For many experienced Perth web designers, nothing quite compares in complexity and difficulty to launching a new website. Like trying to put toothpaste back in the tube, it’s rarely ever straightforward, and the process, if not tamed, can leave design teams overwhelmed. Despite the mess, however, it’s an event many web designers live for, and one they eventually learn to control.

Navigating the complex maze that is the new website launch requires plenty of preparation, a knack for organisation, and a mind to avoid getting carried away in all the excitement of it. The latter was discussed in a recent article on Search Engine Watch.

The article dubs this tendency to get carried away on projects as FOMO, or the fear of missing out. Driven by the desire to create the latest and best, web designers often forget what the focus of launching a new website should be and pile on unnecessary features. This complicates the process of launching a new website and results in the creation of a product that may not be an ideal fit to the client’s requirements and bottom line.

To avoid this, the article suggests scheduling regular meetings between the development teams and marketing. This ensures that all conversions funnels are set up as they should – and are –equipped with the right methods for tracking customers throughout the conversion process. Research should also be conducted on which features benefit the site and lead to more conversions, and which actually ruin performance regardless of how great they might seem.

There is also no replacement for proper analysis of the wants and needs of the website’s users. Focus groups, on-site surveys, user tests, and task analysis can help development teams gain a clearer picture of their demographic and the best methods to gather leads and turn gathered leads into conversions.

On a related note, focus should be put on writing sites for people, not for search engines. Search engine optimisation need not bear so strongly into the equation at this phase. Instead, a thorough understanding of the brand is more important. With this achieved, keywords and other SEO factors weave naturally into the content. Once the website is launched, A/B split testing and other performance tests can be used to further fine tune the site’s SEO.

Finally, making a checklist of everything that needs to be done before, during, and after the launch can help you minimise the change of forgetting something critical.

With these key considerations in mind, launching a site becomes a less confusing process. As a result, clients also find working with a Perth web developer, like Viper Online, a much more satisfying and rewarding experience.

(Source: 5 Ways You Can Avoid FOMO When Developing a Website, Search Engine Watch, April 24, 2014)

This article was posted in Info Articles.