Starting a Business Website in 2026 — The Complete Checklist

## The 20-Step Launch Checklist Starting a new business website? Follow this checklist in order. Each step builds on the previous one. ### Week 1: Foundation (Steps 1-5) 1. **Choose and register your domain name** — .com preferred, short, easy to spell 2. **Set up managed WordPress hosting** — dedicated resources, automatic backups, SSL included 3. **Install WordPress** with a modern block theme 4. **Configure SSL** (usually automatic on managed hosting) 5. **Set up Google Business Profile** — claim your business, verify your address ### Week 2: Content (Steps 6-10) 6. **Write your homepage** — clear value proposition, what you do, who it's for, one CTA 7. **Write your About page** — your story, your team, your values (people buy from people) 8. **Write your Services or Products page** — what you offer, with pricing if possible 9. **Create a Contact page** — contact form, email, phone, physical address, map 10. **Set up analytics** — Vercel Analytics, Plausible, or Google Analytics ### Week 3: Trust & SEO (Steps 11-15) 11. **Add testimonials or reviews** to your homepage and service pages 12. **Write meta titles and descriptions** for every page 13. **Submit your sitemap** to Google Search Console 14. **Create legal pages** — Privacy Policy, Terms of Service (generators available online) 15. **Install essential plugins** — SEO, security, contact forms, backup ### Week 4: Launch & Grow (Steps 16-20) 16. **Test everything on mobile** — forms, buttons, navigation, readability 17. **Run PageSpeed Insights** — fix any critical issues (images, caching) 18. **Set up email marketing** — even just a signup form for now 19. **Create social media profiles** with consistent branding and bio links 20. **Write your first blog post** — answer the most common question your customers ask ### What Envosta Handles During our onboarding, we handle steps 1-5, 12-15, and the technical parts of 16-17. You focus on the content (steps 6-10) and the growth work (steps 18-20). Need everything handled? Our Performance plan includes complete setup with content strategy guidance, and Studio can build your pages for you. This isn't aspirational — it's our actual onboarding checklist.