Web Marketing. Website Pre-launch Checklist

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1 Web Marketing Website Pre-launch Checklist Fall 2014

2 Web Marketing Content Has Grammar and Spell check been performed on all content? Has a second set of eyes proofread all content? Does each page meet the needs of the visitor: Too long? Too short? Content speaks to page title and headings - one message per page Is the wording/complexity the right level for what the visitor would understand at this stage? Is the tone appropriate? Are call to actions visible, clear and enticing? Are there any orphans/widows? Are common terms referred to using the same word/phrase (i.e. Web Design vs Webdesign)? Is there an easy-to-understand 404 page? Are Privacy Policy and Terms of Use present and easily accessible? Is copyright notice present and does it auto-update every year? Has all test content used during development phase been removed? Has website been scanned for broken links? If replacing an old site: Are redirects set up from old page URLs to the new ones? Is any content not going to be replaced in the new site? How will you address this content gap? Search engine optimization Is website visible to search engines (no hidden directives in robots.txt, Wordpress settings)? Is sitemap set up and live? Is all text written as web page text rather than embedded in images? Do all pages have unique Titles, H1s and meta descriptions (where applicable)? Are semantic tags used wherever possible (headings, quotes, cites, etc) Do all images have proper ALT text?

3 Is the use of hidden text avoided? Are URL structures easy to understand and contain the right keywords? Does the website footer includes company name, contact info and address? Do pages look ok in search engine result pages? (Title/Description length) Are Google author photos set up? Is structured data/microdata used where applicable? Has the site been run the site through an SEO audit tool? Usability Are forms easy to use? Do they do what a visitor would expect? Do they flow nicely? In a multi-step form process, is the user aware of their progress? Are instructions accurate and easy to understand? Is color contrast used appropriately? Are fonts easy to read? Is it clear what is a heading and what is body text? Browser/device compatibility Test all unique page templates in these browsers at widescreen, laptop, tablet portrait, tablet landscape and smartphone resolutions: Internet Explorer 9+ Chrome Windows Chrome Mac Firefox Windows Firefox Mac Safari ios Safari Chrome Mobile Blackberry 10 Browser

4 Do the templates look/behave similar and function properly? Do forms, placeholders and validations work the same in all browsers? Is there critical content that displays above-the-fold on some screen sizes but below-the-fold on others? How is this addressed on smaller screens? Does the website use Progressive Enhancement where necessary? Does the website leverage any reverse-compatibility libraries such as Modernizr or HTML5shim? Analytics Is Google Analytics and any other analytics tracking code on all pages? Are conversion goals set up? Are conversion goal values set up? Are A/B testing/content experiments set up? Are Analytics Views and their respective filters properly set up? (in the case of multiple sub-sites under one analytics account) Is Google Webmaster tools set up to detect crawl errors/warnings? Online Advertising Are all campaigns scheduled to go live on launch? Is remarketing code added to each page? Is pay-per-click conversion tracking code added to conversion success pages? Social Do all pages contain the necessary meta tags to display nicely on Facebook, LinkedIn and other networks? Are pages that should be shareable, easily shareable with social icons/buttons? Performance Are all images optimized for web? JPEG - appropriate quality settings in Photoshop PNG - exported with advanced lossy compression Is Javascript and CSS minified and combined where possible? Are CSS sprites used for icons used throughout the site? Does the website leverage browser caching?

5 Is compression enabled? Is server-side page caching enabled (in the case of a CMS or database-driven website)? Are you using CSS-built shapes in place of images where possible (boxes, squares, stars, etc)? Is CSS animation used in lieu of video where possible? Are alternatives used in lieu of Flash where possible? Are smaller, faster-loading mobile assets loaded when on mobile devices rather than desktop assets where possible? Are HTTP redirects minimized? Is a Content Delivery Network being used? (only applicable if website will receive heavy traffic from around the world) Does the site enhance on Retina Devices? Are Retina.js and appropriate Wordpress plugins set up? Are versions of all images? Has the site been run through a 3rd party speed test and realistic action items addressed? Technical Web fonts - Are there device-common backup font families (like Arial, etc) set up to display if the web font doesn t load? Are there print-specific CSS styles to make sure the pages print ok? Have all pages been validated to W3C standards? Is there a Favicon? Retina-ready? Apple touch icon? Have all JavaScript errors/warnings been addressed? Is RSS set up and visible if applicable? Is there enough space on the web server for the site to grow to it s expected size in the coming year? Does the search function work as expected? (if applicable) Security/monitoring Is there a pre-launch backup of the site and database in a secure location? Are backups scheduled at a regular interval? Are backups stored at a physical location away from the live site? Is there a procedure/estimated timeline to restore from a backup in the case of an emergency? Are uptime monitoring and alerts scheduled?

6 Is there a plan in place to manage future software/security updates? Is SSL being used where applicable? Have protected pages been hardened and tested for vulnerabilities? Does web host have a redundancy plan if production server goes down? Are servers geo-dispersed in case of a localized natural disaster (earthquake, flood, godzilla)? Are non-https elements being loaded onto HTTPS pages? (answer should be no) Wordpress Is Wordpress up-to-date with the latest version? Are minor version auto-updates set up? Are all plugins up-to-date? Is Wordpress hardened? (see Sucuri WP plugin) Is Wordpress being monitored for malware? Are proper directory/file permissions set up? Essential plugins installed Post-launch Check analytics is working properly after 24 hours Schedule 1 month review meeting Have something to add? We re always improving this list and would love any suggestions. us at [email protected] with your suggestion. Web Marketing [email protected]