{"id":8987,"date":"2015-01-01T17:58:30","date_gmt":"2015-01-01T22:58:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jbaker.info\/?p=6197"},"modified":"2015-01-01T17:58:30","modified_gmt":"2015-01-01T22:58:30","slug":"site-deploy-checklist-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jbaker.info\/demo05\/site-deploy-checklist-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Site Deploy Checklist"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Step 1 – Before Going Live<\/caption>\n
Step<\/strong>\n <\/td>\nOrder<\/strong>\n <\/td>\nArea<\/strong>\n <\/td>\nTask<\/strong>\n <\/td>\n Completed<\/strong>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1<\/td>\n1<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nVerify all site pages and elements display properly on Chrome, Firefox, IE (multiple versions), Safari, Opera, Mobile Safari, Android, etc. Most importantly, test while logged out. Secondly, test all scenarios while logged in, both the front-end and the back-end. (do this again as the very last step)<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1<\/td>\n1<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nVerify favicon displays on IE (might need .ico version) and non-IE browsers<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1<\/td>\n2<\/td>\nCommunications<\/td>\nReceive Client approval of site design concept, moving forward toward finalizing\/publishing. As appropriate, initiate change orders (i.e. charge more for feature-creep)<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1<\/td>\n2<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nTake backup before proceeding to finalize<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1<\/td>\n3<\/td>\nSEO<\/td>\nCreate needed categories and tags, including Description text for each<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1<\/td>\n3<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nChange default category from "Uncategorized" to something else (e.g. "News")<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1<\/td>\n3<\/td>\nSEO<\/td>\nConfirm SEO plugin’s settings per tag and category<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1<\/td>\n4<\/td>\nSEO<\/td>\nCreate archive-, tag-, and category-specific layouts\/pages<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1<\/td>\n5<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nChange the author of all posts, pages, and CPTs to be authored by the Client’s User(s), not your own Administrator User<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1<\/td>\n6<\/td>\nThemes<\/td>\nReview items in the WordPress Theme Development Checklist<\/a><\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Step 2 – Going Live<\/caption>\n
Step<\/strong>\n <\/td>\nOrder<\/strong>\n <\/td>\nArea<\/strong>\n <\/td>\nTask<\/strong>\n <\/td>\n Completed<\/strong>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\n1<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nRun the WordPress Search and Replace script<\/a> if needed (if moving from a test site with a different URL), and delete<\/strong> the script<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\n1<\/td>\nThemes<\/td>\nTheme \/ Child Theme named appropriately in wp-admin and FTP<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\n1<\/td>\nThemes<\/td>\nDelete unused themes, except a fallback like Twenty ____<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\n1<\/td>\nPlugins<\/td>\nDeactivate development plugins, like Action Map \/ CSS Map; testing code, scripts, and dummy content; and SSL testing plugins<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\n2<\/td>\nPlugins<\/td>\nDelete unnecessary plugins<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\n2<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nDelete unnecessary \/ inactive users, as appropriate<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\n2<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nMake sure all users have their profile information as desired — Name, Contact Info, Bio, etc.<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\n3<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nTest site Search functionality: obviously-relevant results (i.e. search not broken), not returning hidden posts\/pages\/content (if any), returning CPTs, etc. Consider implementing a better-than-WordPress solution<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\n3<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nMake sure all WordPress default posts, pages, and comments are trashed or permanently deleted<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\n4<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nVerify all Widgets are in the right place (and display logic, if applicable) and delete unnecessary Widgets from the Inactive Widgets area<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\n4<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nVerify General Settings are as desired (e.g. www or non-www, new user registration, Timezone, etc.)<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\n4<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nVerify Discussion, Media, and Permalink settings are as desired (e.g. closing comments after 14 days, setting image sizes, and having pretty permalinks). Re-save Permalinks if you didn’t make changes, just to make sure.<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\n5<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nDelete WordPress default links and link categories<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\n5<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nEnable Remote Publishing XML-RPC if Client wants to use the WordPress mobile app, IFTTT<\/a>, or verify site on Gravatar profile<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\n5<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nSetup WPMU DEV Dashboard<\/a> to hide branding and only be enabled for your Administrator User account, as desired<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\n6<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nDelete all unused logo, background, and other files from Media Manager via Dashboard and from Theme \/ Child Theme folder via FTP<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\n6<\/td>\nThemes<\/td>\nVerify the theme’s (not the server’s) 404 page works and is designed as desired<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\n6<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nTurn on WP_DEBUG and Deprecation Testing<\/a> before publishing site for one final test. After resolving all errors, if any, turn off WP_DEBUG and Deprecation Testing plugin(s)<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\n7<\/td>\nThemes<\/td>\nValidate website<\/a> (HTML\/XHTML, CSS, broken links, feeds, etc.).