What do you need for your own website?

Do I need a domain for a website?

Technically, a website can also run at an address provided by the vendor, for example as a subpage of a site builder. For a business, though, your own domain is indispensable: it looks professional, stays with you if you switch providers and enables matching email addresses such as info@yourcompany.de. For businesses in Germany, a .de domain is usually the obvious choice.

When registering, make sure the domain is registered in your company's name and not to an agency or a former employee. Before choosing, also check whether the name might infringe trademark or name rights of third parties. Short, easy-to-spell domains without special characters make it easier for customers to recommend you on the phone or in conversation.

Do you need a server for a website?

You do not need a server of your own in the basement. Websites live with a host that provides storage space, computing power and internet connectivity. For most company websites, a web hosting package or managed hosting, where the provider takes care of the operating system and server maintenance, is enough. Your own virtual or dedicated server only pays off with special performance or security requirements.

Such requirements include web apps with many simultaneous users, custom databases for customer portals or strict security specifications. With website builders and hosted e-commerce platforms, hosting is already included in the subscription. For a business website, choose a provider with a data center in the EU and conclude a data processing agreement with it.

What do I need to host a website?

For hosting you need a contract with a provider, a connection between your domain and the hosting via DNS records, and an SSL certificate. Many hosts offer free certificates that renew automatically. For WordPress and similar systems, a database and a current PHP version are added, which your hosting must support.

Just as important as the start is ongoing operation: regular backups stored in a separate location, updates for the CMS and extensions, and monitoring to check that the website is reachable. Clarify before choosing who takes on these tasks – you yourself, the host or an agency. A maintenance contract settles these points in a binding way.

• Hosting contract with a data center in the EU
• DNS records for domain and email
• SSL certificate with automatic renewal
• Database and current PHP version (for a CMS)
• Backups stored in a separate location
• Data processing agreement

What is the website built with: site builder, CMS or custom?

Site builders are quick to set up and suit simple pages, but they tie you to one provider. A content management system such as WordPress is flexible, widely used and can be supported by many service providers. Custom-coded websites or headless solutions offer the most freedom in load time, design and features, but need specialists for further development.

The right choice depends on who maintains the content and what the website should be able to do in the future. If your team regularly publishes news, a simple editing interface matters more than fancy effects. If the website is to work together with your CRM, a booking system or a customer portal, it is worth considering a custom solution.

Content: text, images, logo and legal texts

The technology is set up quickly; the content decides success. You need texts about your services, a short introduction of your company, contact details, meaningful photos and a good-quality logo. Real pictures of your team and your work usually come across as more credible than interchangeable stock photos. With third-party images, be sure to check the usage rights.

For business websites in Germany, a legal notice (Impressum) and a privacy policy are mandatory; if you use cookies or external services that require consent, a consent banner is added. We explain what to bear in mind in detail in the guide “What legal requirements must a website meet in Germany?” This note gives only an overview and does not replace legal advice.

Do you need a business registration for a website?

In Germany, you do not need a business registration (Gewerbe) for the website itself – you can run a private website about your hobby, your club or your family without registering a business. What matters is what you do with the website. If you sell products through it, offer services or regularly earn money, for example with ads or affiliate links, a business registration may become necessary.

Members of the liberal professions such as doctors, architects or tax advisors do not register a business but still need a legal notice with professional-law information for their website. If in doubt, clarify the question with the trade office or your tax advisor. This section gives only a general overview and does not replace legal or tax advice in a specific individual case.

What do you need to publish a website?

To publish, you upload the finished website to the hosting or release it in the CMS, connect the domain via DNS and activate the SSL certificate. Afterward you should test all pages on smartphone and desktop, try out forms and check that the messages actually arrive in your inbox. Only then is the website ready for visitors.

So that Google finds your website, set up Search Console and submit an XML sitemap. For a relaunch, redirects from old to new addresses are part of the process. If you have your website built by us, we take care of these steps at launch – you receive a finished, reachable and measurable website without having to deal with the technology.