We All Jump Into it when our website is just ready to launch.. Is’nt it?  Yes we all do. But what is expected from a web designer at the time of website delivery? Here is the checklist that you must go through.

1. Did he design the website just as he promised?

He must show you a few mock-up of the design that is suitable for your line of business, it is a good practise that every website designer must follow. Once you finalize the design he will start working on that particular theme/design. Always try to go for themes those are meaningful to your business and has flexibility to change at any point later. A good web designer will suggest you the theme that best suits your business.

2. Did you check the Main Menu for all the main pages?

The Main Menu must contain all the pages that contain important information about your business. If there is another menu at the footer, please check that the items in top menu and footer menu is not repeated, rather footer menu may contain pages or link to your latest posts which you update too often (Like link to a Blog, Gallery, How to Reach etc.)

3. Does the HOME page  give clear picture about your business?

Your home page must weave a clear picture about your business in the mind of the visitors. Check whether your line of business is clearly defined through meaningful images and powerful content. Always remember – A good design doesn’t worth anything until powerful content. Yes, Content is the king! Try to keep everything very precise and understandable. If you are not a master in writing, just hire a content writer online.

4.Did you read The ABOUT Us page ?

In most cases I have seen client himself or the web designer copy-paste the these lines from others’ websites. This is strictly not done! Just don’t do this otherwise this will jeopardise your online reputation. If you don’t know what to write just hire a professional content writer to write a few lines about your business. Try to keep this within two or three paragraphs not exceeding 500 words. Visitors do not like to read long stories.

A well written About Us page can help your company show off its personality, differentiate itself from the competition, and leave a positive impression on potential customers.

5.Don’t forget to check the Products or Services Pages thoroughly.

Your website is an empire, this is where you must concentrate to estabhlish the empire… On this page Visitors are keen to learn about your product or services. Provide a clear picture of the product or services you provide to the extent possible, for physical products add clearly shot images. Check whether there is an enquiry button or a form to quickly engage the visitor.

6. e-commerce Website Checklist

If you are selling products online please check all the steps which takes your visitor to the payment gateway is working properly, after payment the buyer must receive an invoice with details of product purchased.  Check for the provision Keep your customer informed about the delivery status. Footer Menu must have the Terms and conditions, Return Policy and Refund Policy.

Remember customer is always concerned about every penny spent online due to the increasing number of internet frauds. Once you receive an order, please call them and tell about the status of the order.

Make sure all the forms to collect customer data , order details etc has a re-CAPTCHA to prevent spam and attacks.

A terms and conditions check-box for the customer to agree at the time of ordering a product must be there. A GDPR check-box is also a good idea to keep at the bottom of every page.

7.If your website is using cookies, make sure to alert the same to the visitor

Cookie Consent is a free JavaScript plugin for alerting users about the use of cookies on your website. It is designed to help you quickly comply with cookie laws.

To know more about cookies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_cookie

8. Check whether the forms are working correctly

If there is a form-to-email, please check that the mails are not getting into your spam folder. If this is the case with you, talk to your webhost.

9. Check for the security aspect

If Your website is using a CMS like wordpress or Joomla, make sure it is protected by google authenticator for extra security. If you don’t know what this is, ask your web designer to install a authenticator plugin.

Malwares and Virus issues are very common with websites, please look into it. If you are not sure what to do please go to securi.net to check for security and malwares.

10. Check for the provisions for marketing the website

Make sure the pages are using correct Meta Tags, i.e., Page Title, Description. Now a days several online tools are available to check whether your website meta is correctly set.

11. Check for the sitemap file

A sitemap file is an .xml file that contains the path of all the pages that is there in your website, however make sure your sitemap does not contain any path which you do not want to appear in search results. Check whether your website has a sitemap through SEOPTIMISER.com

12. Don’t forget to check whether your website is loading fast

Now that you have performed all the above checks, please consider to check the website speed. This is a very simple task, yet very important. You may check your website speed using the Google Developer Tools.

If you are still not convinced what is making your website load slowly use GTMetrix to analyze the website.

And at the end, make sure your website is properly configured with google analytics, to monitorwebsite traffic and take marketing decisions.