So, your site it’s registered, and the domain purchased, what are the next steps after buy it? Know how to build a successful site after buying a new domain name.
Having a domain name means you are one step closer to getting your site live. Now you need to do a few more things to get your site running. Read on if you’ve bought a domain name but don’t know what to do next. In this post, I will share 9 things you need to do after purchasing a domain name. All the things are easy to do. You don’t need to be tech-savvy to do these.
After following these steps, you will get your site up and running. Now let’s start to learn what to do after buy a new domain.
You Need a Web Host
You can skip this step if you’ve already bought a hosting plan from your domain name provider.
Most domain providers like GoDaddy or Namecheap offer hosting packages with their domain names. But they always have some limitations. I will never suggest you buy hosting from a domain provider.
The better way is to go with a renowned hosting like HostGator or Bluehost.
Here is the answer if you are wondering why you need a web hosting plan.
Web hosting is a server where you keep your site’s files like images, videos, etc. A hosting plan means buying some space from a remote computer to store your files. This computer will make your site accessible through the World Wide Web (WWW).
There are different hosting plans like Shared hosting, VPS hosting, Dedicated hosting etc. Shared Hosting is the best choice for new sites that don’t have much traffic. It’s also the most affordable hosting plan.
I’ve good experience with both HostGator and Bluehost. So I’d suggest you buy a hosting package from HostGator, media temple, or Bluehost.
HostGator is a leading web hosting provider. You can get started with HostGator for $0.01 for the first month. Do this after your new domain buy.
Connect Domain Purchased With Host Service
You can skip this step if you’ve bought a domain name and hosting plan from the same company.
Buying a domain and hosting from different places is a good idea. It makes your site secure. It also makes transferring your location from one host to another easier.
You must connect to make your site live if you buy the domain name and hosting plan from different companies.
It’s very easy to do. Just log in to your Hosting account and copy your nameservers. Then log in to your domain provider and edit your name servers.
You can find your name servers in the welcome email or cPanel. However, you can also take help from your host’s life support.
Plan and Build Goals for The Website
Before you start building your website, you must have a workable plan for what you want to achieve. After all, there are many directions you can take on your new website.
- Start a blog?
- Are you building a website for an online service company?
- Will it be an e-commerce website?
- Are you building a news-style website?
The type of website you’re building and the result you’re looking for will help determine your direction. It’s essential to clarify this ahead of time, as it will choose the style of the website you end up creating. All of this needs to be on account after the new domain buy.
Install a Platform? Next Steps After Domain Purchased
Let’s call it software.
To run and maintain your site efficiently, you must install software on your host. This is known as a Content Management System (CMS). It allows you to publish, edit and modify your content easily.
There are plenty of CMS out there. WordPress is the most popular CMS that is used by 18% of the websites in the World. It’s also the best blogging platform.
WordPress is your solution if you are like me and don’t know how to code. It’s very easy to use. With One-click Installation, WordPress makes it insanely easy to create a site/blog. You can install WordPress by yourself.
Design Your Website
If you’ve chosen WordPress as your platform, you can do it independently.
There are plenty of WordPress themes out there. Whether you create a personal blog or an eCommerce site, you will get available WordPress themes.
You can get a free theme from the WordPress Theme Directory or buy a premium theme from Premium WordPress Themes Providers. I’d suggest you go with a premium theme if you are serious about your site/blog. But if it’s just a personal blog, you can go with a free article.
Once you’ve chosen and downloaded your desired WordPress theme, you need to install it on WordPress. Most of the Premium WordPress themes come with handy documentation. You can follow those tutorials to make your WordPress site awesome. Another important thing you need to consider is having a unique domain name. This will increase your brand visibility. If you have some design skills, you can create your logo. You can use an online logo designing tool. However, you can hire a Pro from Fiverr to design your logo for just $5!
Create an Email With Your Domain Name
Isn’t it more professional having an email address like name@yourdomain.com than name@gmail.com?
Yes, it is. It increases the visibility and credibility of a brand name.
You can set up a free email address from your hosting cPanel or use Google Apps for $5/month.
I prefer using Hosting cPanel as it’s free and easy to set up.
Set up domain-specific email addresses
You may also need a domain email address that matches your new domain name. This makes your website look more professional. The total number of email addresses you can create depends on your hosting plan. So , we can usually create at least one at no additional cost.
You set up your branded email address in your hosting account. You can make changes through the HostGator cPanel through an app called Email Accounts. Enter your email address here and select the associated domain name from the drop-down box.
Get Social Media Accounts: Next Steps After Domain Purchased
Whether a small business owner, blogger or marketer, you must be in touch with your audience to increase engagement.
The best way to connect with your audience is by using social media sites.
There are plenty of social media sites out there. You have to join some of them based on your audience. Some of the most popular social media sites are:
- YouTube
You should join these sites ASAP to secure matching social media URLs like http://facebook.com/yourdomain. Having matching URLs will increase your visibility.
Start Adding Content on Your Site
Content is the most important thing about your website. Without content, a website is nothing.
The success of your website depends on your content. Once you have your site up and running, you need to start adding content.
Here are some most important pages for your blog or website.
- Firstly, About Page
- Secondly, Contact Page
- Services Page
- Products Page
- FAQ Page
- Privacy Policy Page
- Portfolio Page
- Advertise Page
- Press Page
- Subscribe Page
- Finally, Testimonial Page
You don’t need to add all of these pages. Just add those that suit your site/blog.
It’s a good idea to have a blog even if you are running a website. Blogging is the best way to build content for your website. It will help you to get traffic from search engines.
Submit the Site to Search Engines
Whenever you create a new site/blog, you always want people to find your site easily. The easiest way people can find your site is through Search Engines.
To get your site found on Search Engines, you must create a sitemap and submit it to search engines. Once your site gets indexed by Search Engines, you will start getting traffic from search engines.
Promote Your Site Offline
When starting a new blog/site, you can’t expect instant traffic from Social Media or Search Engines. It takes time to build an audience on Social Media and get traffic from Search Engines. However, you can get instant traffic by promoting your site offline. Here are a few things you can do to drive your blog/site traffic.
- Firstly, Put your site URL on your business card.
- Secondly, Print your site URL on pens, mugs & other goodies and give those for free.
- Make a customized t-shirt for your blog/site.
- Sponsor an event where you can promote your site.
- Finally, If you own a car, put your URL on the side of your vehicle.
You can do many more things to promote your site offline. Just be creative on the next steps after domain purchased.
Next Steps After Domain Purchased is Over To You
So those are a few things you can do after purchasing the domain. If you have any questions regarding this, feel free to ask me via comment. However, if you found this post helpful, help me by sharing this post on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest.” width=”20″ height=”20″>