Put Your Website Online

Last updated October 29, 2026

Your website is a small folder of files. Putting it online takes about 20 minutes and costs nothing beyond your domain name. Follow the steps below, or ask us for a free setup call and we'll do it with you.

What you need

  • Your site files: the .zip we emailed you after your purchase.
  • A domain name (like yourbusiness.com). If you don't have one, buy it from any domain company, such as GoDaddy, Namecheap, Squarespace or Cloudflare. It's usually $10–20 a year.
  • A free Netlify account to host the site. Sign up at netlify.com.

Step 1: Put the site on Netlify

  1. Unzip the file we sent you. You'll get a folder with an index.html file inside.
  2. Log in to Netlify and choose Add new project (on some accounts: Add new site), then Deploy manually.
  3. Drag the whole folder onto the page. After a few seconds Netlify shows your site at an address ending in .netlify.app.
  4. Open that address and check everything looks right.

Step 2: Connect your domain

  1. In Netlify, open your project, go to Domain management and choose Add a domain. Type your domain.
  2. Netlify then shows the DNS records to add, usually an A record for yourbusiness.com and a CNAME record for www.yourbusiness.com. Keep that page open.
  3. Log in where you bought your domain, open its DNS settings (see below) and add exactly the records Netlify showed you.
  4. Don't delete your other records, especially MX records: those run your business email.

Where the DNS settings are

  • GoDaddy: My Products → your domain → DNS.
  • Namecheap: Domain List → Manage → Advanced DNS.
  • Squarespace (including former Google Domains): Domains → your domain → DNS.
  • Cloudflare: your domain → DNS → Records. Set the new records to "DNS only" (grey cloud).

Menus move around now and then. If you can't find it, look for "DNS" or "Manage DNS".

Step 3: Wait, then check

DNS changes usually work within an hour, and occasionally take up to 48 hours. Netlify then turns on the secure padlock (https) by itself. Visit yourbusiness.com: your new site should be there.

Stuck?

Email us for a free setup call and we'll get it online with you, or email cyril@mapdominate.com.