Design your brand Assuming you are not a graphic designer and have no design knowledge, the first question you may have is where you should create your brand? Many web platforms out there provide templates for you to edit and build your brand. Our personal favourite, however, is canva.com because it's free and easy to use. Apart from logos, you can design many more graphics with Canva. So go ahead and use Canva's drag-and-drop feature and layouts to create, share and print your logo and stationery.

1. Book your domain and buy hosting space

Booking domain and hosting is a very critical step. Most people randomly book their domains and hosting, only to regret it later. So what is a domain? A domain is the address of your website or blog. E.g. khyatimehta.com. And what is hosting? Hosting is the amount of space your website occupies. How much hosting space you must buy depends on how big or small your site is. It is important to note that most web hosting plans also cover email hosting services. So how do you book your domain and hosting? There are many sites out there that enable you to book your domain. We recommend bigrock.in. You can choose a domain and buy it. If the domain name you want isn't available, you can also go through the various suggestions. Things to keep in mind
1. Make sure the domain is easy to pronounce.
2. I prefer .com over any other extension since .com tend to perform better on search engines.
3. Don't use very big domain names. Try to keep it short, around 12 to 15 characters.
4. Try and keep the domain and hosting services with one provider only. This way, you won't have to remember and deal with multiple parties.
5. To avoid conflicts, make sure that the domain is booked under your name only and not under your web developer or any other person's name.
6. Domains have to be renewed every year.

3. Design your website

Designing a website is a comprehensive process. So what all you need to do?
1. Create and curate content. The content here refers to written matter, images, videos etc.
2. Once you have zeroed down on what content you want to put on the site, you must decide on a layout. Choose the layout according to the purpose of your site – if you wish to sell something, only showcase your products and services, expand your brand reach and so on.
3. The above will make sure that the blueprint of your site is complete, and now all you need is to start designing and developing your site. Many free or low-cost web builders will help you plan and create your website. We recommend wix.com or bigrocks.in

4. Optimise your website for better search ranking

SEO - search engine optimisation is a specialised job. Lakhs of people search for information on the net. The term that they use to search is called the keyword. However, only some websites make it on the first page. So if your website is listed on the 400th page, it really isn't going to get any traffic. It is therefore important to optimise your site for better rankings. Here is how you can do it.
1. Ensure that the written content on the website is original and consistent
2. Write keyword oriented page titles
3. Use Title case and Meta tags
4. Use descriptive alt tags for all the images

5. Pick a social network that is best suited to your business

Social Media is a comprehensive job. Creating and maintaining social media presence requires a lot of resources and manpower. Therefore, unless you have a marketing team to manage multiple platforms, we recommend selecting one platform and sticking to it. Also, not all platforms are ideal for all businesses. Therefore, you must identify one social media platform most suited to your business and business objective. E.g. If you are a florist, the ideal platform for you would be Instagram, since Instagram mainly promotes good pictures. Similarly, if your business is, let's say, training courses, Facebook can be the ideal platform, As here is where you will find your audience.

Once you have identified and selected the right platform, go ahead, open your account and start posting. Try expanding your organic reach by inviting more people to like and follow your page.

6. Run advertisements on social media platforms

Once you have established your social media presence, it's time for the next level. Advertising on social media has the potential to take you to your audience directly. Depending on the platform you have chosen, you will have various advertising options. Choose the one that is closest to your goal.