<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\n7<\/td>\nThemes<\/td>\nRun site through page load testing, like Pingdom, GTmetrix<\/a>, YSlow<\/a>, Google PageSpeed Tools<\/a>, and Google Webmaster Tools’ and Google Analytics’ Site Speed reports. Make improvements as necessary\/desired<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\n8<\/td>\nThemes<\/td>\nVerify all enabled Post Formats<\/a> have specific styling. If styling won’t be created, disable non-styled Post Formats.<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\n8<\/td>\nThemes<\/td>\nVerify Featured Images are properly configured for archive pages, single post views, and any sliders \/ widgets that include Featured Images (i.e. Post Thumbnails).<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\n8<\/td>\nThemes<\/td>\nAdd code that reminds Client of the ideal Featured Image size(s)<\/a>.<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\n9<\/td>\nThemes<\/td>\nMake sure all images have captions<\/a> and that they look good<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\n9<\/td>\nThemes<\/td>\nMake sure video embeds work as desired<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\n9<\/td>\nThemes<\/td>\nVerify print preview (i.e. print stylesheet<\/a>) is as desired<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\n10<\/td>\nThemes<\/td>\nWhile logged out, use View Source on the front-end of the site for several pages, looking for theme and plugin scripts that are loaded unnecessarily. Rectify as appropriate.<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\n10<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nIf site has an SSL certificate, force SSL login\/admin<\/a> and resolve insecurely-loaded assets<\/a>. If no SSL, consider adding a secure login alternative like Facebook.<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\n11<\/td>\nCommunications<\/td>\nCreate\/Update the Client’s Gravatar<\/a> and make sure it’s set to the same email address as used in the Client’s User Profile. Complete Gravatar image, verified services, and other profile info. Create\/Login to the Client’s WordPress.com<\/a> account (to be connected to JetPack)<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Step 3 – Finish Going Live<\/caption>\n
Step<\/strong>\n <\/td>\nOrder<\/strong>\n <\/td>\nArea<\/strong>\n <\/td>\nTask<\/strong>\n <\/td>\n Completed<\/strong>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\n1<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nSetup RSS feeds as desired. Verify all feeds that should be on are on and those that should be off are off. (e.g. all posts, all comments, comments per post, author, category, tag, CPT ones)<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\n2<\/td>\nCommunications<\/td>\nVerify site Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy<\/a> are displayed on-site and are approved by Client<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\n3<\/td>\nSEO<\/td>\nCreate a robots.txt<\/a> file<\/a><\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\n3<\/td>\nSEO<\/td>\nTurn on WordPress’ "visible to search engines" setting<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\n3<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nImplement Analytics<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\n3<\/td>\nSEO<\/td>\nVerify site ownership with Google Webmaster Tools<\/a> and Bing Webmaster Tools<\/a>.<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\n3<\/td>\nSEO<\/td>\nVerify sitemap is valid with Google and Bing Webmaster Tools<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\n3<\/td>\nSEO<\/td>\nIntegrate with Facebook and Open Graph (OG)<\/a> if not already part of your SEO plugin settings<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\n4<\/td>\nPlugins<\/td>\nActivate needed plugins that aren’t active yet, like Jetpack<\/a>, activity monitor plugins, spam-blocking plugins, and Email Post Changes<\/a><\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\n4<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nAdd social sharing<\/a> icons via Jetpack, Digg Digg, Floating Social<\/a>, or other method<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\n4<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nSetup Comments Plus<\/a>, Google Plus<\/a>, and any other social integrations<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\n4<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nSetup Newsletter \/ MailChimp \/ Feedburner<\/a> \/ Jetpack \/ other subscription manager<\/a> settings and put sign up form on front-end<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\n5<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nConsider minifying your code. Enable caching, and CDN<\/a><\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Step 4 – Promoting the Site<\/caption>\n
Step<\/strong>\n <\/td>\nOrder<\/strong>\n <\/td>\nArea<\/strong>\n <\/td>\nTask<\/strong>\n <\/td>\n Completed<\/strong>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\n1<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nSetup Admin Help Content<\/a> and Custom Dashboard Widget<\/a> to include beneficial links: to your own blog(s), tutorial \/ how-to videos<\/a>, wiki<\/a> or knowledgebase<\/a> or support chat<\/a>, the WPMU DEV Manual<\/a>, the WordPress Codex<\/a> (or a select<\/a> few<\/a> pages), podcast, contact information, Terms and Conditions, "tell others about us" affiliate<\/a> reward (setup their PayPal email address in their User Profile). Include information about possible upgrades and reminding Client of your other services<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\n1<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nSet Dashboard Feeds<\/a> settings with your own blog’s feed<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n4<\/td>\n2<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nSetup syndication \/ auto-posting of new posts and CPTs to Client’s social media channels, as desired<\/td>\n <\/td>\n
