We know a lot goes into a new website before you even sit down at the table with our team — internal discussions, meetings, budget approvals and so much more. It’s understandable that you’re excited, and we want you to stay that way!
Over more than 25 years in business, we’ve noticed some warning signs that can indicate a new website launch is going off the rails. We want your site and experience to be a success, so keep reading for a few problems we often see and how you can solve them.
Slow Approvals
There are a few critical points in the life of your project where we’ll need feedback or a sign-off from you. When we don’t get responses, your project can grind to a halt. Once we’ve lost momentum, it’s hard to regain it and get your site back in the queue.
Solution: Avoid your project getting stuck in limbo. It’s best to get back to us with approvals as soon as possible. If you’re having trouble approving as-is, let us know why. Your Project Manager will probably have some advice, whether that’s getting more info or securing budget approval. They’re ready to help make sure work moves ahead on schedule.
Insisting on Perfection
We get it! You want your website to be the best it can be, and we want that, too. But a website is meant to grow and evolve with your business — it’s dynamic, not static. That means that it’s important not to let perfection get in the way of progress.
Solution: We’ll deliver a beautiful website that meets your needs, but a good website is never truly “done.” It’s important to stay open-minded and prepare for feedback from your website users. You’ll likely discover new challenges and solutions you never even thought about before your new website launch. Feel free to ask your Project Manager how to hide pages and create placeholder content, allowing room to launch now and perfect later.
Writing Your Own Copy
Many clients want to write the words on their websites themselves. After all, who knows your business better than you do, right? Doesn’t it make sense for you to write it? Not necessarily. Writing about yourself can actually be frustrating and time-consuming. As a general rule, if it takes more than three weeks to write copy for your top-level navigation pages, it’s time to seek a different option.
Solution: Outsource your copywriting. While there is an additional investment to have one of our trained staff writers assist with your copywriting, you’ll experience tons of benefits. First and foremost, you won’t have to worry about the stress of writing it yourself. You’ll also know that your new website launch will stay on track, and you’ll be getting top-tier copy that comes with years of copywriting experience.
Using Old Photography
Putting old or ill-suited photos into a new design wastes the investment you’ve made in your site. Photos can make or break the look of a website — so think critically when deciding whether to use existing photography or have a new photoshoot. Sometimes existing photos are great! But most of the time, they’re not the right size or quality. If you haven’t found great photography a month into your project, it’s time to shift strategies and purchase photography.
Solution: Save your time, stress and sanity by hiring our in-house photography team to do a reasonably priced photo shoot. You’re sure to get results that will make you proud of your photography and overall site.
Not Having DNS and Credentials
There are some creative, fun parts of launching a website — things like writing, photography and design. And then there are some small, nitty-gritty things that aren’t fun to do, like gathering credentials and logins to your site and to things like DNS. It can be tough to hunt these things down, but they’re essential — we literally cannot launch your site without them.
Solution: Trying to find all of your website credentials can be tough — like a scavenger hunt without a list of clues. But there’s no need to worry. We’re the pros at hunting down a DNS, and we’re here to help.
Asking for a “Flashier” Site with “More Movement” in the Home Stretch
It’s easy to build up the anticipation for which bells and whistles your site should have. It’s tempting to want exciting movement on the homepage of a site. You’re excited, so shouldn’t your site reflect that? But movement on a site is a delicate thing — the things that look fun to a client often distract from the performance of the site as a whole. Our research shows that it’s better to keep the user engaged with the information on the site, not so wowed by the motion that they can’t focus on converting.
Solution: It’s always a good idea to move forward with your new website launch and test the waters before committing to a lot of moving pieces. You’re likely to find that your great copy and photography perform better than you ever imagined, and flashy website movement would just detract from that success.
Launch On Time By Avoiding These Red Flags
No project is perfect, but now you know which red flags to watch out for and how they can derail your new website launch. If you see that your project is starting to slip, let us know. We’re always here to help get things on track!
