For many, registering a domain name is the get-go of an exciting concern venture, or at the very to the lowest degree an early footstep to getting a website online.

At that place'due south a tonne of stuff to plan and consider during the early on stages of getting a site and/or business off the footing, then much then it tin be a flake bewildering.

And then if you're thinking "I accept a domain, now what?" you lot'll find this guide handy. We've written a checklist of the ten most vital things yous'll need to get done after your registration is complete.

We're assuming you've already registered a domain name, but if not, nosotros'd (naturally) recommend giving us a try and don't hesitate to drib u.s.a. a message if you take any questions.

  1. Secure your business name at companies house

If your newly registered domain proper noun isn't being used for business purposes, or you've already registered your visitor proper noun, you can skip this footstep.

You'd remember this would be the very first thing any SME does before getting started with a new company, withal, during the excitement of coming upwardly with a genius thought that could make you an overnight millionaire, information technology's easy to forget these things.

register name Registering your business concern proper noun is the very kickoff step to success

You lot tin can search for existing company names using this tool, and when you have your business concern proper noun finalised you tin can first the registration process gov.united kingdom/register-a-company-online

Now that's out the way, it's fourth dimension to go that domain name working for yous…

  1. Set up an email address

Does any business organization run twenty-four hours-to-day without email anymore? There might be a few people property out, simply for the most function, using email is an integral attribute of running a website / company.

Non merely is electronic mail the most common form of business communication, it'south also a hugely constructive way to inform customers of new products and offers. We'll get further into email marketing later on, merely starting time, allow's fix a professional email address for your domain.

For this, we're going to already assume yous have a hosting packet that comes with email.

the simpsons ralph mailbox Receive postal service and be as happy as Ralph

First, you'll need to call up most what your email address is going to exist; nosotros'd recommend keeping information technology personal, something like yourname@yourdomain.com – or something simple such as info@yourdomain.com.

The shorter the amend, as misspelling an accost is a mutual reason for emails non reaching their intended recipient.

Getting an email address set upwards via your host should be the like shooting fish in a barrel part. Here at LCN it couldn't be simpler: But log in to your LCN account and look for the "Electronic mail addresses" icon on the "my account" page.

hosting domains email ss certificates

From here you can easily set a new e-mail accost with your chosen password in seconds.

Wondering why yous should get email working on your ain domain instead of using a free service like Gmail or Hotmail? Having an accost like john66rockstar@googlemail.com plastered over a company van doesn't really scream professionalism.

what does your email address say What might your email accost say well-nigh y'all? – The Oatmeal

Considering it costs so footling, there are few excuses for a mod business to be without a custom domain and email address.

Earlier yous get likewise involved with i particular social media network it makes sense to secure all the relevant social media accounts for your website/business organization.

In the short term you may only programme to use Twitter or Facebook, but who's to say later down the line y'all might not look to use other platforms such as LinkedIn and Instagram as you aggrandize your social media footprint?

For branding purposes it's wise to ensure your social media accounts all take the same username/handle. There'southward cipher more frustrating than going to sign up to a social network merely to detect someone else has beaten you to the punch.

when the best usernames are taken When y'all find out all the best usernames are taken…

For case, at LCN.com we use the handle "lcndotcom" for all our social networks…

  • com/lcndotcom
  • com/lcndotcom
  • com/user/lcndotcom
  • … yous get the thought

While this sounds like a terribly laborious job, it'south actually pretty like shooting fish in a barrel to bank check the availability of your preferred name without signing up to each network individually.

Check out a tool called namechk (others are available), so just popular in your desired username/handle and hitting enter. All of the social networks that are available will show in green.

namechk

This kind of training at the beginning of a website and/or business organization launch is vital for your long-term branding prospects. Get information technology right from the get-get.

  1. Get started with email marketing (Mailchimp)

With the rise of social networks, the term "Electronic mail is dead" has become an age old aphorism, merely it couldn't be further from the truth.

A well-maintained customer mailing list is an absolutely vital asset for any business organization/website owner. And why wouldn't it be? The people on your mailing list are familiar with your brand, products and services, and in many cases are ready to buy!

leam neeson meme i will email you Growing and agreement your e-mail list will event in more sales

Launching a new product? Offer a big discount? Got large news to spread? Your always-and so-valuable email list should be the offset identify you turn to.

Still not convinced? Hither'due south some numbers…

  • There are ii.586 billion email users worldwide
  • 72% of consumers chose email when asked "what is best way for companies to contact yous".
  • Information technology's ridiculously price-effective. With an ROI (return on investment) of around iv,300%
  • 51% of marketers charge per unit email marketing as their most constructive channel
  • 55% of companies generate more than than x% of their total sales from email alone

And to acme information technology all off; it's super-like shooting fish in a barrel to do yourself… without the need for whatever techy marketing noesis or design skills.

