Web Site Launch Checklist

Transcription

1 Web Site Launch Checklist This checklist was put together as a general guide only. The information is provided on my past experience of setting up quite a few membership sites. Your own needs will vary. It may prove useful to point out certain aspects of launching your site that you hadn t considered. This only covers some of the technical aspects. It does not reflect the marketing launch objectives you may want to consider prior to launch. Those may be covered in a future checklist. You MAY redistribute this checklist but only with expressed permission (via is fine). I simply request to be notified of the event. This report can be rebranded with your affiliate link to membershipsiteowner.com. If you do redistribute it, you will receive 0% of all revenue it helps to generate. For more information on our affiliate program, go to: If you come across items which should be added to this checklist, please send me an at tim@membershipsiteowner.com Good luck on your launch and please use the membershipsiteowner.com forum for any questions.

2 Done? Days Before Launch Task Details of Task Content The majority of your work will be loading your site with articles, downloads etc. Setup Set up accounts for the site: Setup Part II Ensure all of the accounts are working properly. Are they forwarding correctly if you had set them up for that? See this article for more details: Contact Forms Check all of your contact forms on your site are sending the information to you correctly. Preparing For Approval Please note, these times are approximation only. Non-US sites should add several weeks lead time as the process usually takes longer. Your Info Ensure your contact information is correct Link Check Proof Depts Proof Read Part II Click every link in your navigation. Proof read each department page headline and text. Reread (out loud) your main portal pages and sales page on your site. Ask for someone to proof read it for you.

3 Ghost Info Search site for old or inappropriate information ( ghosts left over from the initial installation). For example the site may come with template example pages that may still contain the parent companies information. You need to replace that with your own if you are choosing to use those pages. Guarantee / Terms of Use Check your Guarantee and Terms of Use pages Pricing Plans Make sure your desired membership plan(s) are set up and in place on your sign up page. You may want to read this article concerning pricing options that your merchant account may be comfortable with: I Double check to ensure you are about to apply for a merchant account through a gateway supported by your membership site software. This article explores that: II Apply for the merchant account and carefully follow their instructions on what they are looking for to be in place. This guide is NOT a substitute for what they may require. Connect Connect your site with your merchant account once it is approved. You want to double check to make sure it is connecting properly. Double Check Control Panel Log into your merchant account control panel as per their instructions. Ensure your contact information is in place. Locate the screen which indicates whether you are in live or test mode. For example in Authorize.net it is in your Settings and Profiles screen. Understand that your site will NOT be processing any transactions until you set your account to live mode. Tip of the Week Setup Set up your tip of the week autoresponder using a service such as Aweber. Use their provided code to put the signup box on your site. Autoresponder Messages Create the welcome message and any follow up messages for your tip of the week. Test it by sending it to yourself.

4 Affiliate Program Check your Affiliate Program: - Sign up for the program yourself - Double check each page throughout the process - Make sure you set your affiliate % for the member plans and items in your shopping cart 2 Sign Yourself Up Sign yourself for your site to double check each screen and message. You may want to set your merchant account in test mode so that the transaction doesn t actually charge against your credit card. 2 Buy An Item Buy an item from your shopping cart. Checking all of the messages that get sent to you. You may want to have your merchant account in test mode. 2 Site Map Double check your site map to ensure all you intend for all of the links there to be showing SSL Buy Your Secure Socket Layer (SSL) Certificate and put it in place on your site. This should take about 0 minutes. Check Ordering Forms Double check your sign up and shopping cart payment forms. Make sure of the following: - You are offering the credit card options that you are entitled to offer - The pages are set to SSL (Secure) pages Prepare Forum Post a welcome message in your discussion forum. Delete any test posts in there. Go Live With Make sure your merchant account is not in test mode. It should be live and ready to go. You do this by logging into your merchant account control panel. You may want to make a small purchase on your site and confirm that the transaction was captured properly. You should be able to void the transaction by logging in to your merchant account right after the purchase.

5 This checklist was put together as a general guide only. The information is provided on my past experience of setting up quite a few membership sites. Your own needs will vary. It may prove useful to point out certain aspects of launching your site that you hadn t considered. This only covers some of the technical aspects. It does not reflect the marketing launch objectives you may want to consider prior to launch. Those may be covered in a future checklist. You MAY redistribute this checklist but only with expressed permission (via is fine). I simply request to be notified of the event. This report can be rebranded with your affiliate link to membershipsiteowner.com. If you do redistribute it, you will receive 0% of all revenue it helps to generate. For more information on our affiliate program, go to: If you come across items which should be added to this checklist, please send me an at tim@membershipsiteowner.com Good luck on your launch and please use the membershipsiteowner.com forum for any questions.