Machine Marketing — Website Planning · v9-26-26v1
If you're planning to build a website, start here: it isn't one purchase, it's a stack of smaller pieces, each with its own cost and its own upkeep. Here's the whole stack, in the order it actually gets built — whether we build in WordPress or as a custom app, the groundwork underneath is the same. Only two steps below change depending on which one we use, and they're noted where they come up.
The point of laying it out this way: most of this doesn't stop needing attention once the site goes live.
Your web address — yourbusiness.com.
Every path starts here. It's the one piece of this whole stack you own outright, no matter who ends up building or hosting the site around it.
The server that keeps the site loading, day and night.
A domain name with no hosting behind it is just an address with nothing built on it. On a WordPress build, this is a separate monthly line through our host. On a custom app build, hosting comes bundled into the platform itself — no separate hosting bill.
Connecting the domain to the hosting, safely.
The Domain Name System (DNS) works like the internet's phone book — it's what makes sure your domain always rings the right host. We route this through Cloudflare, which handles that connection and filters out a layer of junk traffic before it ever reaches your site. Set up once per domain, rarely touched again.
WordPress + Elementor, or a custom app — the actual pages, design, and content.
This is the visible part of the project, and notice it's step four, not step one — the site needs an address and somewhere to live before design even starts. Which platform we use matters less than getting the three steps before this one right. Not sure which fits you? See WordPress or a Custom App below.
Your free listing on Google Search and Google Maps — hours, phone number, photos, reviews, and a link to your new site.
For a local business, this is often the first thing people see — before they ever click through to your website. When someone searches “tree service near me” or your business name, your Google Business Profile (GBP) is what shows up on the map, with your reviews next to it. Google charges nothing for it, but it has to be claimed and verified as yours (Google may ask for a short video or other proof, which can take a few days to a couple of weeks), and it works best when it's kept current: accurate hours, fresh photos, and replies to reviews. Linking it to your website helps each one back up the other.
name@yourbusiness.com, instead of a personal Gmail address.
One of the fastest, cheapest ways to look like an established business instead of a side hustle. A basic mailbox through our host covers most people; a fuller suite (shared drive, calendar, team mailboxes) costs more but does more.
Text/email follow-up, appointment booking, and lead tracking, so nobody who reaches out gets forgotten.
A website brings people to you; this is what makes sure they actually hear back. It also requires verifying your sending domain — three records added behind the scenes: a Sender Policy Framework (SPF) record, a DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) record, and a Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) record. In plain terms, these are the internet's way of confirming your emails are really coming from you, so they land in inboxes instead of spam folders. Not required to launch a site, but it's the difference between a site that sits there and one that works leads for you.
Terms & Conditions, a privacy policy, cookie consent — set up once, then kept current automatically.
The moment a site collects anything — even just a name and email on a contact form — this stops being optional. Privacy rules keep changing state by state, so rather than you having to track that yourself, these documents run through Termageddon, which updates them on its own as the laws shift.
Backups, plugin and theme updates, uptime and security monitoring.
A website behaves more like a vehicle than a signboard — it needs regular attention, especially on WordPress, or small issues turn into a broken or hacked site. Available as a separate managed offer if you'd rather not think about it.
Once You're Live — Growth Add-Ons
Everything above gets the site launched and keeps it running. These two are worth waiting on until that core is stable, then adding deliberately.
Making sure the site actually turns up when someone searches for what you do.
A site nobody can find through search is only as useful as the people you personally hand your card to. We install and configure Yoast at build time to cover the fundamentals — page titles, descriptions, a sitemap Google can read. That's the foundation; how much further to take it (targeting specific searches, building content around them) is worth its own conversation once there's a live site and real traffic to work from.
Regular new posts on the site — project write-ups, tips, updates, whatever fits the business.
Fresh content is one of the cheapest ways to keep showing up in search over time, and it gives you something worth sharing on social or in an email instead of starting from a blank page each time. It compounds — six months of posts does more than the first one ever will, which is exactly why this comes after the site is built, not before.
Either one can be a single page or many. What really decides it is who will make changes, and how much the site will grow.
Best when the site will grow and change
Best for a smaller site that stays mostly the same
Rule of thumb: if you'll blog, edit often, or plan to add pages, choose WordPress. If you want a site that just works and rarely changes, a custom app is often the simpler, lower-maintenance choice.
Every one of these nine core pieces has to happen somewhere — the only real question is who's doing it. Here's the rough shape of it.
Want to compare packaged options? See our website plans, or send a question through our contact page.
A few technical terms show up above. Here's what each one means in plain language, with a link if you want to go deeper.
