A website launch announcement is the one message most businesses get to send about their site, and most of them waste it on themselves: we are thrilled to unveil our new website. The reader does not care that you are thrilled. They care what they can now do that they could not before: book online, see prices, find their town, order for delivery. A creative website launch announcement leads with that, sends it to the people who have a reason to act, and times it after the site has been checked rather than the hour it goes live. This page sets out what to say, where and when to say it, and gives wording to start from.
What to say: the change, the reason, the ask
Lead with the change for the reader in one line: you can now book your appointment online, or every plan and price is now on the site. Follow with the reason it matters to them, in one more line. Close with one ask: a link to the thing you led with. That is the whole announcement. Everything about the design, the agency and the months of work belongs in an internal email. If the old site had a problem customers noticed, such as not working on phones, say plainly that it is fixed, because that is the news.
Where and when: email, social, the site, and after the checks
Email the customer list, because they are the readers who will act, and keep it short and within the commercial email rules: a real sender, a subject that matches the content and a working unsubscribe. Post it on the social accounts the business actually uses, with a screenshot of the thing that changed. Put a short notice on the site's home page for the first weeks for people who arrive by search. Send it after the launch checklist has been worked through and the redirects and forms verified, not the moment the switch is thrown, because the announcement that leads a customer to a broken form is worse than none.
Wording to start from
For a service business: You can now book online. Our new site shows every service and price, and you can pick a time without ringing. Book here. For a shop: Every product, every price, and delivery to your door. Our new site is live; here is what is new. For a practice: New patients can now register online. Our new site explains what a first visit involves and what it costs, and you can register in a few minutes. For a firm: Our site now explains each service in plain terms and what to expect from a first conversation. Each of those is three sentences, leads with the reader, and ends with one link.
Questions people ask about website launch announcement
Should we announce the launch before the site is live?
No. Announce after the launch checklist is complete and the forms, redirects and phone links are verified. A teaser to existing customers a week before is fine if it makes no promise about a date.
Is a press release worth doing?
For most small businesses, no; nobody covers a new website. A local trade publication may run it if the site does something newsworthy, such as online booking for a service that never had it.
What are the email rules for an announcement?
The commercial email rules require an accurate sender and subject, a physical address and a working unsubscribe honoured promptly. A launch announcement to your own customer list is ordinary commercial email and those rules apply.