Congratulations! You bought a domain name and ready to get your new online business rolling. Except – you are not sure what to do next. No worries, below are the next steps you need to take after buying a new domain.
First you need to really think about your plan of action! What do you envision your website looking like and what do you hope the website will accomplish for you?
Ask yourself these questions:
- Do you need an e-commerce website where people can make an online purchase?
- Are you just using it for a portfolio – like for a photographer or artist?
- Is search engine optimization important to you, in other words do you need to be able to be found on the web one someone does a search.
- Do you have a budget or the experience to manage hosting, maintenance and website updates?
- Do you plan on maximizing growth of your website over the years by adding new features and functionality?
Knowing what you need will help you determine the best course of action for your new domain!
01
WordPress Self Hosted
Typically this is what most people do when they get their new domain and the option we would recommend if you need a full fledged website that brings you traffic, sales and customers.
A self-hosted WordPress website is the ultimate option as it allows you flexibility, customizations and growth opportunities that are limitless. Below are things you will need if this is the option you are doing with.
1 | Select a good host! Hosting is one of the most critical choices you will make because it can affect your websites performance and user experience. If there is one thing we recommend spending a little more on, hosting would be it.
2 | Once you have your hosting paid for then you will need to tell your registrar where to “point” your domain. This is done via Namerservers and may vary a bit depending on the registrar you use. It may take about 24 -48 hours for the domain to propagate via the DNS.
3| Install WordPress on your website – usually this can be done with a one-click-installation feature in your hosting account.
4 | Install a theme! Again this is another important component as the theme can also affect your user experience, site speed and more. We highly discourage the use of ThemeForest for a theme although it still remains popular. The issues they often have are not worth trouble they also often have.
Ready to make your domain name sing?
We can’t wait to talk about your project. Let’s set up a call.
