Common Mistakes When Launching a Website & How To Avoid Them

Putting your business online can be an exciting change. Whether you’ve built a loyal local following or have just started, getting your site online can completely change how you do business. However, that all hinges on you having a competent site at launch.

If your website has glaring issues or can’t draw in new customers the way it should, it’ll quickly become more of a burden than a benefit. However, if you avoid some of the common mistakes of launching a website, you’ll be much better off. In this post, we’ll go over those and tell you how to avoid them. That way, your website launch will be buttery smooth.

Not Defining the Goal of Your Site

Before you even begin creating your site, you must figure out what you want to use it for. Do you want to make sales on the site, or is it more about spreading information? Maybe you want to entice possible customers and convince them to call you to learn more about your services. Regardless of what your goal is, you need to define it early to create a fully functioning website.

Missing Crucial Website Elements

Once you have your goals in mind, you must create website elements that align with them. For most people, this will include a solid call to action that convinces the viewer to follow through with your goal. If information is your main goal, be sure to set up a blog and regularly update it to keep potential customers informed.

Don’t forget to create engaging landing pages, either. Without these, visitors won’t last a whole minute on your site. People decide if a website is worth their time within the first few seconds. If the first page they land on doesn’t grab their attention, it won’t matter how great your other ones are.

Having Poor UI Design

The UI design of your site plays a big part in attracting new customers. This includes how the website looks and how easy it is to navigate. If people can’t figure out where to go, they’ll simply look for the exit instead.

That’s why you need to take the time to learn the key components of user-friendly website navigation. Once you get this down, you can focus on making your website look good. Fortunately, many programs these days make building a website a breeze. If you can’t seem to figure it out, you could always hire someone to build it for you.

Skipping SEO Efforts

You may nail the look and feel of your website and its navigation. However, if no one comes to see your website, you’ve already lost. Too many people skip SEO until it’s too late. They say they’ll get to it after the site launches. However, you must do it beforehand if you want people to find you.

Even if your local customers support you online, that won’t be sustainable. You’ll need to create content and target keywords that’ll draw new people in. Failing to do so will make your website dead on arrival. While SEO efforts can mend things after the fact, it’s better to put your best foot forward right away.

Forgetting To Set Up Analytics

Of course, your SEO efforts will mean nothing if you don’t have a way to track their progress. That’s why you need to set up your analytics before launch as well. Without proper data, you’ll have to take a total shot in the dark when trying to figure out which keywords to target.

Fortunately, plenty of free programs are out there for you to use for your analytics. Many of them can even connect directly to your website for easy use and analysis.

Launching at the Wrong Time

One of the biggest mistakes you should know how to avoid when launching a website is launching it at the wrong time. Website launches are typically large events all on their own, especially if you already have a decent following. You should never try to line yours up with something that’ll boost its engagement too far.

A good example of this is if a local retail store tries to launch its website on Memorial Day weekend. You might think this is the perfect plan because you’ll make a ton of money right away due to the number of people online looking for sales. While the potential for a substantial payout is huge, the potential for catastrophic website failure is much bigger.

Your website is brand new, and you’ve likely never built one before. Even if you avoid all the mistakes in this list, something may still go wrong. Pushing your servers with an excess number of customers will make a site crash much more likely, ruining your entire launch. Instead, try launching a few weeks before the next big sale. This will give you time to iron out the bugs while building up a following and anticipation for the next event.