Website launches are generally spearheaded by a company's marketing department. Because of this fact, technology can sometimes be an afterthought when it comes to building a website. After all, it's all about content, right?
It is, but making the wrong technology decisions or not looking beyond launch when launching a website can end up costing you. The below are five questions to ask to make sure your chosen development team and technology platform align with your long-term goals.
Below I outline five questions you should make sure to ask, answer and clearly communicate to all team members before launching a website:
1. Where will this site be when it's live?
The hosting information gives the team information on the types of platforms that can be supported. It's important to know going in if there are any restrictions on where things will be hosted.
2. What CMS will be used, if any?
It's important to know during the planning phase what technology platform will be leveraged so any features of the platfrom can be leveraged and any limitations of the platform can be worked around. CMS selection can be a tricky process, but using the right tool for the job can help propel your website to success.
3. What browsers and devices do we want to support?
It's important to know the browsers and devices your website visitors use or will use to access your website. Focus on providing perfect functionality for your largest user subset. Using analytics to get browser and screen size information can help prioritize areas to focus on. Look at the screen sizes and device types of the most common 90% of your traffic. This will keep users engaged wit ha positive user experience.
4. Will this website have any third party integrations?
Understanding how this website will interact with other parts of the internet will help make sure functionality remains reliable. Examples of third party integrations include your CRM, customer portal, mailing lists, social media and your inbound marketing platform. Got into launching a website with a plan on what third party integrations you need and what functionality you want them to provide.
5. Who will be responsible for support of the website we are launching?
Having a clear plan for supporting and maintaining your website is an important part of its longevity and overall value. After all, a site that isn't technically sound won't be user-friendly and will rank poorly in search engines. We recommend making sure you have a maintenance plan before launching a website. Check out our website maintenance plan blog post or look for more details on our website maintenance service offering:
Conclusion:
A lot goes into launching a website, but going through a list of common questions to answer can help make sure you aren't backing yourself into a corner. Check out our guide to launching a website for other useful questions to answer.
