Pre-launch Checklists

Some helpful things to check before launching your website.

Brand Dos and Don’ts Checks

More details can be found in the digital web section of the brand website.

Do

• A global header with the Cougar head logo is present.
• Accent colors are used for only borders, page dividers, and other accent elements.
• Use headings to organize content and make it easy to scan.
• Do use bold to emphasize important text
  Note: Keep the number of bolded words below 6.
• Buttons are used to call out important actions.
• Use only 1 style of buttons.
• Do use descriptive text for links.

Do not

• Don’t add custom logos to the global header or the website header.
• Don’t use accent colors as text color or for the background of headers, columns, and other large areas.
• Don’t use crimson or accent colors as the text color for headings.
• Don’t use underlines or text color to add text emphasis.
• Don’t use more than 3-5 buttons in a group or as a list of links.
• Don’t use the website URL for link text.

Pre-Launch Check

• Custom Domain is approved. (Only necessary for those requesting a custom domain.)
• All necessary content is published.
  • All published pages are necessary.
  • Change pages to draft if they are not ready.
  • Delete pages you do not need.
• Check the Breadcrumbs.
  • Do the breadcrumbs show the appropriate trail of the webpage compared to the menu?
• Check all published pages for accessibility issues and correct them.
  • Use the WSUWP Gutenberg Accessibility for a quick accessibility check.
  • Use WAVE (linked at the bottom of the Accessibility Panel) for a more in-depth accessibility check.

Content Check

• Proofread your content.
• All pages have page titles and a Heading 1 heading.
• Check that all links work.
• Check contact information in Customize.
• Add your social media links in Customize.

Forms Check

• Test all forms.
• For Gravity Forms: Do not use Gravity Forms to collect sensitive & protected data information.
• Do you have the correct error messages? Check the form’s error messages. Do they accurately describe the information needed?
• Check the confirmation messages and emails.
• Test All Forms

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Check

• Check web page URLs.
  Links should follow the structure of where the page resides in the navigation.
• Consider setting up redirects for web page URLs that were deleted.
• Add an excerpt to each page.
  An excerpt is a description of the page, used in search engine result pages, that are less than 150 characters. By default, WordPress will use the first portion of the text on the page and truncate it if it is too long.
• Set up Analytics
  Ensure the old website’s Google Analytics code is moved to your new website. Or, if you don’t have one, submit a web support ticket to request a Google Analytics tracking code.