Getting started online: what you actually need to do first
Starting a business is overwhelming enough. Getting it online adds another layer of decisions — website, social media, Google, email, branding, SEO. This guide explains what you actually need, in what order, without blowing your budget on things you don't need yet.
Back to Knowledge Hub1) Buy your domain · 2) Set up a business email · 3) Build a simple website · 4) Set up Google Business · 5) Claim your social profiles · 6) Ask for reviews. Budget: £100–200 up front plus £15–30/mo. Skip everything else until these six are done.
Every week someone emails us in the middle of what we call the “too much noise” phase. They've heard they need a website. And SEO. And social media. And Google Ads. And email marketing. And a CRM. They don't know where to start, they're worried about spending on the wrong thing, and they're paralysed.
There's a specific order to doing these things. Some are essential from day one. Some can wait months or years. Some you probably don't need at all. Let's walk through it.
1. Buy your domain (today, if possible)
Your domain is the web address people type to find you. Once it's taken, you can't easily get it back — so secure it early, even if you're not ready to build anything yet. Registration costs £10–15/year from a reputable registrar. We recommend a neutral provider (123-reg, Namecheap, Cloudflare) rather than bundling it with website hosting — keeps ownership clearly in your name and makes it easy to change providers later.
For UK businesses, `.co.uk` is fine and often more trusted than `.com`. Avoid the trendy TLDs (`.digital`, `.studio`) unless you have a specific reason — they feel less established. And check domain availability before you fall in love with a business name — we've seen people register a limited company only to discover the matching domain is owned by a squatter asking £3,000.
2. Set up a business email
Once you own the domain, set up a business email on it: `hello@yourbusiness.co.uk` rather than `yourbusiness2024@gmail.com`. This is the cheapest credibility upgrade available — customers see a proper business email and take you more seriously. Costs around £5/user/month with Google Workspace or Microsoft 365.
If you're on a tight budget, many domain registrars offer free email forwarding: `hello@yourbusiness.co.uk` forwards to your existing Gmail, and you reply from Gmail. Less polished, but better than `yourbusiness2024@gmail.com`.
3. Build a simple website
This is where most people either over-spend or under-spend. Your first website doesn't need to be elaborate — it needs to cover six pages: Homepage, About, Services, Gallery/Portfolio, FAQ, Contact. That's it. You don't need a blog yet. You don't need e-commerce. You need a professional-looking site that loads fast on mobile and clearly communicates what you do.
If you have time and patience, you can build something on Squarespace or Wix for £15–25/month. If you want a properly built bespoke site without the agency price tag, our 5-day build is £595 + VAT one-off with hosting from £15/mo. And if you're under 30 trading less than 2.5 years, a SWEF grant can cover the build entirely.
Show your site to three people who don't know your business. Ask each: “within five seconds, what does this business do and who does it serve?” If all three answer correctly, you're ready to launch. If even one can't tell, fix the homepage before spending another penny on anything else.
4. Set up Google Business
Google Business Profile is the single most-underused tool for UK small businesses. It's free, takes 30 minutes to set up, and is what makes you appear in “near me” searches and the map box at the top of local Google results.
Go to `business.google.com`, claim your listing, verify it (Google sends a postcard with a code, or verifies by phone for some categories), then fill every field: services, opening hours, photos, description, website link. Add 3–5 good photos.
Once it's live, post to it weekly — offers, updates, events. These posts appear in your Google listing and count toward local SEO. Ten minutes a week that compounds massively over time. We've written a dedicated guide on local SEO if you want to go deeper.
5. Claim your social profiles
Whether or not you plan to actively post, claim your profiles on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn under your business name. This prevents someone else (including brand squatters) from taking the name, and gives you options later.
For most local UK businesses, we'd recommend being active on Facebook, Instagram, and Google Business — and skipping the others. LinkedIn matters only if you're B2B. TikTok matters only if you can genuinely produce good video content. See our guide on which platform is right for your business.
6. Start asking for reviews
From your very first paying customer, ask for a Google review. Most happy customers will leave one if you simply ask — the problem is most businesses never ask. Send them a direct link to your Google Business review form (generate a shortlink in the Google Business settings) the day after you finish the job.
Twenty genuine Google reviews will do more for your local rankings and credibility than most marketing spend. A hundred reviews makes you essentially uncatchable by local competitors.
What to skip (for now)
Here's what you'll see advised elsewhere that you probably don't need in your first year:
- Paid Google Ads — useful for some businesses but expensive to learn. Master organic first.
- A fancy CRM — a spreadsheet works until you have 100+ customers.
- Multiple social platforms — two done well beats five done badly.
- An email newsletter — worth doing eventually, but not week one.
- A blog — valuable long-term for SEO, but only if you'll actually write consistently.
- An online shop — unless selling physical products is your core business.
Agencies and “all-in-one” platforms will tell you that you need every feature they sell. You don't. If you can't justify why a specific tool solves a specific problem you're having right now, you don't need it yet.
A realistic budget
For a brand-new UK small business, a realistic budget for getting online properly is:
- Domain: £12/year
- Business email: £5/month (£60/year) or free via forwarding
- Website build: £595 one-off (or £0 with SWEF grant if eligible)
- Hosting: £15/month (£180/year)
- Google Business: free
- Social media setup: free
Total year-one cost: roughly £850. If you want help running SEO or social media on top, add £19/month per service — still dramatically less than most agencies charge.
When to level up
After 6–12 months of the basics running well, start considering the next layer: consistent blogging for SEO, a proper content strategy, maybe an email newsletter. By this point you'll know what actually drives enquiries for your business, which makes those decisions much easier.
The core principle throughout: do the basics well, consistently, for at least six months before spending on anything fancy. Most small businesses that struggle online aren't missing the fancy stuff — they're missing the basics.