One of the most enjoyable things we get to do at KLT Design is launch websites. And thanks to our awesome clients and partnerships, we’ve had the privilege to launch a lot of them! It’s the time when all the initial “heavy lifting” has been completed and we are left with a product our customers can be proud to share with the world. And while this is surely a time to celebrate, there is still a lot of work left to be done. Here is a quick list (non-exhaustive):
What we will do:
Increase security
Adding a firewall, malware scanner, brute-force protection, among other steps are taken to help protect your website from mayhem.
Add protection against spam
Spam is an annoyance that needs to be nipped in the bud. Thankfully, there are plugins that make this easy.
Configure SEO plugin
Optimizing your website for search engines is an important step to getting your website seen by your target audience (to say the least).
Add Google Analytics tracking
Google Analytics is an extremely powerful tool that enables you to understand website traffic: where traffic is coming from, what devices your potential customers are using, what they are doing on your website, how long are they on a certain page, what pages are people leaving quickly, what time of day are people landing on your page, and so much more. Gathering and analyzing this information can help you optimize your website going forward and make better business decisions. And best of all, it’s free.
Speed optimizations
People expect websites to load quickly. If they don’t, the user is likely to leave and never come back.
Install an SSL certificate
Secure Socket Layer certificates (SSL) are more important than ever and if you’re not using one, browsers like Google Chrome and Internet Explorer are now flagging websites without SSL certificates. So, a user lands on your website to a message saying “This website is insecure”. Yikes! I can’t think of a faster way to lose a potential customer.
Enable search engine indexing and submit website to Google
A couple of things we need to take care of to inform Google that your business has a new website to be scanned and indexed.
What you need to do:
Tell your network
This is an easy way to get quick feedback, build brand awareness, and drive traffic to your new website.
Update Social Media pages
Maintaining a similar look and feel across your website and social media pages is best practice for brand consistency. Whether a user is on your website, Facebook page, LinkedIn Page, Google listing, etc., your brand identity should be evident and consistent across all channels.
Watch our tutorial videos and become familiar with the back end of your website
Keeping your website fresh and up-to-date not only encourages users to come back to your website frequently and reflects well on your brand, it’s also an important component for search engine optimization. So, get familiar with the tools you have available to maintain your website.
Develop an integrated marketing strategy
Please don’t skip this step. This is crucial. I think the biggest mistake business owners make is believing a new website on it’s own will generate traffic and increase sales. Trust me, this is rarely the case. While a well-designed website is important, it is just one piece of a much larger puzzle. An integrated marketing strategy must be developed to build and develop your brand, identify and reach your target audience, drive relevant traffic to your website, turn leads into customers, and turn customers into loyal brand advocates.
To get started on developing an integrated marketing strategy, I would first point you to our SEO on a budget article. There are some good tips in there that many of our clients have found helpful.
If, however, you would like to take the next step in developing an integrated marketing strategy, we would be glad to help you. We offer flexible consulting services where we meet with you and/or your team to develop a realistic marketing plan, assign responsibilities, and create attainable goals to gage progress and success. Simply reach out to us by phone or email and let us know you are interested in learning more about our consulting services.