Post-Launch Work
@ricksconcepts
Who is this guy?
@ricksconcepts
- My name is Rick Shaw
- Web Designer for Francis Tuttle Technology Center
- Owner of Ricks Concepts (freelancing gig)
Why is this guy talking to us?
@ricksconcepts
Web Design is a fun but stressful gig.
Knowing how to handle clients & the administrative side can help ease the mind
Honestly I have no idea.
The wife always calls me "smart".
Not sure what she means though..........
What do I do now?
@ricksconcepts
Your newest project is now live!
@ricksconcepts
The process is not done though........
What do I do now?
@ricksconcepts
Have you thought about Secured Encryption?
Google Search Console
Security
What do I do now?
@ricksconcepts
Google Analytics
Product Keys
Backups
Caching
What do I do now?
@ricksconcepts
OH YOU DID!?
crap....
Fin
@ricksconcepts
Just in case you didn't.....
@ricksconcepts
@ricksconcepts
I'll tell you about my post-launch list
In the hopes that it helps
Because web to me is all about making life better
Plus it gives you more of a robust product to offer
Rick's list
@ricksconcepts
Rick's List
@ricksconcepts
Everyone's list will be different but these are what's in my post launch list. In no particular order
- Setup Encryption
- Configure & Link Google Search Console
- Submit sitemap via Google Search Console
- Configure iThemes Security Pro
- Update product keys
- Setup Backupbuddy
- Configure & Link Google Analytics
- Setup Dynamic Caching
- Validate PHP 7.0
- Delete staging ground
- Search and Replace
@ricksconcepts
Quick Personal Story
I left this on here from my last presentation......I still don't remember what the story was.
Don't be scared of forgetting things because it may happen but it's ok. Just keep moving forward!
Major Points
@ricksconcepts
Google Stuffs
@ricksconcepts
Google Stuffs
@ricksconcepts
Create an account specifically handling your Analytics & Search Console
First important fact (in my opinion)
Google Stuffs
@ricksconcepts
Google Search Console
(AKA Google Webmaster Tools)
indexing and visibility optimization
Google Stuffs
@ricksconcepts
Why do I need Google Analytics?
Tracks your visitors (not the creepy way)
Discover search terms that visitors found you by
Find out why visitors leave your site
Google Stuffs
@ricksconcepts
Why do I want Google Search Console?
Link errors
Google crawl errors
Responsive Testing
Sitemap Upload
Google Stuffs
@ricksconcepts
Plugins to use to link your site to
either search console or to Google Analytics
no logo?
Google Stuffs
@ricksconcepts
Plug for a plugin
Yoast allows you to modify how posts will look when you post them using social media. Handy thing to put in the tool belt.
Google Stuffs
@ricksconcepts
cough cough Google has been hyping about social media cough cough
Lock it down!
@ricksconcepts
Lock it down
@ricksconcepts
Today security is becoming a bigger issue and not having some sort of protection for your site could hurt you.
Having some type of plan using a security plugin, an SSL certificate, and sitewide backup system in place is a great start
Lock it down
@ricksconcepts
Multiple security plugins out there but these are the top two from my own interactions with them.
https://wordpress.org/plugins/better-wp-security/
Lock it down
@ricksconcepts
Multiple security plugins out there but these are the top two from my own interactions with them.
Lock it down
@ricksconcepts
Encrypt it and forget it......wait no that's not right.
Sources are stating the having a "Secured" website is becoming the norm for website development.
Plus Google stated in 2014 that having a secured website will be considered a positive ranking factor.
There's a lot of data and information that goes into this. I'll give you links to look over. :D
Lock it down
@ricksconcepts
- https://goo.gl/uufWq4 - Yoast walking through the steps to get a https site
- https://goo.gl/Bw8V1G - 1 -> 2 -> 1 Marketing about the importance of a secured site
- https://goo.gl/fhbTe5 - General information about HTTPS from Google
- https://goo.gl/M2afRk - MOZ discussing what has happened since Google's 2014 annoucement
- https://letsencrypt.org/ - One of my favorite SSL certifcate websites
Changeover &
Speed
@ricksconcepts
Changeover & Speed
@ricksconcepts
Sometimes not everything will transfer over to the live site. I always check these Keys and PHP versions to make sure
Changeover & Speed
@ricksconcepts
Caching has a lot that goes it. With the right plugin you can increase overall quality of the site.
Things to consider when picking a plugin
- Page size
- Load speed
- Minifying Code
- Server requests
- and more!
Changeover & Speed
@ricksconcepts
I know it sounds silly but if you have forms.
Change the email address that it's attached to. :)
Changeover & Speed
@ricksconcepts
Verify redirects are put into place
You may change URL's while building a new site but forget to set redirects
However leaving these out can give users a bad experience by showing them 404 error pages
Changeover & Speed
@ricksconcepts
Side note about redirects and searchability
Google Webmaster tools will help with finding any broken links you may have
Make sure that Google can properly crawl your site. Google Analytics will show you if it's able to be crawled if you do a "Live Test"
Changeover & Speed
@ricksconcepts
Speaking of 404.......
I enjoy seeing these.....the ones I'm intentionally looking at anyway.
Don't be scared to be funny and creative with these. It helps defuse a not fun situation for the user.
Changeover & Speed
@ricksconcepts
Something that I have found that started causing me problems is using a subdomain to build websites instead of the actual domain
Changeover & Speed
@ricksconcepts
After I would transfer a site over I'd go back over it with a Search and Replace plugin and swap out the old domain for the new one.
Backup your site before you do this
Because it may break your site
Changeover & Speed
@ricksconcepts
Changeover & Speed
@ricksconcepts
Once you're done launching your site and you're 100% sure you don't need it anymore then delete the development site.
My reasoning behind this is:
- Outdated/Non Updated plugins, themes, core can cause security issues
- Server Resources are used for a site that's not live
- It's one less thing that you're not needing to have to handle
Changeover & Speed
@ricksconcepts
Finally.......Turn off Maintenance Mode if you were using it.
Fin
@ricksconcepts
Post Launch Work
By Rick Shaw
Post Launch Work
OKC WordPress UserGroup talk on 27Jul17
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