New limited company? Your first 30 days online
In the first month after registering a company, set up four things in this order: a domain name, an email address on it, a Google Business Profile, and a simple website. Do them in your own name and the company's, and ignore the official looking letters that start arriving within days.
Registering the company is the easy part. The online setup is where small, avoidable mistakes get made, usually in a hurry and usually by registering something in somebody else's name.
Week one: expect the letters
As soon as the company is incorporated, its name, registered office and directors appear on the public register. Within days, letters start arriving. Some are genuine, from your bank or HMRC. Some are official looking offers for listings and registrations that you do not need.
The rule is simple: check who sent it before you pay anything. A letter with an official sounding name and a payment slip is not the same as a letter from Companies House.
Week one: the domain name
- Buy it yourself, through a registrar, in the company's name or your own. Expect around £10 to £20 a year for a .co.uk.
- Match the company name if you can, or a short version customers will remember.
- Turn on auto renew. A domain lapsing is how businesses lose their email overnight.
Week one: email on your domain
An address like hello@yourcompany.co.uk looks established in a way a free webmail address does not, and it stays yours if you ever change provider. Set it up early, because every letterhead, invoice and account you open in the first month will use whichever address you have.
Week two: the Google Business Profile
This is the free listing that shows on Google Maps, and for most local businesses it brings in more customers than anything else online.
- Own it with your own Google account, not a supplier's.
- Do not use your registered office if it is your accountant's or a service address. Use an address only if customers genuinely visit you there.
- If you go to customers, set it up as a service area business with the address hidden, and list the areas you really cover.
- Choose categories carefully. The main category matters more than anything you write in the description.
Getting this wrong early is hard to undo. Listings with scattered service areas or an address customers cannot visit are a common reason for suspensions.
Weeks three and four: a simple website
It does not need to be big. A first website for a new company needs one page that says what you do, where you do it, roughly what it costs, and how to get in touch, plus a privacy page if it collects any details through a form.
Whatever you build it on, make sure it sits in an account you can log into, and that you could take it elsewhere. If you are not sure whether you even need one yet, our guide on whether a Google listing is enough will help you decide.
The 30 day checklist
- Domain registered in your name or the company's, auto renew on.
- Email on the domain, used for every new account.
- Google Business Profile owned by you, with an honest address or service area.
- A one page website, linked from the listing, with the same name and number.
- Social handles reserved, even if you will not post yet.
- Every login written down somewhere safe.
And if someone else is setting any of it up for you, ask them one question first: whose name will it be in? Our guide on what happens if your web designer disappears explains why that matters.
Questions about this study
Why am I getting letters asking me to pay to register my new company?
Your company details are published on the public register as soon as you incorporate, and some firms send official looking letters or invoices to new companies offering listings or "registration" services. Companies House does not charge you through letters like these. Check who the sender is before paying anything.
Should my new company use a Gmail address?
It works, but an address on your own domain looks more established and keeps your email tied to a name you control. A domain costs around £10 to £20 a year. Register it in the company’s name, or your own, not a supplier’s.
Can I use my registered office address on Google?
Only if customers can actually visit you there. Many small companies use their accountant’s address or a service address as the registered office, and that must not go on your Google Business Profile. If you visit customers rather than the other way round, set the profile up as a service area business with the address hidden.
Is your site one of the broken ones?
Send me the link and I will tell you straight what a visitor actually sees. No charge and no pitch if it is fine.