You spent a lot of time, energy and money getting your new website ready to launch.  And now that day has come, your new site is live – what do you do next?  Many people make the mistake of thinking that the job is done once the website has been launched, but your website is like a baby; the more you nurture it, the more it will grow.  To get the very most out of your website, you should begin with these steps.

1) Set up analytics
I personally recommend Google Analytics. It’s free and gives you way more information than you are ever likely to need. But whatever statistics tool you decide to use, get it set up right away so you can start tracking the results of your efforts. This step should include setting up sitemap and robots file. You can take it a step further by setting up Google Webmaster Tools if you want to take it a step further.

2) Get your website out there
People won’t visit your site unless they know it’s there. Be sure to put it on your business card, letterhead, and add it on to your email signature. Put it everywhere you can. Be sure to post links to it from your social media. (More about this in step 5.)

3) Start your blog
One of the nicest things about the WordPress sites we set up at MarkNet is that they have the blog function built right in, so start posting! You want your potential customers to recognize you as the authority in your field, so give them a taste of what you know and have them contact you for more information. This is a great chance to get high-value content on your site.

3) Set up social media
If you haven’t already, set up Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ accounts. If images are big for your industry, also consider Pinterest and Instagram or whatever other social media serves your clients best. Then, post those links from your blog on your social media. Use a title that people will want to share with their friends to bring even more people to your site.

4) Set up an email subscription sign up
This can be done easily through MailChimp or another email service and will allow you to reach out to people who are interested in what you have to say. It’s a way to remind your customers that you are out there. You can email subscribers whenever you have a new post or once a month with excerpts of your most recent posts. Be sure to send them to your website to read more!

5) Finally, make sure your site backed up on a regular basis
You don’t want all the hard work you’ve done to be lost, so make sure that you have a site backup. If you host with MarkNet, we take care of that for you through nightly backups of your site. Otherwise, ask your host about backups or install backup software.

If this all seems overwhelming, don’t worry. Take your time and do everything one step at a time. We are here to help every step of the way. And stay tuned for more information about all these topics!