The Ultimate Website Checklist
A website has become indispensable for every business or freelancer. It’s your digital business card and often the very first point of contact with potential customers. But building a website goes beyond having an attractive design. You also need to consider usability, visibility, and conversions. In this blog, we’ll walk you through everything you need to successfully launch your website.
1. Start with a Strong Domain Name
Your domain name is the first thing people see when visiting your site. A good domain is recognizable, easy to remember, and simple to type. Ideally, it should reflect your brand or service. Avoid complicated words, hyphens, or numbers, as they make it harder for visitors to recall or enter correctly. A .nl extension is perfect if you’re targeting the Dutch market, while a .com address often looks more professional for international ambitions.
Before securing your domain, check its availability and ensure no other businesses with a similar name exist. This helps prevent confusion and potential legal issues down the line.
2. Choose the Right Website Builder
The platform you use determines how easy it will be to maintain and edit your website. If you don’t have technical knowledge, you’ll want a user-friendly system that lets you make quick changes without dealing with code. Temblit, for example, offers an all-in-one solution that allows you to get a professional site online in minutes. Its templates are optimized for speed, mobile use, and SEO, so you can focus on your content and customers.
Flexibility is also key. You should be able to add pages, edit text, change images, adjust SEO settings, and integrate forms. A strong website builder provides all the tools you need to grow your online presence without hiring a developer.
3. Structure and Navigation
A successful website has a clear structure that helps visitors quickly find what they’re looking for. Think carefully about the essential pages: your homepage should immediately show what you offer and include a strong call-to-action, such as “Contact Us” or “View Our Services.”
An “About Us” page builds trust by telling your story and explaining why customers should choose you. A contact page should list all the ways people can reach you, such as email, phone, and a form. Keep menus simple and avoid too many subpages. The fewer clicks needed, the better the user experience.
4. Write Engaging and SEO-Friendly Content
Your website’s text determines whether visitors stay or leave. Too often, businesses focus only on themselves instead of how they solve customer problems. Write with your audience in mind—what do they need, and how can you help?
Optimize your content for search engines by using relevant keywords naturally. Place them strategically in titles, headings, and opening paragraphs. Use clear subheadings, which improve readability and help Google understand your content. A blog section can further boost visibility by publishing valuable articles that answer customer questions or share industry insights.
5. Prioritize Speed and Mobile-Friendliness
A slow website frustrates users and hurts your Google rankings. If your site takes longer than a few seconds to load, visitors will leave. Improve speed by compressing images, avoiding unnecessary plugins, and choosing a reliable hosting provider.
Your site must also work flawlessly on mobile devices. More and more people browse via their smartphones, and a poorly scaling site drives them away. Test your site on different screens to ensure buttons, forms, and content display correctly.
6. Security and Trust
Security is essential, especially if you handle customer data or run an online store. An SSL certificate (https://) is a must—it encrypts data and boosts trust. Google also ranks sites without SSL lower in search results.
Trust goes beyond security. Display customer reviews or testimonials, list clear contact details, and maintain a professional design. The more trustworthy you appear, the more likely visitors will convert.
7. Connect to Google Analytics and Search Console
Data is power. Google Analytics helps you understand visitor behavior, showing how many people visit, where they come from, and which pages perform best. Google Search Console highlights technical issues and provides insights into your site’s search performance. Setting these up from the start ensures you can make data-driven improvements.
8. Test Before Going Live
Before launching, test everything thoroughly. Click through all pages, check links, and ensure forms work correctly. Ask someone else to review your site, as fresh eyes often spot issues you missed. Finally, run a spelling and grammar check—small mistakes can undermine professionalism and customer trust.
