Register your domain

While most large businesses have a website, it is estimated that about 40% of small business owners still don’t have one – the worst believe it or not are accountants and plumbers. Every business needs a good website or they are missing out on the huge amount of people who use the web as their starting point to research new products and services. First of all you’ll need to find and register a domain that is still available. You don’t actually buy the domain, but you buy the right to use the domain exclusively (usually for a period of 2 years at a time), and you maintain that right until you pay you fees. Nominet is the Internet registry for .uk domain names. You can use the free Nominet WHOIS service to find information about existing domain names ending in .uk. You can either look for your business name, or you can decide on a generic name related to your category. Once you find the domain name that is right for you (and is free), then you will need to register it via a registrar (ISP or registration agent). There are hundreds of registrars, but due to cost and service we suggest you look at 1and1, 123-reg or UKReg. They all offer you the ability to check if domains are available and provide hosting solutions.

Find cheap web hosting

I strongly recommend you host your website with the company you registered your domain with. Actually, you may find that some registrars will offer you a bundle that already includes both domain registration and hosting (plus loads more). This will help you manage things more easily in the long term, so look at the hosting solutions offered by the companies above. When you look at hosting, you will need to take an important decision: Linux hosting vs Microsoft hosting. My preference is for Linux, as it’s stable, reliable, efficient and provides access to open source (free) software, while MS hosting makes it easier to integrate with other MS development tools. It is entirely up to you, but if this whole process sounds too complicated just give us a call and we can help.