Nevertheless, you can't just "do electronic mail marketing" using your regular email address/setup.

sean bean meme email marketing

Solar day-to-day email services are not geared upwards with mass email marketing in mind. Information technology's non practical and you lot could stop upwardly getting your email address blocked by providers such as Gmail, Hotmail, BT, etc. pretty rapidly.

Thankfully there are dedicated email marketing solutions out at that place which will handle this for y'all, and for this guide we're going to recommend our favourite email marketing provider; MailChimp.

MailChimp offers a pretty generous free plan to go you started. Yous can create a list of up to two,000 subscribers and ship up to 12,000 emails to them (in total) a month.  The just, very minor, catch is; you have to have the MailChimp logo in the footer of your emails.

mailchimp

If yous want to send more, or remove that logo, you can easily move onto ane of their flexible paid-plans.

Taking y'all through an email marketing campaign from meridian to bottom would be a huge separate guide in itself, so check out this "getting started with MailChimp" guide which covers the basics such every bit…

  • Creating a list
  • Making sure your list is compliant
  • Creating templates and designs
  • Sending your showtime campaign
  • Avoiding spam filters
  • Understanding MailChimp reports.

Once you're upward and running you'll want to expand your mailing list with new subscribers at every opportunity.

  1. Create a property / under construction folio

With the excitement of a new business organization or website launch comes the urge (and the need) to tell the world of your future plans.

If you do this before you have whatsoever kind of web page nowadays information technology's an opportunity missed. This is why it's a good idea to become a belongings page for your website online.

site coming soon meme

A property folio is useful for a few reasons…

  • Firstly, information technology proves y'all have an active presence
  • Y'all tin can give a website launch appointment (or include count-down timer)
  • Build your mailing listing squeamish and early by including an email grade
  • Encourage social network shares
  • Include a contact grade / contact details and then interested parties can go in touch

When building your website nosotros'd recommend trying out WordPress – in fact, we use it for this very blog. It'south extremely flexible and since information technology is then incredibly popular, there's loads of fantastic support guides bachelor online.

A major benefit of WordPress is that by using "plugins" (found online, mostly costless) you tin can pretty much become any functionality you could dream of – all at your fingertips, ofttimes without the need for any coding skills.

Check out excellent list of "coming soon" themes and plugins for WordPress and notice the correct one for your site.

  1. Add SSL to your domain name

Wait upwardly at your spider web browser accost bar correct now. You see that little green padlock to the left of our web accost? That's SSL in action. Y'all'll too notice that our address starts with "https" instead of "http".

add ssl to your website

SSL stands for Secure Socket Layer and is the industry standard method of encrypting information sent betwixt web browsers (your reckoner) and servers (web hosts).

This means any information sent between yous and a website is secured, which is particularly important when dealing with sensitive information such as credit/debit cards.

george w bush meme doors closed Keep your site locked to unwanted guests

This encryption isn't the simply reason it's worth getting your site SSL secured from the off. ..

  • SSL is now a Google ranking gene: Confirmed past Google in 2014, SSL now plays a function in how Google ranks your website. Find out more in our guide to SSL and SEO.
  • SSL can increase ecommerce conversion rates: SSL and HTTPS gives your visitors and customers peace of mind to both browse and brand purchases from your website.
  • SSL proves you lot are who you say you are: SSL tin can assist safeguard against phishing scams that involve emails that link to false versions of legitimate websites.
  • Warranty protection: If for some reason a customer incurs a loss from an online transaction on your site for security reasons, an SSL certificate will usually include warranty protection to cover your costs.

These are only a few reasons why SSL is a must for every site online today. Find out more than and get an SSL certificate to friction match your needs over at our SSL cert page.

  1. Gear up the bare / naked version of your domain

When we remember of the web, nosotros tend to assume all websites start with the "www" prefix. However, the chances are you probably visit websites on a regular ground without using "www" at all.

For instance, you lot can visit LCN by either using world wide web.lcn.com or simply lcn.com – the latter address without the "world wide web" is often called a "naked domain".

What is actually happening hither is lcn.com is just redirecting to our proper www.lcn.com address. Still, without setting this up, users will just get an mistake folio when visiting your site's naked domain variant – and this isn't a good experience for anyone.

naked domain lcn.com naked domain redirecting to "world wide web.lcn.com"

You should be able to do this easily enough at most domain providers. Naturally, here at LCN it'southward super direct-frontwards.

Just find your domain name from the "Domains" section of your account, look for "DNS settings", and from here select"Add an A tape".

blank dns record

When adding your new "A record", ensure you leave the "hostname" field blank, and add the IP address for your server (this will usually be same IP address equally y'all use for the "www" hostname).

As with everything at LCN, if you lot go stuck, merely give us a call or go united states on LiveChat and we'll accept the problem stock-still in minutes.

