The Going Live Process

We are reaching the end of the construction part of your website; it is now time to understand the process that will happen when you decide to put the site live on the internet.

This email contains vital information to allow you to understand the process effectively. The Process of putting a site live consists of four steps.

Step One : Download the testing site
We download the site from our testing server. During this process, you will have no access to edit the content.

Step Two : Upload Site to Server
We set up your site on our server ready for live.

Step Three: Point Name at Server
We then request that your contact changes the ‘A’ Records for the domain name. This starts the actual transfer process. We will send you these settings in a different email to avoid confusion. If we have purchased or manage your domain name, we will do this for you.

Step Four: Post live testing
Once the site is visible for W3, we start testing the site thoroughly. This includes testing any forms on the site (for which we will need you to respond that you have had an email from them). We also put the finishing touches on the site, including initial SEO code to help Google understand the site and start to list it.

Part of the process of going live is to get what is known as a Secure SSL Certificate for your domain name. We can do this without having to disturb clients, but if we need your help we will ask for it (generally this involves you responding to a series of emails sent by the certificate company).

Known Delays and Frustrations

Once the domain name has been modified to point the ‘A’ Records at our server and the process of propagation begins, it can take 24-48 hours for the website to be visible from all points in the world. This is due to the propagation of the new address for the site through what is known as 'Points of Presence' which control the internet.

Some clients find this propagation period very frustrating as they are keen to have the world see their new site and for it to start to make them money.

We do understand this frustration, but we also ask for your patience. We hope it will take less time, but it is out of our hands how fast the process happens.

Sometimes the propagation allows the client to see the new website before W3 staff can. Again, this can be frustrating as we cannot work on the site if we cannot see it.

We tell you about these delays in advance so you will be aware of the potential for delays in seeing the site live, but delays rarely take more than 24-36 hours to correct themselves.

Never a Friday - or just before a Public Holiday

At W3 Design we do not put websites live on Fridays. This is because if there is an issue that requires attention,it means that it might have to wait until Monday to be addressed fully if we run out of time to correct the error. For this reason we need to know if you have any impending events or launches that you need to ensure the website is on line to support.

It’s Not the End

The website going live is not an ending, it is a beginning.Once the world can see your site the work of keeping it an effective marketing tool begins. We can help with this as by now we will have introduced you to our Website Angel service and our range of digital marketing support solutions.

Working Together

We have over 600 live websites and everyone has been through the above process. Over the years we have refined how we do things and we will work closely with you to ensure as smooth a transition as possible. As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call.

The Going Live Process (461kb)

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