What is the etiquette for publishing a homepage?

When you create and publish your company’s

homepage

, it’s time to release new information as a company, so you want to avoid mistakes. However, if it’s your first time or you’re not used to it, it can be confusing.

Therefore, this time, we will introduce the etiquette of homepage production professionals such as pre-publishing checks and the publishing process.

Things to check before publishing your homepage

When it’s time to publish your homepage, you can avoid mistakes or omissions by checking a few things before publishing.

For example, you may want to check the following items:

1. Are the tools ready for publication?

There are multiple ways to publish your homepage. The most common way to publish a company website is to create an HTML file locally on your computer and upload it using FTP software.

If you use a CMS like WordPress, the publishing method will also change. Generally speaking, the process is to upload the CMS to the server in advance, post the article on the browser, and then press the publish button to publish it.

Also, when creating a homepage using a homepage creation service such as Wix or Jimdo, the publishing method differs depending on the tool. For example, in Jimdo, you log in, go to edit, and click the “Update” button to publish.

Before going public, be sure to check what methods your company should take. The first method, using FTP software, requires FTP software, so you need to prepare it.

1. Are the server and domain environments in place?

To publish your homepage, you need a server to upload your homepage. You will also need to obtain your own domain.

Additionally, SSL, a mechanism for encrypting information sent from a website, is essential for corporate websites. Please check whether SSL settings are completed.

1. Does it display correctly in the local environment?

If you create HTML or CSS files in a local environment, be sure to check the final browser display in the local environment or on a test site. At this time, you also need to check that the links are connected properly and that no error pages are displayed.

Also, if the design on a smartphone or tablet is different from the design on a computer, be sure to check it on those devices as well.

1. Is there a problem with the “noindex” setting?

Before publishing your homepage, you may have set “noindex” to prevent your homepage from being indexed by search engines. When publishing, decide whether you want the page to be indexed or not, and don’t forget to check the noindex settings for each page if necessary.

Etiquette for publishing your homepage

Once the preparations are complete, we will finally publish the homepage. Here we will introduce the steps and etiquette for uploading HTML files, CSS files, images, etc. from your local environment to the server using FTP software.

1. Upload to the server using FTP software

Upload the file to the server using FTP software. Let’s upload it carefully so that there are no leaks.

2. Access the published URL Once the upload is complete, try accessing the published URL on your computer, smartphone, or tablet browser.

3. Check the display and links of all pages Next, check all pages on computers, smartphones, and tablets. The points to look at are whether the display is distorted compared to when viewed in the local environment, whether all images are displayed including the background image, whether there are broken links, and the icons displayed on the browser tab. Carefully check whether the “favicon” is displayed. If you find any defects here, fix them immediately.

4. Check the operation of the email form If you have set up an email form such as a contact form, be sure to test its operation by actually sending it.

5. Check access analysis such as Google Analytics If you have access analysis such as Google Analytics installed, check whether it is working properly. Log in to view the analysis results and check whether your accesses are being counted.

6. Register your homepage with Google Once you have completed all the checks and found that your homepage can be viewed normally without any problems, let Google know that your homepage has been published. Use the homepage management and monitoring tool provided by Google called “Google Search Console” to index your website and make it visible in Google’s search results.

7. Submit your XML sitemap to Google

By submitting an XML sitemap to Google, you can have Google’s crawlers accurately recognize your homepage. A crawler is a program that a robotic search engine uses to collect data on the Web. By submitting an XML sitemap, you can convey the structure of your homepage, and the crawler will follow it.

An XML sitemap is an XML-format file that describes the URL of each page on a homepage, as well as the last updated date, update frequency, page priority, etc.

There are two ways to create one: using an automatic creation tool or writing it yourself. Once created, upload it to the server using FTP software, enter the sitemap URL on Google Search Console, and send it.

summary

◆When the time comes to publish your homepage, you can perform the necessary checks before publishing and publish it according to the publishing procedures used by professionals, so that the publishing work can be carried out smoothly and without any flaws.

◆Before publishing your homepage, you should check whether the publishing tools such as FTP software are ready, whether the server and domain environments are in place, and whether the website displays properly in the local environment. Is there a problem with the “noindex” setting?

◆When publishing a homepage, 1. Upload it to the server using FTP software, 2. Access the published URL, 3. Check the display and links of all pages, 4. Check the operation of the email form, 5. It is best to check access analysis such as Google Analytics, 6. Register your homepage with Google, and 7. Submit your XML sitemap to Google.