Getting a small business online properly takes three things: a website customers can find, email on your own domain, and basic protection so a mistake or an attack does not take everything down. You can buy each from a different supplier or from one provider. This guide explains what each step involves, what it costs at Tremhost, and the order most small businesses do it in.
Why piecemeal setups cause problems
Many small businesses grow into their technology by accident. A free email address goes on the first invoices. A friend builds a website once and nobody updates it. The domain, hosting and email end up with three different companies, nobody takes backups, and when something breaks there is no one to call. Each piece works on its own, but no one owns the whole picture, renewals get missed and costs creep up.
The three steps below fix that in order of what usually matters most.
Step 1: A website that brings enquiries
A small business website does not need to be large. It needs to say clearly what you sell, where you are and how to contact you, load quickly on a phone, and show up when people search for what you do.
What you need
- A domain name such as yourbusiness.co.zw (from $6.99 a year at Tremhost) or yourbusiness.com ($15.99 a year).
- Hosting to store the site and keep it online.
- An SSL certificate so the site loads over HTTPS with the padlock. Tremhost includes free SSL on all hosting.
- The site itself, either built by you on WordPress or built for you.
Two ways to do it
Build it yourself. Tremhost web hosting starts at $30 a year on the Himalaya plan, with cPanel, NVMe storage, free SSL, unlimited mailboxes and daily backups. You install WordPress and build the pages. This suits owners who have some time and are comfortable learning.
Have it built. Tremhost website design Basic costs $550 a year and covers five pages, hosting, SSL, unlimited email, a free domain and an edit each quarter. The first draft arrives in about two weeks and the site is typically live in four to six weeks. This suits owners who would rather spend their time on the business.
Step 2: Email on your own domain
Quotes and invoices from [email protected] look like they come from a company customers can trust. Email on your own domain also means the business, not an individual, controls the mailboxes. When someone leaves, you close or forward their address the same day.
How to set it up
- Give each staff member their own mailbox and password.
- Create role addresses such as info@, sales@ and accounts@ that stay the same when staff change.
- Make sure SPF, DKIM and DMARC records are set so your mail is less likely to land in spam.
- Turn on two-factor authentication.
Tremhost web hosting plans already include unlimited mailboxes, which suits many small teams. If you want email on its own service, Tremhost business email starts at $5 a month or $60 a year for 50 mailboxes and 75 GB, with webmail, spam and virus filtering, two-factor authentication and SPF, DKIM and DMARC set up for you. The price is per plan, not per person.
Step 3: Protection for the website and the office
Small firms are attacked because they are easier targets, not because they are famous. Basic protection has three layers.
Backups
Daily backups turn a mistake or a hacked site into a restore rather than a rebuild. They are included on Tremhost web hosting; check that you know how to restore from one.
A firewall in front of the website
A web application firewall filters attacks and spam bots before they reach your site. Armor Guard is Cloudflare Pro set up and monitored by Tremhost for $9 a month or $90 a year for one site. There is also a free 15-day Cloudflare Pro trial that needs no card.
Security on every laptop
One bad attachment on one laptop can stop the whole office. Tremhost supplies ESET endpoint security, priced per device, for antivirus, encryption and ransomware protection.
What a typical first setup costs
Using Tremhost’s list prices in US dollars:
- Do it yourself: Himalaya hosting at $30 a year plus a .co.zw domain from $6.99 a year. Email is included in the hosting.
- Done for you: website design Basic at $550 a year, which includes hosting, SSL, email and a domain. Adding the SME business email plan brings it to $610 a year.
- Add protection when the site brings in enquiries: Armor Guard at $90 a year.
Tremhost plans renew at the sign-up price, and first orders of web hosting and business email carry a 30-day refund. You can pay by EcoCash, InnBucks, ZimSwitch, Omari, Visa, Mastercard, Bitcoin, Tron or Litecoin.
One supplier or several?
Several suppliers can work if someone in the business tracks every renewal and knows who to call. One supplier means one account, one renewal list and one team for everything. Tremhost was founded in Harare in 2016, supports customers by ticket, WhatsApp and booked calls Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 17:00 CAT, and works to a 99.9% monthly availability target for hosting, email and servers.
Frequently asked questions
What should a small business set up first?
A domain, a website and email on that domain. Add website protection once the site brings in enquiries, and endpoint security once you have several laptops.
We already have a website elsewhere. Can it be moved?
Yes. Tremhost moves cPanel websites free of charge, typically within 24 hours, and the site stays live until it is switched.
What if we outgrow shared hosting?
You can move up to a VPS or a managed cPanel VPS, and Tremhost will move your sites.
Can we pay monthly?
Most services can be paid monthly or yearly. The Himalaya hosting plan and website design are billed yearly.
Next step
See the services and starting prices together on the Tremhost page for small businesses, and use its price calculator to cost your setup.
