Prior to starting 

Before you can establish any digital assets, it is essential to navigate through the following steps.

Determine the platforms that will be essential for your needs. Are you looking for a website? Or, will you be able to conduct your business solely through social media platforms? Which social media platforms will you actively engage with, such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and others? Even if you don’t intend to create a website right now, securing a domain name could be beneficial for future use. Similarly, it’s a good idea to claim your handle on important social media platforms, even if you’re not prepared to utilise them just yet. It’s crucial to grasp the methods for ensuring the security of these platforms. 
Select a name for your business and secure a corresponding domain name. In addition to ensuring that your chosen business name is unique and not infringing on any existing trademarks, your decision may also be influenced by whether the corresponding domain name is available. The domain name serves as the web address for your new venture, allowing customers to easily access your website. It will also form the foundation for your business email address. Your business name should ideally match or closely resemble this to reduce any potential confusion among customers. If the name you desire is unavailable, think about creating variations, such as incorporating your location at the end. You might want to think about changing the name completely. To check the availability of domain names, just search online for ‘domain name registration in India,’ and you will find numerous providers offering a search feature. For additional insights, please refer to this guide. 
Create your logo and favicon. Designing your logo can be done using various user-friendly logo design tools available online, or you can opt for the expertise of a professional designer. Make sure your final logo is delivered as a vector file, allowing you to resize it easily without compromising on quality. Your logo should be distinctive and must not infringe on any copyright or trademark rights. It is essential to design a compact ‘favicon’ version of your logo for use on digital platforms. Favicons are the small square logos that you frequently notice next to the URL in the browser's address bar or within a list of saved bookmarks. Your logo could be reduced to a compact 16 x 16 pixel version, or it might feature a small element of your logo, such as a motif. Platforms like Favicon.io are useful for those without access to a designer. 
Claiming your business assets 
Purchase domain name(s) 
After selecting your domain name, it's essential to purchase it and think about acquiring other popular domain extensions that your customers might use (such as ‘.com’, ‘.co.in’, ‘.org’, etc.), as well as considering relevant international markets and similar variants. These variants need to be 'redirected' to your primary domain, which can be accomplished via your domain provider or website builder platform. Your selected domain registrar might also offer web hosting and email services included in the package. While there may be a fee involved, it is generally quite affordable for small and straightforward businesses. 

Secure your social media profiles/accounts 
After selecting your domain name and identifying the suitable social platforms for your venture, it's essential to secure your social media handles and establish your business pages. 

