So you’ve got a fantastic small business concept, and you’re ready to launch it to the world. Obviously, you’re going to need a website! But where do you start? Here’s the Moreweb beginner’s guide to setting up a website.
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Search for a website domain
A domain is your websites address and what gives you a custom URL for your website, and a dedicated email address. Generally, domains are cheap to purchase and renew, and they make your business look much more trustworthy and professional than if you use a free hosting service. Ideally, your domain name should be short, easy to type, and not too similar to a pre-existing one – you don’t want people ending up at the wrong site if they make a typo! On that note, it might be worth purchasing the domains for any common misspellings of your URL and adding redirects from them to your site.
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Decide on an extension
A domain extension is the bit after the dot at the end of a URL. Commonly, people used to choose .com or .co.nz, but there are plenty of other options. If you’re planning on entering overseas markets, you might want to consider buying the local extensions for those domains, such as .com.au or .co.uk. You can also get stylised extensions that enhance your branding. If you want to convey that you’re proudly a New Zealand business, consider a .kiwi or .nz extension. Check out the full range of extensions available at Moreweb.
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Write a hosting brief
A hosting brief is an outline of how you want your website to look and function. Writing a hosting brief helps whoever is creating your site to build it to your requirements more accurately. You’ll want to include things like the quantity and names of the pages, what you want each page to say or do, colour schemes, logos and taglines, imagery requirements, e-commerce functionality, and social media links. If you’re not sure what kind of site would suit your business best, you can find more information in this blog.
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Get an SSL certificate – for website security
An SSL certificate helps to keep your site secure by encrypting all the data being exchanged between the server and the browser. It’s important to have a secure site if you’re collecting any customer information and absolutely vital if you have an e-commerce site. You can obtain an SSL certificate from Moreweb and read more about it on our blog.
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Set up your email address
As with your domain name, a custom email address helps to show your customers that your business is legitimate and professional. When you purchase a domain through Moreweb, you’ll get a free custom email address to go with it. Then, it’s just a matter of purchasing an email hosting plan and entering your account details into your chosen email client.
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Create your website
Now that you have your domain name, website brief, and email address organised, it’s time to build your site. Whether you get someone to build it for you or decide to do it yourself, you’ll need some content to populate the pages. Ideally, you should optimise your content for SEO. That’s where you include words and phrases in your headings, subheadings, and body copy that match customer searches – these are called keywords. Using the right keywords helps your site rank higher on Google. Our blog has some handy ideas for free ways to find keywords for your website.
Why choose Moreweb?
Whether you simply want a domain name and email address, affordable hosting for your self-built WordPress site, or you need someone to take the entire process off your hands, Moreweb can help. We can provide you with:
- Domain names (with a free custom email address)
- SSL certificates
- Affordable shared or dedicated WordPress hosting
- Full site creation, including your domain name, email address, hosting, SSL certificates, SEO optimisation, design and build, plus full training so you can maintain your site going forward.
A final note about cost: When you’re starting with a limited budget, it can be tempting to try the DIY route, but it’s important to weigh up the lost opportunity cost of the business you are not able to do while you’re busy building your site. The money you save in the short term may be a false economy, especially if you then need help to fine-tune the site before it goes live.
To talk to Moreweb about getting your website set up, get in touch here.
