How to launch a business website – a checklist from domain to indexing

What you need to launch a business website

It helps to think of a website as an address, a plot of land, a building and the signposts that lead people to it. Decide early who owns each piece and which provider it sits with, and day-to-day management stays simple.

• Domain (the address): something like example.jp, also used for your email addresses
• Hosting (the land): where the site files live – a rental server, or a platform such as Shopify or BASE
• The site (the building): page structure, copy, photos, design and the contact form
• SSL: encryption that puts https:// in front of your URL and removes browser warnings
• Tracking and listings (the signposts): GA4, Google Search Console and Google Business Profile

Shopify and BASE include hosting and SSL, so there is less to sign up for. A WordPress site usually needs a domain and a rental server arranged separately. A good first step is a simple table of these five items with the provider and the person responsible for each.

Decisions to make before you build

What slows most launches down is decisions and materials, more than the build itself. Settle these four points first and the project keeps moving.

• Purpose: inquiries, bookings, recruiting or online sales – pick the one action you want most
• Platform: a company or shop profile fits WordPress or a simple build; selling products points to Shopify or BASE
• Who updates it: will you post news and menus yourself, or hand updates over?
• Ownership: register the domain, hosting and Google accounts in your company's name and keep the logins in one place

Ownership is the one people skip. If an agency registers the domain under its own name, moving to another provider later means a transfer process. Owning everything from day one keeps you in control.

Setting up the domain, hosting and SSL

The first technical step is connecting the domain to the hosting. It is straightforward, but doing things in the wrong order can leave the site unreachable for longer than necessary.

• Register the domain: .co.jp for registered companies in Japan, or .jp or .com; keep it short and easy to spell
• Choose hosting: check speed, backups, support and one-click WordPress installation
• Point the DNS: set the domain to your host; changes can take a few hours and up to about 48 hours to spread
• Turn on SSL: most hosts offer free certificates such as Let's Encrypt; redirect http to https
• Set up email: create addresses like info@ on your domain and test sending and receiving

For more detail, see how to register your own domain and choosing hosting for your website. If the domain already handles email, note the current mail settings before you change any DNS records.

Pre-launch checklist

Before you press publish, go through these one by one. Each of them costs you leads if it is only discovered after launch.

• Every page displays cleanly on both phone and desktop
• A real test message through the contact form arrives, along with the auto-reply
• Each page has its own title and meta description
• Phone numbers are tappable, and address and hours match your Google Maps listing
• A privacy policy is published; online shops in Japan also need the Specified Commercial Transactions Act notice
• Favicon, social sharing image and a 404 page are in place
• Any "discourage search engines from indexing" setting used during the build is switched off

The last item is easy to miss in WordPress, and as long as it stays on, the site will not appear in search. For the commercial transactions notice, check the Consumer Affairs Agency's current guidance, since requirements are updated from time to time.

The first week after launch: tracking, Google and indexing

A new site starts bringing in customers once Google can find it and you can see what visitors do. Aim to finish these in the week you go live.

• GA4: install the tag and set form submissions and phone taps as key events
• Google Search Console: verify the site and submit your sitemap.xml
• Indexing: inspect the home page and main pages and request indexing
• Google Business Profile: if you have a shop or office, add the website URL, hours and photos
• Everywhere else: update the link on Instagram, business cards and flyers

It is normal for a new site to take days or a few weeks to appear in results. Our guide to getting pages indexed by Google covers the steps and what to check if pages stay hidden. After about a month, look at the search terms in Search Console and refine your page copy – that is when a site starts to grow.

How UNANOBO launches your website: a free demo first

Before you commit to anything, UNANOBO builds a free demo of your website from your business details and brand. Even with no site yet, you can click through real pages on your computer and phone and then decide whether to go ahead.

Once you do, we work through this checklist together: domain and hosting, SSL, GA4, Search Console and Google Business Profile, with every account created in your name. The founder handles every project personally, from the first demo to improvements after launch, and everything runs by message in Japanese or English. See how a website project runs for the full picture.