What do I need before I can start a website for my business?

Technically you need six things: a domain name, hosting, a professional email on that domain, the written content, some photos, and a logo. But you do not need all of it ready before you begin. The only things that truly have to come from you are your business name, phone number, service area, and the list of services you offer. Everything else can be generated, added later, or included by a done-for-you service.

Do I need to buy a domain name before I start?

No. You can register a domain yourself first, but you do not have to. With RunCabin your domain is included in the flat monthly price and set up for you, so there is nothing to buy separately or configure. If you already own a domain, you can point it at your new site instead.

Do I need photos and written content ready first?

It helps to have a few photos of your own work, but you do not need them to get started. RunCabin writes the first draft of your copy for you from your business details, so a blank page is never the starting point. You add or swap photos and change any wording later just by asking, in plain English.

How much does RunCabin cost and what is included?

$39.99 per month, flat. That includes the website built for you, your own domain, a professional email address, a free AI logo, hosting, and unlimited changes made by asking the AI in plain English. No setup fee, no contract, cancel anytime, and your domain stays yours.

RunCabin Blog · Getting started

What do I need to start a website for my business?

July 20, 2026 · 7 min read

Short answer: far less than the internet makes it sound. Every "how to build a website" guide hands you a six-item shopping list - domain, hosting, email, content, photos, logo - and it reads like a second job. Here is the honest version of that list, what each item actually is, and which parts you can skip, generate, or hand off entirely.

If you have just filed your LLC or passed your license exam and you are staring at "get a website" on your to-do list, this is for you.

The traditional checklist (and what each piece really is)

When someone says you need to "set up a website," this is the list they mean. None of it is complicated on its own. It is the stack of six separate decisions that makes people put it off for months.

1. A domain name

Your web address - yourbusiness.com. You rent it yearly (usually $12-$20) from a registrar. The catch for new owners: the exact name you want is often taken, and picking a good one, then keeping track of the renewal so it does not lapse, is one more account to babysit.

2. Hosting

The server that actually serves your pages to visitors. Traditionally a separate monthly bill from a separate company, with plans and jargon (bandwidth, SSD storage, "uptime") that mean nothing to someone who just wants a phone to ring.

3. A professional email address

An address on your own domain - you@yourbusiness.com - instead of a Gmail. It matters more than people expect: an email that matches your website is one of the cheapest ways to look like an established business instead of a hobby. But it is usually yet another add-on with its own fee.

4. The content (the words)

What the pages actually say - your services, your pitch, your area, your call to action. This is where most builds die. Owners open a blank page, freeze, and never come back. Writing about your own business in the third person is genuinely hard, and it has nothing to do with being good at the trade.

5. Photos

Pictures of your work, your truck, your team. Real photos beat stock every time. The good news is you do not need a photographer - a handful of clear phone shots of finished jobs is plenty. The trap is thinking you need a full portfolio before you can launch. You do not.

6. A logo

Nice to have, not a blocker. A clean wordmark of your business name in a good font works fine to start. Plenty of one-person businesses launch with exactly that and add a designed logo later.

Here is the part nobody tells new owners

Look back at that list. Only a little of it actually has to come from you. The rest is either technical plumbing (domain, hosting, email) or something that can be drafted for you (content, logo).

The plumbing is the part that scares people off, and it is also the part that should be invisible. You did not want to become a part-time IT department when you started a painting or plumbing or landscaping business. The website should show up already wired together, the same way your work van showed up already able to drive.

So the useful question is not "what do I need to buy and configure?" It is "what do I actually have to provide, and who handles the rest?"

What you truly need to provide

Strip it down and there are only four things a website cannot be built without, and you already have all of them in your head:

Your business name - what you go by.
Your phone number and how to reach you - so the site can send work to you.
Your service area - the towns or radius you cover.
What you do - the list of services, in plain words.

That is the real starting line. A few photos of finished jobs are a strong bonus, but they can come after launch. Everything on the six-item checklist above can be built from those four answers.

Two ways to fill the gap between "four answers" and "live website"

Once you know your four answers, you have a decision: assemble the six pieces yourself, or have them assembled for you.

Do it yourself. You buy the domain, sign up for hosting, add an email plan, pick a template, write the copy, place the photos, and make every future change yourself. It is the cheapest sticker price and a real option if you enjoy it and have the evenings. For most owners, though, the site ships late or never, because paying work always jumps the line. We wrote a fuller breakdown in should I build my own website or pay someone to do it?

Have it done for you. A done-for-you service bundles the plumbing and drafts the rest, so the six-item list collapses into your four answers plus a few minutes. That is the lane RunCabin was built for.

Where RunCabin fits

With RunCabin's done-for-you websites, you answer the four questions and a full site comes back built - your name, your services, your city, real copy already written. The domain, the professional email, the hosting, and a free AI logo are all included in one flat price, set up for you. There is nothing to configure and nothing to buy on the side.

Then the part that genuinely does not exist elsewhere at this price: you change the site by asking, in plain English. "Add gutter cleaning to my services." "Swap the hero photo for this one." "Change my hours." Done in moments - no page builder to learn, no support ticket, no waiting on a designer. Photos and a logo you add or refine whenever you like; a blank page is never where you start.

One more thing worth saying plainly, because new owners get burned on it: about ten minutes after any business goes online, the calls start - people selling "SEO services," directory listings, ad packages. RunCabin is a flat $39.99/mo, all-in, with no setup fee, no contract, no lead fees, and no upsells. You can cancel anytime, and your domain stays yours.

You already have everything you need

Give us your business name and what you do. We build a real preview - your name, your work, your city - before you pay anything. About a minute, no card.

See your free site preview →