Define your digital presence
Decide if you need a website, social media, or both.
Choose which social media platforms you'll actively use.
Register your domain name and claim social media handles early, even if you won't use them immediately.
Choose your business and domain name
Confirm the business name isn't already in use or trademarked.
Check that the matching domain name is available. (e.g. ‘.com, ‘.org’, etc)
Keep your domain name the same as (or very close to) your business name to avoid customer confusion.
If your preferred domain isn't available, consider variations (e.g., adding your location) or selecting a different business name.
Create your brand assets
Design a unique logo using a tool like Canva or hire a professional designer.
Obtain the final logo as a vector file for high-quality scaling.
Ensure the logo does not infringe on existing copyrights or trademarks.
Create a 16×16 pixel favicon for browser tabs and bookmarks, using a simplified version or element of your logo.
You can build your website yourself using a website builder, or engage a professional if you need additional support or a more customised solution.
Build your own website using a platform such as:
WordPress
Squarespace
Wix
Shopify
For smaller websites, you may be able to use the same provider that registered your domain name.
Plan your website hosting
Your website will require hosting, which is typically included with most website builder subscriptions.
If you work with a freelancer or agency, they will usually arrange hosting and deployment on your behalf.
If your domain registrar and hosting provider are different, you'll need to configure your domain's DNS settings to point to your hosting provider.
Launch with a holding page
Consider publishing a simple holding page while your website is under development.
Include:
A brief introduction to your business.
Contact details.
Links to your social media channels.
An option for visitors to register their interest or join a mailing list.
Set up website analytics
Implement analytics from launch to monitor website performance and visitor behaviour.
Popular analytics platforms include:
Google Analytics
Simple Analytics
Matomo
Ensure your website complies with applicable privacy regulations (such as GDPR where relevant) by:
Publishing clear Privacy and Cookie Policies.
Obtaining user consent before placing non-essential cookies or loading tracking technologies.
Configuring analytics to align with your legal and regulatory obligations.
Once you have your domain name, you can set up a business email address using this domain. It can be seen as more professional to use a domain based email than using your personal email. It also keeps everything separate, making it easier to manage.
You can set up your business email directly through email providers such as Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. When you registered your domain name, or set up your site using a website builder, that service may have included the option to set up your business email. Expect to pay a small monthly fee for each email address based on your domain.
Remember you will be able to download Android or iOS apps for your email so you can access it easily from your phone or tablet as well as your computer.
You need to think about how to set up individual email addresses and mailboxes.
Name format. Using firstname@domain may work ok if there will only ever be a few of you. However, if not, it’s best to use firstname.surname@domain right from the start, especially if you could ever have two people with the same first name.
Shared mailboxes. This is handy for customers to contact you through a simple address e.g. hello@, sales@, customerservice@ or finance@. If there’s just one or two of you, you can use these to keep different workstreams separate. Should you recruit more staff, you can grant access for several people to these mailboxes, so they are easier to monitor and share workload.