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Before publicizing and submitting your web site to the search
engines, it is extremely important to test EVERYTHING thoroughly!
Here is a list of the main things to test:
HTML Coding And Links -
If there are HTML errors on your pages, the search engines
may downgrade your placement or reject the web site completely.
Dreamweaver and most other WYSIWYG HTML editing programs include
utilities that can check for improper HTML coding and broken
links. There are also online services that check internal
and external links in both directions. Many of them offer
a demo or trial period. It is worth it to make sure that there
are no broken links to begin with, then stay on top of it
by checking again from time to time.
Spelling And Grammar - Misspellings,
typos, and bad grammar are a sure way to turn your customers
off. Dreamweaver includes a spell checker. Use it! Even if
your body text was composed in a word processor such as Microsoft
Word, you need to check the spelling of link text and other
text that may have been added or modified during the page
design process.
Cross Browser Support -
There many different possible combinations of browsers, versions,
computers, and screen resolutions. Your web pages may look
great in IE6 and be all screwed up in IE5, Netscape Navigator
or AOL Browser. You should test your web site with at least
the three most commonly used browsers and with different screen
resolutions. Design web pages to fit within the smallest common
screen resolution.
Programs and Forms
Check all programs such as shopping cart, bulletin board,
contact form, autoresponder, and submission forms. Go through
the process for each program in real time as if you are a
customer. Make sure that redirection pages open, email notices
are received, and that database records are updated if applicable.
This step can be tedious with large web sites, but it is absolutely
essential.
AShop Web Hosting offers complete web site testing with our
full service web design
service.
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