Xmas Website Checklist

Xmas Website Checklist

We originally wrote this in 2011 but it is still just as important as it was then….

Maybe it is your busy season, or maybe your business closes down like many at this time. Even though you may not close down, your web developer and other key contacts might.

Either way, there are things to plan for during the “silly season” in order to ensure service to your customers is not disrupted.

So here are some things to consider over Xmas:

Do you know what your web developer, hosting company and ISP are doing over Xmas?

Will they have normal services or just skeleton staffing?

Do you know what the arrangements for contacting them are if you have a problem with email, your website or your Internet connections?

What about your IT support person or company – what happens if your system breaks during Xmas and New Year? Will someone be there to fix it?

Will your hosting and ISP accounts etc get paid normally – don’t let one of these lapse because of Xmas disruptions to routines or you may find your web site, email or internet connection stops working.

Will you be checking emails as normal?

If you are going to be extra busy, have you figured out how to ensure that emails and enquiries are not ignored because of lack of time to respond?

If you are going to be away, is someone going to deal with emails and enquiries in your absence? If you are going to be checking them from remote locations, ensure you take all the logins and passwords with you that you might need.

That’s just a few things to get you thinking – there are probably many more things pertinent to your particular business. To ensure things run smoothly over the break, the best advice is of course “be prepared” and anticipate possible issues in advance.

Site Redevelopment Issues

There are things you need to know...

We are currently redeveloping our Net Action website. Our new site will be fully “mobile responsive” as that is what sites really need to be these days. When our new site is up & running, we will be able to demonstrate to you what that actually means.

Regardless of how much care and planning you put in, redevelopment is likely to be a big job. So we empathise with any of you who have, or soon will be redeveloping your sites. (and we hope that a good mobile site is part of that).

It takes a lot of time to reconsider your website structure, rewrite your content and update images etc. And it is absolutely essential to check your new site thoroughly.

Unfortunately there are a number of things that may be overlooked by your developer and others during the site development process, especially if not considered “up front”. Some of these can seriously impact your site’s visibility in search engines and to users on the net. Planning ahead and anticipating the issues is therefore highly preferable.

Correcting these issues after the new site is online can take a lot of time. In some cases we have spent 10-20 hours helping clients resolve important (and often critical) issues that were overlooked.

If you are about to redevelop your website or have recently done so, talk to us about “sanity checking” it for you and helping correct anything that may have been missed. A different set of eyes usually makes for a better result for you and ensures that vital or desirable things were not missed in the process.

Rapid Internet Changes - We can Help You Keep Up!

In many ways the Internet is changing faster now than it ever has. Google keeps changing many of the so-called “rules” now that they have such a monopoly. It is important that you do not just publish your website and then ignore it – it needs constant attention. Many sites have not been touched since they went live some years ago.

Make 2014 the year to get yourself up to speed with the changes and to ensure that your website is doing the best possible job for you.

We have two related companies – Great New Zealand looks after your listing on a number of websites. Net Action works with many tourism clients to help them with Site Optimisation and all the related Internet aspects that help your site to perform for you. Same people, same office, just makes more paperwork for us!

Let us (Net Action) help your site excel for you. If you have any issues, however big or small, let us help you with them.
ends

© Scoop Media