Starting a business
What does a new business need online?
If the words domain, hosting and Google Business Profile make your eyes glaze over, you're not alone. Here is what each one is, why it matters, and the order to set them up in. No tech skills needed.
1. A domain (your web address)
A domain is your address on the internet, like yourbusiness.com. You rent it by the year from a domain company, usually for a small yearly fee. Buy it in your own name, with your own login. If someone else registers it for you under their account, getting it back later can be a headache.
2. A website
Your website is where people go to decide whether to call you. For most new businesses it only needs a few pages: home, about, services, photos and contact. It must look right on a phone, because that's where most people will see it. Pick a setup you can edit yourself, so you can change a price or a photo without paying someone.
3. A business email
An email like sam@yourbusiness.com looks more professional than a free address and keeps business messages in one place. It usually costs a few dollars a month per person.
4. A Google Business Profile
This is the box that shows up on Google and Google Maps with your name, phone number, hours and reviews. It's free, and for local businesses it's often how new customers find you first. Here's how to set one up.
5. Social pages
Pick one or two that your customers use and that you'll actually post on. A page you never update looks worse than no page. Use the same name, logo and colors as everywhere else.
The order to do it in
- Buy your domain.
- Set up your business email.
- Build your website.
- Create and verify your Google Business Profile, with your website on it.
- Set up your social pages and link them to your website.
Who should own all this?
You. Every account should be in your name, with your email and your payment card. Then nothing depends on a designer, a friend or a company you used once. That's how our business package works: we build it, and you hold the keys from day one.