If the word launch has associations with countdowns, spaceships and Cape Canaveral what about as far as a website is concerned? Whereas launching a new site might not be quite as grand as pressing the button to send a rocket to space, the principles are the same: is this thing good enough to fly?
Chances are you will have tested elements of your site during the build process. However, it pays to run through a final checklist to make sure. The best websites are accessible, usable and abide by coding standards. You can break your checklist down into several categories:
Content and copy:
- Are the fonts consistent from page to page? What about text size?
- Make sure no sneaky holder paragraphs remain, such as Latin passages
- Do all headings, subheadings and copy refer to the right things?
- Check grammar and spelling. A good tip is to read pages from the bottom up - errors that you might previously have overlooked become obvious
- Copy and paste text into a word document for an automatic spellcheck
- Does each page have a clear purpose?
Links, forms and layout:
- Check all links and email addresses
- Complete all forms and make sure they process properly (and send messages to the correct email accounts)
- Is page layout consistent? Headings higher or lower on each page? Do logos and columns move around?
- Try changing the browser's font preferences. Does this cause a problem?
- What happens when you shrink the browser window? Does anything get skewed?
- Are all images in the correct place and of correct resolution and quality?
- Try your site in different browsers, particularly Internet Explorer (old and new versions), Firefox, Opera, Safari and Google Chrome
- If your site is an
e-commerce solution, check the links to shopping carts, payment methods and individual items
Navigation:
- Do all links open in a new tab, new window or the same window?
- How about your error pages? Do they make it easy to redirect to the previous page (or the homepage) and offer suitable information?
- Does the font colour contrast enough with the background to make it legible?
- How long does each page take to load?
- Is there a contact link on each page?
- Do you have an XML site map?
- If an e-commerce site, is the shopping cart, purchase button and payment screen clearly visible?
Usability:
- If images and styles sheets are disabled is the content still legible?
- Are links a standard colour do they change once clicked?
- Is there a clear navigation path through the website? For example, a homepage, contact page, site map and clear links for each?
- Can the site be read coherently by a screen reader (such as NVDA)
- Can all links and pages be reached by simply using the keyboard shortcuts?
Coding and web standards:
- Have you tested your site at http://validator.w3.org? This can check both (X)HTML and CSS syntax. The benefit is both from an accessibility perspective (web readers will decode verified sites easier) and also from a search engine optimisation point of view.
- Are all page titles, meta data and H1 tags correctly marked and full of appropriate keywords for the search engines?
- Try running your site through both www.cynthiasays.com and www.webrichtlijnen.nl/english/test. The former tests your site for certain accessibility standards, and the latter checks for around 50 web standards that can improve the functioning of your site.
Of course, you can go more in-depth on nearly all of these points to ensure that your site is up to the highest standard. However, if you follow these steps prior to launch, then you'll be in a great position to see your site take off without a hitch.
