How to start a new website

To start a new website, decide what it needs to do, make a short page list, gather the words and photos, register the domain in your name, and choose who will build it. Then add the content, connect the forms and tracking, test everything on a phone, and launch.

That is the whole process. The platform matters, but it is not the first decision.

1. Decide what the website has to do

Start with the job. A site built to confirm that a new business exists is different from one expected to bring in leads, take bookings, sell products, or support several locations.

Write down the main result the website needs to produce. Keep it to one sentence.

Examples:

• Help local homeowners request a quote
• Let patients read about the clinic and book an appointment
• Show wholesale buyers the product range and contact details
• Sell a small group of products online
• Give members current events, documents, and contact information

This sentence settles many later decisions. If the goal is a phone call, the phone number and service pages matter more than a complicated animation. If the goal is online sales, product information and checkout matter more than a long About page.

2. Make the page list

Most local business websites can start with five core pages:

• Home
• Services or products
• About
• Contact
• Privacy policy

A business with several important services may need one page for each service. A clinic may need practitioner pages. A store needs product, cart, shipping, and return information. Add those pages because the business needs them, not because a template came with them.

A blog is optional. Add one when you have useful questions to answer and a plan to keep publishing. An empty blog with one post from launch day does not help anyone.

You do not need a 40-page brief. You need a page list.

3. Gather the words and photos

Write a rough draft for every page before spending much time on design. The copy does not need to be polished. It needs to say what the business does, who it serves, where it works, and what the visitor can do next.

For the home page, collect:

• A clear description of the business
• The main services or products
• The town or service area
• One reason to trust the business
• A phone number, email address, booking link, or quote form

For the About page, write about the real people, experience, and approach behind the work. Skip the mission statement if it says nothing a customer can use.

Collect original photos at the same time. Store the full-size files somewhere the business controls. Website copies can be resized later, but a small image downloaded from social media cannot become a good full-width photo again.

4. Register the domain in your name

The domain is the address people type to reach the website. Register it through an account owned by the business, using an email address the business will keep.

Turn on automatic renewal and two-factor authentication. Save the login and renewal details somewhere more useful than one employee’s inbox.

The domain can connect to a different website or hosting company later. That is why ownership matters. A designer can manage the settings without owning the registration.

Read what a domain is and how to choose between .com and .ca if those decisions are still open.

5. Choose the platform and hosting

Some website platforms include hosting in the subscription. Wix, Squarespace, Shopify, and WordPress.com work this way. Other websites use separate hosting, which means the website files live with a hosting provider chosen by the owner or developer.

Neither setup is automatically better. Match it to the job.

A hosted builder is often enough for a new business with a few pages and time to manage the site. A professional build makes more sense when search traffic, writing, custom features, or customer trust carry more weight.

This Wix, Squarespace, or web designer guide covers that decision in detail.

Before paying, write down three costs:

• The one-time setup or build cost
• The platform, hosting, domain, and software subscriptions
• The ongoing cost for maintenance or changes

Those are different things. Keep them on separate lines.

6. Keep the main accounts under business control

Keep the website account, domain, analytics, search tools, forms, booking system, store, and payment account under business ownership.

A designer or employee can have the access needed to do the work. They do not need to be the only owner.

Keep a simple account record with:

• The service name and login address
• The business email that owns it
• Who has access
• What card pays the renewal
• The renewal date
• How the account is handed over if a working relationship ends

This takes half an hour while everything is new. Rebuilding the list during a dispute or staff departure takes much longer.

7. Build the pages and navigation

Build the page structure before adjusting colors, fonts, and small design details.

The main navigation should hold the pages most customers need. Put legal pages and less-used links in the footer. The logo normally links to the home page.

Give every page one clear purpose. A service page explains one service and leads to one next step. A contact page gives people a form plus another way to reach the business. An About page builds trust without making the visitor search for the actual offer.

Check the structure on a phone as you build. A layout that works on a large screen can still produce tiny text, crowded buttons, and an awkward menu on mobile.

8. Add the basic search and trust details

Put the business name, phone number, email address, location or service area, and hours where people can find them.

Each page also needs:

• One clear page title
• A heading that describes the page
• Useful text written for the customer
• A short search description
• Descriptive text for meaningful images
• A clear next step

Connect the website to the correct Google Business Profile when the business has one. Keep the business name, address, phone number, and website consistent.

For a local business, the address or service location deserves deliberate treatment. Do not hide useful local information because the template placed it three clicks deep.

9. Connect forms and measurement

Send contact forms to an inbox that someone checks. Submit a test form and confirm that both the notification and the reply path work.

Set up Google Search Console so the business can see whether Google finds and indexes the pages. Add an analytics tool if visitor and conversion data will be used. Keep both accounts under business ownership.

Tracking is useful when it answers a question. Start with the basics:

• Which pages people visit
• Which searches bring them in
• Whether contact forms or booking links are used
• Whether important pages return errors

A dashboard with forty numbers and no decision attached is decoration.

10. Test, launch, and keep it current

Before launch, check:

• Every navigation and footer link
• Every form, email address, phone link, and booking button
• The home page and main service pages on a phone
• Spelling, prices, hours, names, and addresses
• Page titles and search descriptions
• The privacy policy and any required business terms
• The old URLs and redirects if this site replaces another one

Keep the old website online until the new one has been checked on its real domain. If the domain also runs business email, confirm the email records before changing website settings.

After launch, update the site when the business changes. Check the forms, domain renewal, software, backups, and important pages on a regular schedule. The annual DIY website check-up is a practical place to start.

Start with the right amount of website

A new business may need a domain, five clear pages, and a working contact form. An established business may need professional copy, local search pages, booking, migration planning, and ongoing support.

Pay for the site the business needs now. Keep the accounts in your name. Leave a clean path to add more later.

If you want the page list, build, and launch handled for you, see the website pricing or book a consult.