You completed the task. You have finally purchased the domain name of your dreams.
Kudos! This is the first and crucial step in establishing your firm’s web presence.
But, before you are up and running and making your first straight online sale, there are more.
You have a few more measures to take to strengthen your company’s future in the digital arena. They include getting WHOIS privacy, a domain email address, and social media names. The list goes on.
In this article, we will go through the nine most crucial steps you should do after registering your domain name.
Let’s get to it!
After Registering your Domain Name, What Next?
Before we delve into the topic of the day, you might want to know the best ways to guard against domain hijacking.
Below are the important steps to take after registering your domain name.
Protect Your Business Name
If you just registered your company name and it isn’t in use for business reasons, skip this point. You’d assume that this is the first thing any SME does when starting a new firm.
But it is stunning how many people fail to create the business linked with those domain names. This is because they are so pumped about the idea of getting cheap domain names.
After buying a domain name available on the internet, confirm that your company is legal. This process differs from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. But a capable lawyer could assist you. Contact the Companies Office in your locality to find out what steps to follow to get your firm registered.
Now that you’ve done that, it’s time to make that domain name work.
Find A Web Host
First things first: you just got a domain name and need a location for it.
To put it another way, you must pick a web hosting provider and a hosting plan. Here, you have two choices. You can use a domain registrar and web hosting service. Also, you may look for a standalone web hosting provider.
It’s possible that you bought your domain name from a firm that also provides hosting services. Many businesses provide integrated web hosting and domain name purchases. Hence, the benefits of buying both from the same provider are many.
First, since they will sync right away. This means that you won’t need to bother about linking your domain and hosting service. Plus, a domain and hosting service firm offers benefits that will suit you.
Setup A Domain-Specific Email Address
With your new domain name, you should pair it with a domain-specific email address. As a result, your website will look more professional. Your hosting plan will determine how many emails accounts you may create in total. Usually, you can create one with no charges.
A customized email address related to your domain will offer you a polished look. And you can’t even get such from a gmail.com or hotmail.com account. Fortunately, some web hosting and domain registrars have email addresses in their plans.
However, some higher-tier plans could feature several emails. Most of them will have one free email with the option to add more. Now that you have the email address, you can promote your firm in a way that suits you. Get business cards, corporate coffee mugs, or even pens.
But, you’ll need to decide on your email address first. Make sure you keep it simple ([email protected]) or personal ([email protected]).
Ensure WHOIS Privacy
Your data will become exposed to the public when you register a domain name. It doesn’t matter if you bought the domain name cheap or expensive. It means that anyone may check the WHOIS database to see who controls your website. Then, they could gain access to sensitive information.
These details include your name, phone number, and postal address. So, ask your site host how to gain WHOIS privacy if you want to keep this information secret.
Enhance Your Social Media Presence
It’s logical to secure all necessary social media accounts for your website or business. Do this before being too active with any social platform. You may plan to use Twitter or Facebook.
But what if your social media presence grows? Won’t you need other platforms like LinkedIn and Instagram?
Make sure all your social media names fit with your company name. And ensure your business name on social platforms matches the tone on your website. This is for branding purposes. Nothing is more annoying than joining a network only to discover something similar.
Launch Your Website
After your domain name registration, it’s time to build your website. Create an effective plan for what you want to achieve before you begin your website creation. Indeed, there are many options for your new website.
Do you intend to launch a blog?
Do you intend to build a website for an internet services company?
Are you launching an online store?
Are you developing a website in the news style?
The website you design and the final result you seek will determine your strategy. And you must address this in advance since it will affect the design of the website you create.
Include SSL To The Domain Name
It’s time to make your domain safe now that you’ve protected it. The simplest method is to install an SSL certificate. It encrypts data sent between your website and users’ browsers. Multiple factors make SSL certificates crucial.
They don’t just maintain the security of your website but also;
Increase your SEO rating.
They make it easier for users to navigate your website.
They allow you to gather payment card information from visitors if you own an eCommerce website.
Create a professional-looking website
These are just a handful of reasons why SSL is essential for all modern websites.
Now, look at the address bar of your web browser now. You will notice our website’s web address has a small padlock on the left-hand side. That is SSL in use. Also, you’ll notice that our address begins with “HTTPS” rather than “HTTP,” as is customary.
Secure Socket Layer is sometimes called SSL. It is the industry-standard technique for encrypting data exchanged between web browsers (on your machine) and servers (web hosts).
It ensures that any information you provide to a website is safe. And it is crucial when working with sensitive data like credit/debit cards.
Don’t Forget Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a powerful tool. It examines your website to provide you with the following information:
What sites are directing visitors to my website?
How many people are using their smartphones to browse my website?
How much traffic do your social media platforms generate?
How many people visit my website and then leave right away?
These questions are excellent for making key marketing and website structure decisions.
Always Renew Your Domain
Though, this may seem apparent. You will be amazed at how many folks let their domains expire without ever realizing it. And we are not just talking about hobbyists and small company owners. We mean big business owners.
Microsoft, the world’s largest software company, forgot to renew its “Hotmail.co.uk” domain name. This happened as far back as 2003. Fortunately for Microsoft, the person who re-registered it after it expired was gracious enough to return it. Disaster avoided… barely.
However, for amateurs and small business owners, this might prove to be far more challenging and frustrating. Particularly if you haven’t followed the required copyright and trademark registration processes. It’s likely that whatever the case, a large firm like Microsoft would have been able to regain control of its domain name.
You might want to find out the importance of a trademark and why your firm needs it.
To avoid all of this, always remember to renew your domain name. And do it as soon as you can!
Most domain registrars provide you with 90-day warning before your domain expires. Besides that, you may register or renew your domain name for up to ten years. And this could fetch you huge discounts for renewing for a longer term.
Final Thoughts
Choosing your domain name is an important step toward developing your business! Now that you’ve made that first step, follow our guide to solidify your brand as a force to contend with. Best wishes!
Do you intend to buy a premium domain name that sells like crazy? If yes, visit Domainify to get started!
