Google Analytics is the standard choice for many websites wanting to track this data. There are several great plugins that will integrate Google Analytics with WordPress.
Before you launch your site, you’ll want to make sure that your page URLs look good, are easy to read, and are search engine friendly. This is because it gives users and search engines more information about your content.
As we mentioned earlier, accessibility is important for your site. The alt text of your images directly links with this as it was originally made to help support features like screen readers. That said, it’s also an important SEO feature.
Social media plays an important role in the launch of your website. Don’t miss out on using the power of viral marketing for yours. Make sure people have a way to connect with your site on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Also, check any social plugins on your site are working properly.
Poor spelling and grammar can easily make or break your site. We all make mistakes of course. But any more than one or two small errors on your site will lose the trust of your users and impact your business’ credibility.
Before you launch your site, it’s important to ensure that your code is valid. W3 Consortium has a free online validator tool. It will check your HTML, CSS, XHTML, and XML code for errors.
With this in mind, make sure you know how your site will look and function on different devices. If you use the SeedProd landing page builder for your coming soon page, you shouldn’t have any issues with this as it’s 100% mobile ready and responsive, so it will look good on any size screen.
Broken links are both frustrating for users and damaging to your SEO. We recommend using Ahrefs to find your broken links and you can use it for keyword research and analyzing competitors too.
The footer is one of the last parts of your website users see, but that doesn’t mean you can neglect it. Your copyright notice should be included in your footer.