We are surrounded with various kinds of lists since we were born. They are helping us to organize our lives, work, hobbies. I'm sure that every one of you at least once in your life had made a some sort of a checklist. Grocery shopping, moving to a different place, preparations for a journey or even launching your first website: all of these actions need a well composed checklist. Today we are going to deal with the latter because there is nothing worse than problems with launching a website.  

Checklists are everywhere 

​The very first checklist resulted from a plane crash in 1935. During the post-crash investigation, it was discovered that the pilot had forgotten to turn off the elevator lock which resulted in the crash. To prevent such tragic mistakes, aviation safety authorities and pilots created a checklist of all activities that need to be done before starting the flight.

In a similar matter it is very important to prepare your website before launching. If you think that setting up a few pages and writing some content will be enough to launch a website you're wrong. There's a ton of other important elements that you need to take care of. Launching a new website without any hiccups, problems or stressing situations? Yes, it is possible! With our checklist your next launching will be as easy as pie. 

Things you must check before launching your new website: 

1. Proofread all content: it is always worth to read again all of your content. Check grammar and spelling mistakes, but also reconsider which content is redundant.
2. Make sure all the pages are added: check if all your pages are ready to be published. Seeing some unfinished content, visitors can be confused and think that your website is abandoned or unprofessional.
3. Test all links: there's a couple of websites that offer fast dead link checking. Thanks to them you will quickly learn which link needs to be fixed.
4. SSL (HTTPS): Generally speaking, SSL certificates create a secure connection between the visitor of your site and the server where your site is hosted so it is very important to have the SSL certificate installed if you're running an e-commerce website or gathering personal information. More info: https://www.cloudaccess.net/fresh/blog/entry/2020/03/27/important-changes-in-ssl-workflow.html
5. Backup: Our websites are in constant danger. Hackers, malware, problems with updates… In case of those types of events it's better to be prepared sooner than later. More info: https://www.cloudaccess.net/fresh/blog/entry/2019/12/17/why-it-is-so-important-to-backup-your-website.html
6. Update your CMS to the latest version: An outdated website is one which is not currently running the latest stable version. Like all web and desktop based software, keeping with the latest version is extremely important. More info: https://www.cloudaccess.net/fresh/showing-we-care/entry/2019/12/18/when-your-cms-is-outdated-and-vulnerable.html
7. Check if your website is mobile-friendly: 57% of internet users say they won't recommend a business with a poorly designed website on mobile. Websites that are not responsive don't provide an optimal user experience for their visitors.
8. Make sure your website offer a great user experience: by increasing user experience, you will create a more desirable place for your clients to interact with your brand. Remember that it takes about 0,05 seconds for users to form an opinion about your website. More info: https://www.cloudaccess.net/fresh/blog/entry/2020/10/20/all-you-need-to-know-about-user-experience-but-were-afraid-to-ask.html
9. Create social media profiles: nowadays social media are everything and most companies are know it. Think that there are 3 billion social media users around the world. Nice group of potential visitors, right?
10. Test your website on different browsers: there are hundreds of browsers out there but focus of the „big five" (Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer/Edge, Firefox and Opera). It's worth testing because last thing you want is to your website working on one browser while not working on the rest.