So your awesome web agency has designed and built a beautiful website for your company. They’re almost ready to launch. All they need is for you to review it and give final approval for go-live. What do you look for?

A good web agency will have an in-depth process that includes internal testing and quality assessment (QA). In fact, there should be few, if any, issues for you to find. But even the best agencies and developers might missing something. We’re all human after all. So it’s a good idea for you to do your due diligence and review your site thoroughly. Here’s what to look for.

There should be few, if any, issues for you to find.

Design Consistency

Compare the original, approved design to what’s been coded up. It should look pretty much exactly like the design. But be careful: because the web world is responsive (mobile friendly) and very different from a static image/mockup, there may be some slight shifting of things. Some of those things may have been discussed throughout design and development so there shouldn’t be any surprises. If you’re unsure about something, ask your web team.

Content

The real star of your website is your copy – the text that gets people to buy, subscribe, contact, learn more, etc. You need to ensure that all the copy on your site is correct, has proper grammar and spelling, and reads easily.

Content also includes images and videos. Make sure all images are showing up and that videos play correctly.

Navigation & Links

Click on all of the links in your navigation and make sure they work as they should. Same goes for any navigational links in your footer and links within the content of your site.

Forms

Does your site have forms on the contact page or other pages? Test them out! Fill out the forms and make sure all the needed fields are correct and working. What happens when you submit the form? Is it what you expected? Don’t forget to check your email if you’re supposed to get an immediate response as either the visitor or a site administrator.

Browser & Device Compatibility

Don’t just check your website on your favorite web browser. If you have others installed, check the site in those browsers too. And don’t forget mobile devices! Pull out your phone and your tablet and check your website on those devices. Make sure it all looks and works the same.

Feature Testing

Your website may have specific features, such as search, that you’ll want to test.

For example, if your site has an e-commerce component to it, go through the process of buying products on the site. What happens if you order multiple products or multiple quantities of the same product? Do coupon codes work? What about guest checkout versus having an account to checkout? What happens when you enter incorrect billing information? Do you get a receipt when you complete a purchase?

The key is to focus on that one feature and try to think of at least 2-3 scenarios your customer may be in and test for those.

There’s no such thing as perfect

While we all try to strive for perfection, the truth is, there’s no such thing, especially on the web. In fact, as far as websites are concerned, “perfection” is synonymous to “it works great”. Websites are never really finished – you’ll continually be nurturing it alongside your business.

So once you’ve gone through your review and you’re sure that nothing is broken or missing, it’s time to give your developers the green light and show your new website to the world!