You've spent weeks getting everything together. The design is approved, the content is in place, and your shiny new website is finally live.
Job done, right?
Well, sort of.
Getting your website launched is a big milestone, but it's not necessarily the finish line. In fact, some of the most important things you can do for your website happen after it's gone live.
And no, I'm not about to tell you that you need to spend hundreds of pounds every month keeping it running.
There are just a few things worth keeping on top of.
1. Make sure everything is working properly
First things first, give your website a proper test.
I don't just mean opening the homepage, having a quick look and calling it a day.
Actually use it as though you're a potential customer.
Fill out your contact form. Click your buttons. Open the website on your phone. Check that your social media links go to the right places.
It sounds obvious, but you'd be surprised how easily something small can get overlooked.
One of the biggest things I'd recommend is testing your contact form regularly.
After all, there's not much point having a lovely new website encouraging people to get in touch if their enquiries aren't reaching you.
2. Tell people about it
You've got a new website. Don't keep it a secret.
Share it on your social media pages, add it to your email signature and make sure the link is updated wherever your business appears online.
That includes your Google Business Profile, if you've got one.
If you're replacing an older website, double-check that any existing links still take people to the right place.
And don't feel like you can only announce your website once.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with sharing it again a few weeks later, particularly if you're highlighting a specific service, product or useful page.
You've invested in it, so make the most of it.
3. Give Google a little time
This is probably one of the biggest misconceptions I come across with new websites.
Your website goes live on Monday, and by Tuesday you're wondering why you're not appearing at the top of Google.
Unfortunately, it doesn't quite work like that.
Search engines need time to discover, crawl and index your pages. Even once they've done that, appearing in search results doesn't automatically mean you'll rank highly for everything you'd like.
That's where having a good foundation matters.
Clear page titles, relevant content, sensible headings and a website that's easy to navigate all help search engines understand what your business offers.
You can also use Google Search Console to keep an eye on how your website appears in search and check for indexing issues.
Just remember that SEO isn't something you tick off once and forget about.
It's something that can develop alongside your business.
4. Keep your content up to date
Imagine walking into a shop and seeing a Christmas promotion still advertised in July.
You'd probably wonder whether anyone was keeping an eye on things.
Your website is no different.
If your prices have changed, you've introduced a new service or your opening hours are different, make sure your website reflects that.
The same goes for photographs, testimonials, team information and anything else that helps people understand your business.
One of the reasons I work with Squarespace is that it makes these everyday changes relatively straightforward.
You shouldn't need to contact your website designer every time you want to change a sentence or upload a new photograph.
Although, if you'd rather have someone handle those bits for you, that's absolutely fine too.
5. Pay attention to what people are doing
Once your website has been running for a little while, it's worth having a look at how people are actually using it.
Which pages are getting the most attention?
Are people visiting on their phones or computers?
Where are visitors coming from?
And, most importantly, are people getting in touch?
Squarespace includes built-in analytics that can help you understand how your website is performing.
You don't need to become obsessed with checking the numbers every morning.
In fact, I'd actively discourage it.
But having a look every month or so can help you spot patterns and work out whether something needs improving.
For example, if lots of people are visiting a particular service page but nobody is making an enquiry, it might be worth reviewing the content or making the next step clearer.
Sometimes a relatively small change can make a noticeable difference.
6. Don't be afraid to make improvements
Here's something I think more business owners need to hear.
Your website doesn't have to stay exactly as it was on launch day.
In fact, I'd be slightly concerned if it did.
Your business is going to change. You'll learn more about your customers, introduce new services and potentially discover that certain parts of your website aren't working quite as well as you'd hoped.
That's normal.
A website should be something that can grow with your business, rather than something you launch and never touch again.
That doesn't mean constantly redesigning it.
Sometimes it's as simple as adding a new testimonial, improving the wording on a page or making a contact button easier to find.
Little improvements over time can be far more useful than leaving everything untouched for five years and then starting again.
7. Decide who is looking after it
This is probably the most important point of the lot.
Who's actually responsible for keeping your website updated?
For some businesses, that's an easy answer. They're happy logging into Squarespace and making changes themselves.
Others would rather concentrate on running their business and have somebody else take care of it.
Neither approach is wrong.
But it's worth having a plan.
I build my websites so that clients can manage them themselves once everything is handed over. I'll show you how things work, where to make changes and how to keep everything ticking along.
But I also appreciate that not everybody has the time, confidence or interest to keep updating their website.
That's why I offer ongoing website maintenance packages and pay-as-you-go support for businesses that would rather leave those jobs to me.
Whether it's updating content, adding new pages or making improvements, you can get help when you need it.
Your website should work for you
Ultimately, launching a website is something to be proud of.
But the real value comes from what happens afterwards.
A website that stays relevant, gives customers the information they need and makes getting in touch easy is going to be far more useful than one that's launched and forgotten about.
And the good news?
You don't have to spend every waking moment thinking about it.
Just give it a little attention now and again.
Need a hand with your website?
Whether you've recently launched a website, have one that's been sitting untouched for a while, or you're thinking about starting from scratch, I'm happy to help.
I design and build Squarespace websites for businesses that want something professional, easy to manage and suited to what they actually need.
And if you've already got a website but could do with some help keeping it updated, I've got options for that too.
