Lesson Overview:
Once your website design and content are ready, it’s time to share it with the world. Publishing your site makes it accessible to anyone via your domain name. But before you tell everyone about it, it’s important to test it to ensure everything works smoothly.
Steps to Publish Your Site
- Check Your Settings
- Go to Settings → General in WordPress
- Make sure your site title, tagline, and URL are correct
- Remove “Coming Soon” Mode
- If you’ve been using a coming soon or maintenance plugin, disable it so the site goes public
- Confirm Domain Connection
- Ensure your domain is correctly pointing to your hosting server
- Click the Publish Button(if using a page builder)
- In editors like Elementor or the WordPress block editor, make sure all pages are published
Testing Your Live Site
| Test Area | What to Check |
|---|---|
| Design & Layout | Pages display correctly on desktop, tablet, and mobile devices |
| Links & Navigation | All menu items, buttons, and links work and go to the right pages |
| Forms | Contact and subscription forms send data correctly |
| Load Speed | Pages load quickly (use tools like GTmetrix or Google PageSpeed Insights) |
| SEO Basics | Meta titles and descriptions are showing in search previews |
Pro Tips Before Announcing Your Site
- Ask a friend or colleague to test it on their device — they might spot issues you missed
- Check your site in multiple browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)
- Keep a backup of your site before launch in case you need to revert changes