Law Firm Website Launch Process: Things Most Often Missed

As with every other step in developing a new website, there are many different aspects to consider when launching one. Launching websites can be stressful even for the most experienced developers, and many items can be easily overlooked. Below, we provide a checklist of the steps that can be taken before and after a launch to make it that much more successful.

What to Do Pre-Launch

The information provided will cover many commonly overlooked items that can be done even before a website is launched. Adding these items to your pre-launch to-do list will ensure the website launch is covered from all angles.

As always, it is essential to create a backup of all your files before making any updates to your website to have a fallback in case anything goes wrong.

Make Sure Everything is Updated

One of the most important reasons to keep everything updated is security. Making sure your website is up-to-date is very important in keeping your website and information secure. That said, there are always new features, performance and security improvements with new updates to your CMS, PHP version or plugins.

If you are using a CMS like WordPress, make sure you have the latest version. WordPress accounts for about 60% of all CMS websites and 40% of all websites globally, making it a common target for potential hackers and all sorts of malicious attacks. You can now set your wordpress plugins to auto-update which is a huge help in maintaining your website.

Similar to having the most up-to-date CMS, the PHP version of the server is also important to check before launching. Why? Updating the PHP provides you with a fully-supported version that is routinely updated for security issues. Additionally, many CMS and plugin updates require a more recent PHP version.

Backup Everything

When launching, it is especially critical to have a backup of all files, databases and DNS entries. (Yes, we said “all!”) Launching can have many points of failure and even a minor update might lead to unexpected issues or errors. Having a backup prevents huge headaches and allows you to fix any problems that can’t be immediately handled more efficiently. A backup can be the difference between a simple fix or hours and hours of troubleshooting. This will also save time if you are changing hosts since those files may no longer be accessible after launch.

Have Everything You Need

When a website is nearing completion and a launch is scheduled, that is the time to check you have all the necessary credentials to ensure the process goes smoothly. Many delays and headaches can be saved if you have access to all the website files, its FTP, database and most importantly, its domain registrar. Another thing to keep in mind is that even though you are given access to an account, it may not necessarily be the correct account. Double checking that your credentials are working and have all the files/information needed is crucial to a smooth launch.

What to Do Post-Launch

Once a website is live, there are still a few important items to consider to make sure the website does well going forward.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Something that can separate you from others is setting up SEO for your website. This starts with making sure that your website is indexable to Google and other search engines. This means that the search engines can crawl through your website and make it a possible search result for anyone searching. Once that is all set, you can submit your website to Google Search Console to let them know your website is live and ready to be indexed.

Setting up basic keywords on important pages and schema helps the search engines better understand your website and can allow it to show higher in the results. If you are considering professional SEO help, we offer fantastic SEO services, ranging from basic to a complete rework of your site.

Another important aspect is your website page speed. This is very important, especially for keeping users on your site. Many people searching for a service, product, or information will always gravitate and stay longer on a site that loads faster for them. Running a speed test at Google’s Page Speed Insights gives you a score and a detailed explanation of the issues that might be slowing down your website.

Set Up Redirects and SSL

When a new website is launched, especially if it is not the first, there are likely to have been pages with changes to their URLs or page structure changes. There are a few reasons why redirects are very important to websites, the first being related to SEO. If a page had its URL changed, it can disrupt the user experience if they are left with a 404 page or similar. It ensures you direct the user to the important relevant content they were seeking. It also helps any search engines, such as Google, know about the change in URL and update their results. This will help you to maintain the traffic to the specific page on your website and prevent indexing issues.

Setting up an SSL for your website and making sure it redirects to use it is highly important. It ensures that all the user data is kept secure while also preventing malicious attacks on the website and your users’ data. But websites don’t use it by default, you must secure an SSL and redirect your URL to use it.