4<\/td>\n3<\/td>\nCommunications<\/td>\nWrite a blog post about the new site design, providing yourself a backlink, and tell Client they have their first blog post. Invite them to edit as desired<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\n3<\/td>\nCommunications<\/td>\nPromote Client’s site on their social media channels<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\n3<\/td>\nCommunications<\/td>\nAdd Client’s site to your own site’s Portfolio page<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\n4<\/td>\nCommunications<\/td>\nPromote Client’s site on your own social media channels<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\n5<\/td>\nCommunications<\/td>\nCreate a screencast video (or collection of screenshots) to walk Client through all the features of their new site (maybe 2 videos if also wanting to demo the back-end). Publish to YouTube as a Private video (or Public if you have Client’s permission) and email to Client, requesting feedback<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\n6<\/td>\nSEO<\/td>\nSubmit site to dmoz open directory<\/a> and industry-specific site directories<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\n7<\/td>\nCommunications<\/td>\nProvide an email signature for Client, including link to their site<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\n8<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nFinalize Pop-Overs<\/a>, Social Marketing<\/a> and Pay with a Like<\/a> giveaways, Floating Social<\/a>, lead captures, squeeze pages, etc. as needed<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\n9<\/td>\nSEO<\/td>\nMake sure your Update Services are as desired (for notifying sites of new posts)<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\n10<\/td>\nCommunications<\/td>\nSubscribe to the site’s feed(s) in your own RSS reader, if you don’t have any other way to keep track of the site’s posting activity<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\n11<\/td>\nSEO<\/td>\nUpdate Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Google Maps pages with current domain name and other contact information.<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Step 5 – Finishing Up<\/caption>\n
Step<\/strong>\n <\/td>\nOrder<\/strong>\n <\/td>\nArea<\/strong>\n <\/td>\nTask<\/strong>\n <\/td>\n Completed<\/strong>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\n1<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nImplement a tag-picker metabox (to avoid Client creating multiple variations of the same effective tags)<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\n1<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nFinalize Ultimate Branding<\/a> settings<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\n1<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nFinalize Easy Blogging<\/a> settings<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\n1<\/td>\nSEO<\/td>\nFinalize Infinite SEO<\/a> or other SEO plugin’s settings<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\n2<\/td>\nThemes<\/td>\nConsider disabling some of the Write Panel features<\/a>, as appropriate<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\n2<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nLogin as each user to verify they have proper viewing\/editing permissions and all Dashboard meta boxes, Post Editor meta boxes, and Admin Bar links are displayed as desired, including in the proper order. Ideally, there should be no dead links ("You do not have sufficient permissions to access this page.")<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\n2<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nMake sure WordPress default email address is as desired (yours or Client’s email address?)<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\n2<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nVerify all form submission notifications are sent to Client’s email, not yours<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\n2<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nAdd code to customize WordPress’ send-from email address<\/a><\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\n2<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nVerify robots.txt and\/or SEO plugin’s settings are working as desired by checking webmaster tools indexation<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\n2<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nVerify all site pages and elements display properly on Chrome, Firefox, IE (multiple versions), Safari, Opera, Mobile Safari, Android, etc. Most importantly, test while logged out. Sec ondly, test all scenarios while logged in, both the front-end and the back-end. (same task as in the beginning)<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\n3<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nAdd site to ManageWP, WP Remote, or an alternative, if desired and not already done<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\n3<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nRun a database cleanup to remove old revisions (proceed with caution, consider backing up database first)<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\n4<\/td>\nSettings<\/td>\nSave a .zip backup of the entire site (files and database) to your local computer as proof of what you delivered to the Client on the day of going live.<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\n5<\/td>\nSetup<\/td>\nImplement auto-backup schedule<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\n6<\/td>\nCommunications<\/td>\nGet your Client started on the right writing path by teaching them how to follow their own Blog Post Writing Checklist<\/a><\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\n6<\/td>\nCommunications<\/td>\nConsider suggesting Client setup Google Alerts<\/a> and\/or Yahoo Alerts<\/a><\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\n6<\/td>\nCommunications<\/td>\nFinalize your contract and get Client signature that the work has been completed satisfactorily. Get final payment (maybe before providing login credentials). Get web hosting payment if applicable.<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\n7<\/td>\nCommunications<\/td>\nProvide Client with login, FTP, database, and third-party management utility credentials, as appropriate<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\n7<\/td>\nCommunications<\/td>\nSetup WordPress mobile app and\/or other remote publishing tool for Client<\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Step 1 – Before Going Live Step Order Area Task Completed 1 1 Settings Verify all site pages and elements display properly on Chrome, Firefox, IE (multiple versions), Safari, Opera, Mobile Safari, Android, etc. Most importantly, test while logged out. Secondly, test all scenarios while logged in, both the front-end and the back-end. (do this… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-programming-docs","category-unvetted"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jbaker.info\/demo05\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jbaker.info\/demo05\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jbaker.info\/demo05\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jbaker.info\/demo05\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jbaker.info\/demo05\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8987"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jbaker.info\/demo05\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8987\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jbaker.info\/demo05\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jbaker.info\/demo05\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jbaker.info\/demo05\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}