The boring stuff, sorted
Websites, domains & email
The website matters less early on than people think, and owning your domain and email matters much more. One clear page you control beats a big site somebody else holds the login to.
Best fit for you
These are the things that actually decide it. Find the line that sounds like you.
- You just need to exist One page: what you do, where, how to contact you. Plus a Google Business Profile if customers visit you — free, and often the bigger win.
- You are selling online A hosted shop platform, and then check how its fees stack with your payment provider’s.
- Bookings or appointments Booking software usually beats a website form. The follow-up and reminders are the point.
What catches people out
- Register the domain in the business’s name and keep the registrar login. This is the single most commonly lost asset.
- Business email on your own domain, not a free address. It is a few pounds a month and it changes how quotes read.
- If someone builds it for you, get written confirmation of who owns the domain, the hosting and the code.
Your pal saysNo provider is named on this page on purpose. CompanyPal has no commercial deals yet, and a “best buy” we haven’t actually checked would be worth less than nothing to you. We’ll tell you when real ones land.
Is this one of yours?
The plan builder works out which of these apply to what you’re actually starting, and which you can ignore.