Setting up in Business

Here are 10 top tips for setting up in business in the internet age:

When deciding what to call yourself bear in mind that that very many desirable domain names will already have been registered. So check that any name that you want to use is not already registered. It is not enough to type the name into Internet Explorer and see what happens. Many domains are registered and never used.
Remember that there are top level domains other than .com and .co.uk such as .net, .org, .uk.com and .eu.
If you want to register a .com, .org, .net, .info domain it will very likely be cheaper if purchased from a US based registrar. Often $ for £.
You may want to use a .co.uk domain but protect yourself by registering the .com equivalent.
Choose how your domain is to be used. Do you want www.mydomain.com or mydomain.com? They are technically different the one that you don’t want to use should be mapped to the one you do. If you don’t Google can penalise you.
Capitalisation is unimportant in domain names. You can write www.MyDomain.com in your advertising material and it will be OK.
Even if you don’t have a website yet you should use your domain for email as soon as possible. It looks much more professional to use This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it than This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Almost worse is using an email address supplied by your ISP. It means that your stationary is tied to your ISP and changing ISP impacts your image.
It isn’t a great idea to display your email address on your website because spammers will harvest it and you will get more spam. Much better to have a contact form.
While it is possible to create your own website there are enough ways that you can shoot yourself in the foot that it is better to get professional advice.