Your DSW website is taking shape. Use this checklist before sharing its address with pupils or putting it on your business cards. Work through it on the actual website—not only the administration screens.
Important: this is a readiness checklist, not a Publish button. Some DSW setup actions already make pages public. A site that discourages search engines can still be visited; use hosting-level protection if the unfinished site must be private.
1. Check your school information
- School name, instructor introduction and main teaching area are correct.
- Your manual or automatic lesson choices match what you actually offer.
- Prices, package descriptions and lesson durations are accurate and unambiguous.
- Teaching areas and collection arrangements are clear.
- No dummy telephone numbers, demonstration reviews, sample prices or placeholder text remain.
Change DSW-managed information through the relevant DSW screen, then save and check the website again. Do not edit a price only in an extra paragraph while leaving a different price in DSW.
2. Check every page and menu link
Open the homepage, then use the menu to visit every page. Check any dropdown menu, the Contact button, footer links and links inside your text. Make sure every link takes visitors to the intended place.
Check on a computer and a phone. On the phone, open and close the menu and try any submenu controls. Text should remain readable, photographs should not cover information and buttons should be easy to select.
If you added a page of your own, publishing it does not automatically add a menu link. Follow Add a page to your website menu and check the saved menu on the public website.
3. Try your contact choices
Check the actual destinations of telephone, email, WhatsApp and social links you chose to display. On your phone, selecting the telephone link should offer the correct number; you do not need to complete a call. Selecting an email link should address a message to the correct mailbox.
Remove contact choices you do not use. Make sure the mailbox and telephone number are monitored.
4. Test enquiry-form delivery, if you use a form
Not configured yet? Follow Set up and test your enquiry form first.
- Check that the form is configured to send to your intended business mailbox.
- Submit a clearly labelled test enquiry with your own details, not a pupil’s private information.
- Check that a confirmation appears on the website.
- Check that the message actually arrives in your mailbox, including junk or spam.
- Check that you can reply to the correct address.
A confirmation on screen does not prove delivery. If the message does not arrive, ask your hosting or email provider to check the sending configuration before relying on the form. Do not publish a claim that enquiries work until you have received the test.
5. Review photographs, reviews and pupil passes
Check that images are sharp, sensibly cropped and appropriate for your business. Use only content you have permission to publish. Check permission for identifiable pupil photographs and testimonials, and do not include unnecessary private information.
Open any full testimonials, pupil-pass and FAQ pages. Add genuine entries before deciding to show an otherwise empty section or page.
6. Finish privacy and business information
Review your website’s privacy information so it describes the information you collect and how you use it. Include the business and customer information applicable to your own services. DSW’s sample wording is not a legal assessment of your business.
If you use analytics, embedded services, booking tools or other additions, check their privacy and cookie implications too. Do not assume installing DSW completes these obligations for you.
7. Confirm backups, updates and search visibility
Have a current backup of both website files and database, and know how to restore it. Keep administrator access secure and check WordPress, plugin and theme updates regularly.
When you are ready for search engines to find the live website, review WordPress Settings → Reading → Search engine visibility. If “Discourage search engines from indexing this site” is selected, remove that setting only on the intended live website and save. Keep test copies protected and out of search results. Removing the setting does not guarantee indexing or rankings.
Check your page titles and descriptions in the website’s SEO settings. Use accurate school and location information; avoid promises about search positions.
8. If you are replacing an existing website
Before switching, follow Using DSW on an existing website. Check important old addresses, any redirects, booking or payment features and your host’s restore procedure. Switching themes alone is not a complete undo of website setup.
Ready to share
Once the checks are complete, open the live address in a browser where you are not signed into WordPress. Give it one final check as a pupil would see it. Then share the address with confidence—and keep it up to date as your prices, car or teaching areas change.
Want to add more detail later? Follow Add a page of your own or Add extra content to a DSW page.
Contact DSW for help. Tell us which check you are having difficulty with; never send passwords, payment details or private pupil information.