After the excitement of launching a redesigned website, it’s time to celebrate! 🎉
Then it’s time to run a post-launch audit.
Beyond basic functionality, how do you know what to check for? An audit is a very important final step in a redesign, because it helps identify any issues that may have slipped through the cracks, and ensures that the new website aligns with your goals for user experience, functionality, and performance.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to conducting an effective post-launch audit.
You tested before. Test it again.
Hopefully you tested your website thoroughly before launch. Now that you’ve moved everything over to your production (live) environment, it’s important to run some of the same tests again. In particular, watch out for:
- Display issues (issues you can see)
- Browser console errors
- Bad links and broken images
- Forms without the right notifications or marketing automations
If possible, review every page on your new site. Or if you have thousands of pages or blog posts, at least review every page type. A crawling tool like Screaming Frog can really come in handy here to give you a list of URLs and easily identify broken links and images.
Plan for Maintenance and Optimization
Websites are a bit more like living organisms than static documents. At least make a plan to execute The Bare-Minimum Monthly Maintenance, if not a content and features roadmap for future improvements.
Additionally, keep lines of communication open with key stakeholders to evaluate the long-term success of the redesign. Are your business goals being met? Is the website meeting users' needs?
Ask for License Keys
If you used an outside development partner for your website build, make sure you have (or at least have access to) all the license keys used for third-party products like plugins and premium themes. If possible, make sure any third-party services are registered and paid for in your name, in case you decide to switch vendors in the future.
Keep an Eye on Key Performance Metrics
After launching, it’s important to see the impact on measurable analytics. Did you redesign the website to increase traffic, improve conversion rates, or speed up load times? Compare pre-launch and post-launch data using tools like Google Analytics or other tracking platforms to assess the site's performance. Some important metrics to evaluate include:
- Traffic: Are you seeing more visitors overall?
- Bounce rate: Are users staying on your site longer than they did before the redesign?
- Conversion rate: Has there been an increase in leads, sales, or other conversions?
- Average session duration: Are users engaging with the site content?
- Organic search: Are your pages indexed correctly? Are you getting as much traffic from organic search?
If these metrics show improvement, your redesign is on the right track. However, if some areas are lacking, identify the root causes and make adjustments accordingly.
Don't Be Afraid to Ask for Help
We get it — you probably didn’t dream of conducting post-launch audits when you were growing up. Fortunately, we kinda did. 🤓 We’re sold out to our mission of creating a friendlier web, so if we can help you on that journey, don’t hesitate to reach out.