Buying a domain name means you’ve registered your desired name so that no one can use it.
But it’s half of the battle. You need to do a few more things to build your site and secure the future of your business.
If you have a domain name but don’t know what to do next, read on. In this post, I will be sharing 9 things to do once you have a domain name.
- 1. Get A Web Hosting Plan
- 2. Connect Your Domain Name to the Web Hosting
- 3. Build Your Website/Blog
- 4. Design Your Website
- 5. Install Essential Plugins
- 6. Create Social Media Accounts
- 7. Create Branded Email Address
- 8. Secure a Corporation or LLC
- 9. Trademark Your Business Name
- 10. Get Business Phone, Fax Number and PO Box
- 11. Start Promoting Your Website
Now follow these simple steps to build your website.
1. Get A Web Hosting Plan
The first thing you need to do after buying a domain name is, buy a web hosting plan to host your site. It’s especially important when you’ve bought the domain name from domain registrars like GoDaddy or Namecheap.
Though most domain registrars offer web hosting at a cheap rate, it’s not a good idea to buy a web hosting plan from a domain registrar. You should always keep your domain and web hosting place separately.
What we recommend is – buying a web hosting package from a top web hosting provider like HostGator.
HostGator is a leading web hosting provider which has been in business since 2002. Till now, over 10 million domains are hosted on HostGator.
If you’re just starting a new site, you can start with the shared hosting plan. Shared hosting is the most affordable plan. HostGator has three shared hosting plans. Among them, the Baby Plan is the most popular one.
2. Connect Your Domain Name to the Web Hosting
The next step is to connect your domain name to the web hosting.
It’s very easy to do. Just go to the domain registrar and update the nameservers. (You’ll get the nameservers in your web hosting). Then add the domain name to your web hosting.
If you’ve registered a domain name from Namecheap or GoDaddy and bought the hosting plan from HostGator, check the following tutorials.
3. Build Your Website/Blog
This is the most important step.
To create a site/blog, you need to install a platform on your web host. There are several platforms out there. We use and recommend WordPress. It is the most popular CMS. More than 40% of sites on the web use WordPress.
The best thing about WordPress is, it’s very easy to use. You don’t need to be tech-savvy to use it. It offers one-click installation. That means you are just one click away from your first WordPress site.
Read: How to Install WordPress On HostGator
4. Design Your Website
Once you’ve installed WordPress on your server, the very first thing you need to do is change the default theme.
There are thousands of free and premium WordPress themes out. If you’re serious about your site/blog, it’s better to go with a premium theme.
When it comes to selecting a premium theme, our recommendation is to go with Divi by Elegant Themes. It’s the most popular theme in the world.
The best part is, it comes with Divi Builder with other essential plugins.
5. Install Essential Plugins
The best thing about WordPress is, you can accomplish almost anything by using a plugin.
Yes, you don’t need to code to add functionality in WordPress. Most of the things can be done using plugins.
Here are some of the essential plugins –
6. Create Social Media Accounts
Building social media presence takes times. But you have to create your social media accounts as soon as possible to secure social media URLs.
It is recommended to choose the social media URLs that match to your domain name. For example, my domain name is HostLater.com and my Facebook page URL is http://facebook.com/HostLater. In this way, people can find my page easily. And it will rank higher for the term “HostLater” .
There are several social networking sites. But you don’t have to join all of them. Join social media sites based on your audience. Here is a list of common social media sites.
7. Create Branded Email Address
An email address with your domain name increases visibility and credibility of your domain name.
For example, admin@hostlater.com looks more professional than hostlater@gmail.com.
Now the good news is, you can create a free email with your domain name from your hosting panel. It’s very easy to create one.
You can also set up an email on your domain using Google apps.
8. Secure a Corporation or LLC
If you have bought the domain name for a corporation, LLCs, partnership or sole proprietorship, you need to ensure liability protection for your business.
But if you’ve just started a blog, I don’t think you need any liability protection.
9. Trademark Your Business Name
Registering the domain name is not enough to protect your brand name.
If you have just bought a domain name for a new brand, you need to register a trademark for it. This will protect you from infringing domain names and other infringing properties when you need to take legal action against someone trying to cash in on your business’ name.
10. Get Business Phone, Fax Number and PO Box
Getting a dedicated phone and fax number for your business is essential when building a company. You can always have these numbers forward calls to your cell phone or home phone or simply get a toll-free number for your customer feedback and client services.
A PO Box also helps you avoid the need to give out your home address for your business. This is also helpful if you are leasing premises for your business and would like the freedom to move to another place if the need arises.
11. Start Promoting Your Website
Once your website is live, you need to promote it to let your customers know about your website.
Here are a few things you can do to promote your website.
- Hire an SEO expert to drive organic traffic. You can do it yourself if you have SEO knowledge.
- You can go DIY and use social media or try other paid advertising methods.
- If your business has a strong local flavor, you should also consider putting up flyers and posters and even the odd billboard if you have the budget for it.
- Order a set of business cards solely for your business which should have details of how clients and customers can get in touch with you.
Conclusion
So those are the most important things that you need to do initially after buying a domain name.
Let me know if you have any questions regarding this.
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