  1. Verify your site with Google Search Console / Webmaster Tools

Google, equally y'all may know, isn't actually "the cyberspace", nor does Google actually search the unabridged World Wide Web.

What Google actually does is search their index of the net. This index is created by relentlessly scanning the web for new sites, pages and content. This is how Google can provide search results so apace.

This makes Search Console (formerly Webmaster Tools) an absolute necessity for any website looking to get institute online via search.

Not simply does it assistance Google find your site in the first place (and index it), but information technology as well helps them keep runway of changes and updates to your site, such as new pages and content.

Since Search Console spots any errors Googlebot may discover with your spider web pages, you tin can hands identify and fix mutual problems including…

  • 404 pages
  • Server mistake (server down / offline)
  • DNS errors
  • Indistinguishable content
  • Thin content
  • Punishment notices

You don't need to use Search Console in order to be included in Google search results, but you get a heck of a lot more control over how Google processes and views your site and its content – and then why wouldn't yous utilise it?

Setting upwards Search Console is pretty direct-forward, and it won't have y'all long to go to grips with the basics either.

  1. Add together Google Analytics

What would be the betoken of getting a website online if you lot never knew how many people are using information technology? Non only that, wouldn't y'all like to know how these users find your site? What pages they like? What pages they don't like?

I could proceed but yous get the thought…

Google Analytics is a professional-level analytics tool for your website and tin can give y'all the answers to all these questions and much, much more than.

add google analytics

Using this information allows y'all to make an informed conclusion equally to what changes yous can make to your site that will help brand a real difference. For example:

  • What websites are referring traffic to you and why?
  • Find out what pages are confusing your customers
  • Find out many visitors to your site are viewing via a mobile device. Does this mean your site should be mobile-friendly?
  • How many visitors immediately bounce from your pages and why?
  • What percentage of traffic comes from Google Search, Facebook, or Twitter?

Google Analytics is completely complimentary to apply, and information technology's fairly easy to larn and get to grips with the basics. Information technology's piece of cake to selection up and learn the key stats about your web traffic, only dig a piddling deeper and there is a whole world of data to exist used and exploited.

Low bounciness rates = increased happiness

Getting started with Google Analytics is very similar to how yous'd setup Search Console. Just log into your Google account and visit analytics.google.com.

If you're using WordPress, there are several different plugins available to brand the verification process a breeze – without ever having to go your hands dirty coding.

We recommend Google Analytics past MonsterInsights or Yoast SEO.

  1. Don't let your domain expire

While this might seem like an obvious 1, you'd be surprised by the amount of people who let their domains expire without even realising it has happened – and we don't just mean hobbyists and modest business organisation owners either.

Dorsum in 2003 software giant Microsoft forgot to renew its "Hotmail.co.uk" domain proper noun. Luckily for Microsoft the guy that re-registered it after expiry was kind plenty hand it dorsum. Disaster averted… simply.

The chances are, any happened, a huge company like Microsoft would accept got their domain name dorsum somewhen anyway, but for hobbyists and pocket-sized business owners this could prove a lot more difficult and stressful – especially if you oasis't gone through the proper copyright and trademark procedures.

The easy way to avert all this is to but recollect you need to renew your domain, and do it dainty and early on. Most domain registrars, like united states of america at LCN, give you 90 days' find prior to decease.

Not merely that, but in well-nigh cases y'all tin register or renew your domain name for up to x years, normally whilst making some big savings for renewing over a longer period.

As well as setting up machine-renewal, y'all tin can make sure your contact details are always upwards to engagement, this way we can always reach you to notify you of any services close to expiry.

  1. Visit the "Account details" department of your LCN account, and ensure that the correct e-mail accost is listed, and that you lot have likewise included a backup email address – we'll contact you here if we can't attain you on your principal email address. update email
  2. Add together "mailer@lcn.com" to your electronic mail accost book (Outlook, Gmail, Hotmail etc). This should go some style to preventing our renewal emails from ever going into your spam box.
  3. Get text bulletin (SMS) notifications for renewals. Observe the "SMS and Newsletters" section of your LCN account, and enter your mobile telephone number, and ensure "enabled" is ticked. sms text reminders

When information technology comes to domain renewals, it's definitely a case of being safe rather than sorry.

Conclusion

Here'southward that elevation x list again to recap…

    • Secure your business proper noun
    • Set up an email address
    • Secure your social media accounts
    • Become started with email marketing (Mailchimp)
    • Create a property / under construction folio
    • Add SSL to your domain name
    • Ready the blank / naked version of your domain
    • Verify your site with Google Search Console / Webmaster Tools
    • Add Google Analytics
  • Don't allow your domain expire

With over 350,000 domains registered with us, we call back we know a affair or two virtually getting the most out of your domain name. Merely if you think nosotros've missed a vital tip, or but want to enquire us a question, nosotros'd love to hear from you!

Go out us a comment beneath and we'll get back to you ASAP.