So, you been around the block several times with your client, you’ve confirmed all designs and layouts, you’ve double-checked all the functionality of your newest creation, and now you finally have the okay from the client to launch the site, to finally say to the world “here it is, all my blood and sweat, come and behold!”
But what if no one hears you?
Well, Google Webmaster Central is just the place to help avoid that happening: http://www.google.com/webmasters/
To me, it is one of those rare sites where literally clicking each and every link really makes sense. Everything from adding your site to Googlebot’s “to-do” list, to uploading a sitemap to help Googlebot find all your pages, to verifying that all the links on your pages actually go to something, to more advanced stuff like adding Google Analytics (to prove people are seeing your creation) and AdWords (why not make a buck or two from your site’s visitors?). And perhaps the greatest gem of them all, the Google Webmaster Central Blog, where the brains-of-the-brains chat and trade thoughts, ideas, and suggestions with the likes of people like me! Go figure!
And while I am not into building a site based on someone’s libraries and tools (I like to know what my stuff is doing and how it is doing it), Google also offers a plethora of Gadgets and APIs to help developers get somewhere more quickly (and possibly more efficiently).
So, if you haven’t been yet, go spend a few clicks at Webmaster Central. I guarantee you’ll pick up something new, or your money back! *
Happy clicking,
Atg
* Since visiting Google Webmaster Central costs no real money, all refunds will be for the same value.