Set up redirects
A new website or moving it? Then of course you'll want to redirect traffic from your old website to your new one. As it happens, this does not automatically go well. Pages get a different URL structure or maybe your domain name has changed. Using a redirect, you can redirect traffic to your new domain or correct pages. For a new domain, you can set up redirects at server level through your hosting party. For pages, you can use a 301 permanent redirect. Here you indicate that the redirect is permanent and transfer the value of the old page to the new one. So depending on the situation, you set up redirects at domain level or the pages that have a renewed URL. This way, users successfully land on your new website.
Setting redirects is important not only for your direct traffic, but also for your organic traffic. If all goes well, right now Google is still indexing your old website or old pages and showing them in search results. Using redirects, you can redirect users who click on it to your new website or page. This will prevent 404 pages and a drop in your rankings.
Furthermore, redirects can also be used to redirect non-www to www. Your new website can be findable without 'www' in front of your domain name and with. Choose which version you prefer and set up a redirect so that one version can be reached and indexed by Google.
Make sure you have a sitemap.xml and robots.txt file
By means of an XML sitemap, you let search engines know which important URLs your website consists of. Search engines can crawl this file and thereby index these pages and include them in the search engine. You can generate a sitemap yourself using a tool. Once you have created the sitemap, you only need to upload it to your website and submit it to Google Search Console. A good robots.txt file is also indispensable; in this file you indicate which pages should or should not be indexed. Pages you do not want indexed are, for example, a payment page or an account environment. By using the robots.txt file, you therefore prevent your crawl budget from being spent on unnecessary pages. You also specify in this file how fast the website may be indexed, with a view to preventing server overload. In Google Search Console, you can check whether your website is indexed in the desired way.
Submit the website to Google Search Console
You can report a move of your website via Google Search Console. Search Console is a handy (free) tool that provides you with all kinds of information about your website. With Search Console, you can get your pages indexed faster, submit sitemap, check mobile accessibility, view organic performance and detect possible site problems. You can read more about Google Search Console in our blog
'How to use Google Search Console to improve SEO'.
Link Google Analytics with your website
Of course, you also want to know how often your new website is visited and what the behaviour of your user is. With the help of Google Analytics, you can quickly find out. But it is then important to link your website with Google Analytics. You can do this yourself by placing the tracking code via Tag Manager or via the back-end of your website. Are you already using Google Analytics? Then add an annotation in the data at the date of going live. This makes it easier to compare data and analyse the progress of your new shop at a later date.
Prevent dead links
404 pages can occur from the search engine if you don't set up redirects, but dead links can also occur on your website in SEO texts or blogs. If you transfer your content from your old website to your new website, links may have been created in your texts that no longer work in the current setting. So check your website and SEO texts carefully for dead links. You can do this manually or quickly via a tool like Ahrefs.
Mobile accessibility
Don't forget to check the mobile accessibility of your website too. A large proportion of your users might be accessing your website from mobile. Therefore, take a close look at the mobile design, such as font size, banner alignment and overall usability.
Final check: does everything work on your website
As a final step, it is wise to go through your entire website again before going live. Does everything work properly, the buttons, the forms and the checkout. Ultimately, you want customers to be able to place their orders without too much hassle. Also check the pagespeed: a slow website can cause people to drop out. So always test this thoroughly, also on different devices.
Are you ready to go live?
Get going! It is important to go through the above checklist again before going live. This way, you can make sure that your new website is accessible, findable and user-friendly. Do you still have questions or need help launching your new website? Send us a message, we will gladly help you with a successful launch!
