When you're starting a business, getting online feels like a long list of separate jobs: a name, a logo, a website, an email address, a Google listing. The trouble is that most people do them in whatever order they think of them - and end up redoing things.
A logo designed before the name is settled. A website built before the domain is bought. Business cards printed with a Gmail address. None of it is a disaster, but it all costs time and money twice. Here's the order I'd do it in.
1. Settle on a name - and check it properly
Everything else hangs off the name, so it comes first. Once you have a shortlist, check each option before you fall for it:
- Companies House - is a limited company already registered with the same or a very similar name? The free name availability checker on GOV.UK will tell you.
- Trade marks - search the UK Intellectual Property Office register for anything similar in your line of work.
- Domains - can you get the .co.uk and the .com? If both are taken, that's a strong hint someone else is already using the name.
- Google and social media - is anyone nearby already trading under it, and are the handles free?
These checks catch the obvious clashes, but they aren't legal advice. If the name is central to your business, it's worth paying for a formal trade mark search or registration before you commit.
2. Buy the domain - in your own name
As soon as the name is settled, register the domain. I'd usually buy both the .co.uk and the .com, and point the spare one at the main site so nobody else can pick it up.
The important part: make sure the domain is registered to you or your company, with a login you control. It's surprisingly common for a business to discover years later that their domain belongs to a former web designer or a relative who "sorted it out" for them.
3. Get your brand sorted before anything is built
Your logo, colours and fonts feed into everything that follows - the website, your email signature, your social profiles - so they need to exist first. When you get a logo, make sure you receive more than a single JPEG:
Different layouts
A main logo plus a wider and a stacked version, and a small icon mark for places like social profile pictures and browser tabs.
Colour versions
Full colour, plus black and white versions for dark backgrounds, single-colour printing and anywhere colour won't work.
The right files
Vector files (SVG, PDF or EPS) that scale to any size, plus high-res PNGs. Without vectors, every printer and sign-maker will ask you for them.
4. Set up business email on your domain
An address like [email protected] looks far more established than a Gmail or Hotmail one, and it stays with the business if staff come and go. The two main options are Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. Microsoft suits people who live in Outlook, Word and Excel; Google suits people who prefer Gmail and Google Docs. Either is fine - pick the one you'll actually enjoy using.
Whichever you choose, it needs setting up properly. Three DNS records - SPF, DKIM and DMARC - prove to other mail servers that your emails really come from you. Skip them, and your carefully written quotes can end up in your customers' junk folders.
5. Build the website - or start with a holding page
With a name, domain, brand and email in place, the website can be built properly the first time. If you need to be live quickly, a simple holding page with your logo, what you do and how to get in touch is fine to start with - it's far better than a parked domain.
When it comes to the full site, think about speed, how it works on a phone, and who owns it. A custom-built site versus a template is a real trade-off worth understanding, and it's worth knowing what a small business website should cost before you get quotes.
6. Create your Google Business Profile
If you serve a local area, this is one of the most valuable things you can set up - and it's free. It's how you appear in the map results when someone nearby searches for what you do. Set it up once the website is live so you can link to it, then fill in every detail. I've written about the mistakes most businesses make with it.
7. Claim your social profiles
Even if you don't plan to post much, claim your business name on the platforms your customers use. Use the same name, logo and description everywhere, and link back to your website. Consistency across the web helps both customers and Google recognise you.
8. Write down every login
By now you'll have a domain registrar, a hosting account, an email provider, a Google profile and a handful of social accounts. Record every one - what it's for, which email address it's registered to, and where the password is stored - in one safe place. It sounds dull, but the day you need to change something, you'll be glad you did.
Or hand the whole thing over
None of this is difficult on its own, but together it's a lot of setup when you'd rather be getting your first customers. If you'd like it done for you, my New Business Launch package covers every step above - name, brand, website, domains, email and IT - with everything set up in your name and a full handover at the end.