Facebook profile. If you're considering using Facebook, it's a great idea to establish a business Facebook page for your enterprise. You do this through your personal Facebook login (note that information from your personal profile won't appear on your business page unless you actively share it). Use your business name as the business page name and as your Facebook ‘vanity’ URL. Remember to have a profile pic and cover photo ready. 
LinkedIn page. If you have decided LinkedIn is the right fit for your business, you can choose to create a company page (it is also a good idea to have a personal profile if you don’t already). Ensure that you fill in all of the information you can about your company on your page, including your web address, company description, cover photo, logo, tagline, call-to-action buttons, etc.
Twitter. If you are planning to use Twitter or think you will in the near future, claim your Twitter handle and set up your business profile. Ideally, use your business name as your account name and @name, but if that is taken, select a close variant as your @name. Add your profile and header photos, a bio, and even a pinned tweet. Remember, if no one logs in at least every six months, your account could become inactive.
Instagram. Again, if you are planning to use Instagram, you should switch to an Instagram business account. Note, you need to have (or set up) a personal account first to be able to 'switch' to a business account. Use your business name as your username (or a close variant) and link to your website. Also add your preferred contact details, and fill in your bio and profile pic. You can also decide whether to link your Instagram business account with your Facebook business page. 
YouTube. If you will be creating video content, you may want to create a YouTube channel for your business. To do this, you will first need to set up a Google Account for your business, which you will use to sign in to YouTube - this is free to set up. Then, once logged in, head to YouTube and select ‘create a channel.’ Use your business name as your channel name and handle (or as close a variant as you can) and your logo as a profile pic. 
Pinterest. Again, if you are planning to use Pinterest, you should set up a Pinterest business account for your business to gain useful features such as shoppable pins, the ability to run ads, and data on your pins. As before, make sure to use your business name and fill in all of the details you can about your business. You can also add a link to your website. 
TikTok. TikTok is a unique social channel that requires its own strategy, which is likely to be very different from your other social channels. First, consider whether TikTok is the right fit for your business and that you fully understand the way users and brands are using the channel (and use it yourself to ensure you understand it). If you are keen to use TikTok, create a TikTok business account. Use your business name as your account name and (most likely) your logo as a profile pic. Add a snappy bio and link to your other social accounts. 
Next steps 
Set up business email 
Once you have your domain name, you may wish to set up your business email address using this domain. Even if you are working on your own, if you have a website, it’s more professional to use a domain-based email than to use your personal email. It also keeps everything separate, making it easier to manage. 
When you registered your domain name or set up your site using a website builder, the service may have included the option to set up your email via a provider such as Microsoft 365 or Gmail (although this may just be for the first few months). You can also set this up directly with an email provider. 
Expect to pay a small monthly fee for each email address based at your domain.
Remember you will be able to download apps for your email for Android or iOS so you can access it easily from your phone or tablet as well as your computer. 
For individual email addresses and mailboxes, consider:
Name format. Using firstname@domain may work ok if there will only ever be a few of you. However, if not, best to use firstname.surname@domain right from the start, especially if you could ever have two people with the same first name 
Shared mailboxes. This is handy for customers to contact you through a simple address, e.g., hello@, sales@, customerservice@, or finance@. If there’s just one or two of you, you can use these to keep different workstreams separate. Should you recruit more staff, you can grant access for several people to these mailboxes so they are easier to monitor and share workload. 
Design and build your website on your domain 
You may opt to do this yourself via an off-the-shelf web builder (such as Squarespace, Wix, Shopify, or even the same provider that you bought your domain name through). Alternatively, if your site needs to be bespoke or more complex, you may wish to outsource design and build to a freelancer or agency.
Three things to remember:
Hosting. You pay a fee for hosting your website. If you use a website builder, hosting is usually provided in the monthly package. If you use a freelancer or agency, they will likely sort this for you. If your site builder is different from your domain host, you will need to point your domain to your web host's servers - done within the platform. 
Consider creating a holding page on your site until it’s fully developed. This shows any early leads that you are in progress and can perhaps be diverted to follow you on social media for the time being. 
Add site tracking like Google Analytics. Often overlooked until the last moment, this is a valuable method to gain insight into your business and marketing from the very beginning. However, make sure that you understand your GDPR obligations and take the necessary actions, such as having cookie and privacy policies on your site and gaining express permission from site visitors to use cookies before this tracking is loaded. 
Online payment and booking functionality 
If you are an eCommerce site selling physical or digital products, you will probably need to accept online payments and will need to research the best options for your business.
Even if you provide a physical service, you may wish to manage bookings online and potentially accept payments too.
Find out more about eCommerce or selecting an online booking system.

GDPR compliance 
From the minute you launch your business, you’ll need to be aware of GDPR legislation relating to how you capture, store, secure, and manage any personal data relating to your customers and staff.

Most businesses will also need to register with the Information Commissioner’s Office, which also provides a library of information on this legislation. They have a section specifically for small businesses. 

The immediate tasks you will need to complete if you have a website are:

Cookie consent. If you are using any cookies on your site (which most sites do, including when you are using analytics), you must inform your users of these cookies and gain their explicit consent before you track their use of your site - which most sites do via a cookie banner pop-up. When gaining users' consent, your web-builder platform may have a cookie acceptance banner option; however, make sure that this also covers third-party cookies. You may want to consider using a consent management platform such as CookieBot. 
Privacy and cookie policy. If you are using cookies, you will need a cookie policy. You will also need a privacy policy, especially if you are storing any customer information via contact forms or purchases, to explain how and what data is stored. Further information can be found from the Information Commissioner’s Office. 
Data storage. Customer information is key to many businesses, whether this is storing customers’ bank details, contact information, delivery addresses, email addresses, marketing info, etc. You must ensure that this data is stored securely and in compliance with GDPR. You also need to decide how to store this data - for example, in office software (such as Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets), in CRM software (such as Microsoft Dynamics or HubSpot), or in other programs such as your inventory or accounting platforms.
Once your online presence is up and running, consider how you will optimize and manage your platforms and drive traffic. Check out DigitalBoost for guides, articles, webinars, and 1:1 support to help you with your digital marketing.