CREATE A WEBSITE

Get a domain name and URL

It's important to choose a good domain name. It affects:

How easily customers can find your site

How much customers will trust your website and brand

Your intellectual property and trademark protection.

Set up an email address to match your domain name

You can use free email services for your business, but using one that matches your domain (and business) name, creates a more professional impression. For example, your domain-name email will display as info@mybusiness.com, instead of mybusiness@gmail.com. The service provider who registers your domain name, or your web hosting company, may provide an email service or include it as a paid add-on.

Find a web hosting company

For your website to be published and accessible on the internet, it has to be hosted by a web hosting company. These companies provide you with a secure space on their server to store all your website content. You can host your website with the same company you register your domain name with, or you can choose a different host if this meets your business needs better. Monthly fees for web hosting can vary depending on how big your website is and how many visits you get.

Design your website

When designing your website, think about:

the information you want to give your customers
what you want them to do on your site
the questions they'll have
the order they'll be doing things in.

Structure the site to make it easy for them to find and do the things they need. It might help to look at websites of businesses like yours to see how they've designed their site and what features they've added. A well-designed and easy-to-use website will help your business stand out. An easy way to understand what you may need for your website is to draw up a visual site map. Typically, you'd want a page dedicated to each product range or critical service you offer.