Going live is one click from your dashboard once you are happy with the preview. Worth ten minutes of checking first, because a live site is seen by customers.
Before you approve
Every phone number. Ring it from your mobile. People do get one digit wrong in a brief.
Every email address. Send yourself a test.
Opening hours. Especially if they changed recently or vary seasonally.
Your address, if you have a physical location people visit.
Your service area. Wrong areas generate wrong enquiries and wasted journeys.
Prices, if you have published any. These are the hardest thing to walk back.
Qualifications and accreditations. Check the wording matches exactly what you are entitled to say. “NICEIC Approved Contractor” and “NICEIC registered” are not the same claim.
Read it on a phone. Most of your visitors will be on one.
What happens when you approve
- Your pages are published to your domain
- HTTPS is set up, so visitors get the padlock
- Your site becomes visible to search engines
- You get a confirmation email
Usually under an hour. If your domain is brand new or has just been pointed at us, allow longer for DNS — see my domain isn’t working yet.
Straight after going live
Visit it yourself, on your phone and on a computer.
Send the contact form a test message and confirm it arrives. It goes to the email address in your brief — check spam if it does not appear.
Click every link, including the ones in the footer.
Ask two people to look, ideally people who might actually be customers.
Then
- Put the address on your van, your cards, your invoices and your email signature
- Update your Google Business Profile with the new URL
- Update your Facebook, Instagram and any trade directory listings
- Tell your existing customers
See what to do once you’re live.
Can I change things afterwards?
Yes, exactly as before. Request a revision and the change goes through the same design and review process, then republishes. Your site stays up throughout — nothing goes offline while a change is being made.