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Additionally, the most common FAQ we receive is How Much Does a WordPress Website Cost? What we love about the answer is that the pricing varies from person to person, making the platform suitable for all sorts of people. It is currently priced at $290-$1825 depending upon your requirements.
Nonetheless, the process can be quite overwhelming, and confusing. A lot of questions certainly do come to mind, especially before taking the initial step. The most crucial part is to not make any newbie mistakes that might become an obstacle in your road to success.
Moreover, there are so many steps and points to note which can be easily missed. Having a WordPress checklist helps you stay on track, ensuring you do not miss any important steps during the whole process. Here is a checklist that will help speed up the launch process, without any difficulties.
1 – Pre-Launch Functionality
First off, you must ensure that your website is functioning properly according to the plan and design. For this, you must complete your checklist 4 weeks before the launch. Also, this will allow you to solve all major and minor issues beforehand, and still have a tie to ensure that all things are in place.
It is important to understand that the first impression is the last. Hence, nothing must go wrong with the initial look of the website.
2 – Backup
When it comes to websites, you should always have a backup solution. They are similar to insurances, but this is for your website. You will always have a backup to restore things in case something ever goes wrong. Additionally, there are several free and premium WordPress backup plugins available and they generally just take a few minutes to set up.
Ensure the plugin you install saves your backups to the cloud regularly. Popular cloud storage services include Google Drive, Amazon S3, and Onedrive, our favorite is BackupBuddy.
3 – Security
WordPress is undeniably one of the most widely used content management systems on the planet. However, with that prominence comes a large target for hackers. Many websites do not face this type of attack, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Sucuri Firewall, for example, is a security plugin that helps keep your site safe and secure. It’s similar to having your security system at home. Besides, security is the most important aspect to cover when it comes to launching a website. Hence, you must invest in good and renowned security plugins for the protection of both your data and hard work.
4 – Coming Soon page
Making sure you have a coming soon page is another crucial item on your WordPress website pre-launch checklist. Especially if you’re still putting the finishing touches on your design and content. A coming soon page acts as a teaser for the rest of your website. It informs people that something is coming and provides a method for them to keep informed.
5 – Ecommerce Features
If your website features an online store, you’ll want to make sure it’s easy to use. If your store’s parts are faulty or don’t function properly, it may deter consumers from purchasing your items, costing you money. For instance, a simple return policy that is difficult to understand might lead 80% of visitors to quit your site.
As if you were a consumer, go through the entire procedure from adding a product to the shopping basket to checking out. You may also test a transaction to ensure that it functions correctly.
If your items are digital, check if they are delivered swiftly and without errors. Invoices, receipts, shipping charges, and any taxes that must be imposed should all be checked. Most eCommerce platforms come pre-equipped with features to help you at tax time. Those features, coupled with an online tax calculator, are all a shop owner will need for a successful, stress-free tax season. Users of WooCommerce may enable maintenance mode on their shop sites as they try things out.
6 – Forms Work
These days, almost every website has a contact form. You may even have subscription forms or lead generation forms. Make sure all of them appear and work properly before launching your WordPress website. Also, don’t stop at polishing the design. Ensure that any forms that gather data are saved in the proper location.
The built-in contact form block in SeedProd makes it simple to add a contact form. People will be able to contact you before you go live this way. By linking to Zapier or WPForms, all emails gathered may be saved in WordPress or an email provider of your choosing. Before moving on to the next task, double-check that your connections are operating properly.
7 – Theme and plugin update
To prevent any risks, keep your WordPress version, as well as your themes and plugins, up to date. Hackers may take advantage of any flaws in old software with ease. The good news is that WordPress makes every effort to update anything that has been identified as having a vulnerability.
8 – Accessibility
Another factor that is sometimes ignored when establishing a website is its accessibility. The goal of accessibility is to make sure that your site can be accessed by anybody, regardless of their ability. This includes guests who have vision or hearing impairments.
9 – Site Analytics
Guarantee that you have the means to track your site’s performance before you launch it. You want to know how many people are visiting, how they got there, and where they spend the most time. Many websites that wish to track this data use Google Analytics as their go-to tool. There are several excellent plugins for integrating Google Analytics with WordPress.
10 – Meta Tags
WordPress uses meta tags to communicate with search engines like Google, about what’s on your site. Search engine bots can use them as a cheat sheet to learn about your site’s content, writers, pictures, and more. It makes sense to devote effort to assisting search engines in indexing and cataloging your web pages, to increase traffic to your site.
CONCLUSION
The above article narrates the importance of a checklist in order to maintain and successfully launch your WordPress website. It helps you cover all important points that are necessary during your pre-launch period.