Starting a business in Suffolk: the online basics

When you’re starting a business, the online side can feel like a long list of jobs with no obvious order. Domain names, email, Google, a website, social media, something about data protection. It’s easy to do them in the wrong order and end up with a van signwritten with a web address you can’t get.

This is the order we’d do things in, for a small local business: a trade, a shop, a café, a holiday let or a one-person service.

1. Choose a name you can get online too

Before you settle on a name, check that the web address is free. Search for it at any domain seller and see if the .co.uk (or .uk) version is available. If it isn’t, it’s far easier to tweak the name now than after the logo, signs and business cards are done.

A good web address is short, easy to spell when you say it out loud, and close to your business name. Adding your area can help if the plain name is taken, such as smithplumbingsuffolk.co.uk (an example).

When you buy it, register it in your own name, with your own email address, even if someone else is setting things up for you. It’s the one part of your online presence that everything else hangs off. Domains need renewing every year or every few years, so turn on auto-renew.

2. Get an email address on your domain

Once you have the domain, set up an email address on it, such as hello@yourbusiness.co.uk. It looks more established than a free webmail address, it’s easy to remember, and it stays the same if you ever change internet provider.

Most domain sellers and email services can set this up for a few pounds a month. Use it everywhere from the start: on your Google listing, invoices and signs.

3. Set up your Google Business Profile

For most local businesses, this matters more than anything else on the list. It’s what puts you on Google Maps and in the local results when someone searches for what you do nearby.

You can have one if you meet customers in person, either at a place they can visit or by going to them. Google’s guidelines say that if you go to your customers, such as a plumber or a cleaner, you should hide your address and set the area you cover instead.

Our guide to setting up your Google Business Profile walks through it step by step.

4. A simple website

You don’t need a big site to start. You need a few pages that say what you do, where, how to get in touch, and why someone should choose you, with your own photos and, once you have them, a few reviews. Link it to your Google profile, and your Google profile to it.

You might wonder whether a Facebook page will do instead. It can be a good start, but it has limits, which we cover in do I need a website if I have Facebook?. If you’d rather have it done for you, our Simple site is £625 + VAT (£750 including VAT), and we write the words with you.

5. The legal bits

There are a few things the law asks of you online. They’re simpler than they sound.

If you’re a limited company, GOV.UK says your website must show your company’s registration number, its registered office address, the part of the UK it’s registered in, and that it’s a limited company. Most businesses put these in the footer at the bottom of every page.

If you keep customers’ details, such as names and phone numbers for bookings or quotes, you may need to pay the Information Commissioner’s Office a data protection fee. The ICO says most companies pay £52 or £78 a year, and some are exempt. Its online fee checker takes about ten minutes and tells you which applies to you.

If your website has a contact form, you’ll need a privacy notice saying what you do with people’s details. The ICO has a privacy notice generator made for sole traders, start-ups and small businesses.

This is a starting point, not legal advice. If you’re unsure, ask your accountant, or the ICO’s helpline.

6. Social media, if it suits you

Pick one place where your customers already spend time and do it well, rather than five half-heartedly. Use the same name, logo and web address everywhere so people know it’s you. Social media works best alongside your website and Google listing, not instead of them.

Free help in Suffolk

You don’t have to work all this out alone. MENTA, an enterprise agency for Suffolk and Norfolk, runs programmes for small businesses, including start-up support, that it says are free at the point of delivery. It’s worth asking what’s running when you start, as what’s on offer changes with funding.

A quick checklist

• The business name is free as a .co.uk or .uk address
• Domain registered in your own name, with auto-renew on
• An email address on your domain
• Google Business Profile set up and verified
• A simple website, linked to and from your Google profile
• Company details on the website, if you’re a limited company
• Data protection fee checked with the ICO
• A privacy notice, if you collect people’s details

Getting started

If you’d rather not do the website part yourself, our Simple site is built for new businesses: a fixed price, the words written with you, and hosting free for the first year. Our prices page sets out everything, and if you’re not sure where to start, get in touch.