RisenDomain names explained: registrars, DNS, hosting, and who owns your domain
How domain names work for a small business: what a registrar, registry, nameserver and host each do, why your business should be the registrant, and what happens if a domain expires.
Read the guide → Guide 02 · 5 minHow to choose a domain name for your small business
Practical advice for picking a business domain name: whether it must match your legal name, .com versus other endings, trademark checks, and registering it the right way.
Read the guide → Guide 03 · 7 minWhy your business email goes to spam: SPF, DKIM and DMARC explained
A plain-English guide to the three DNS records that get small business email delivered: SPF, DKIM and DMARC, plus what Gmail and Yahoo now require from senders.
Read the guide → Guide 04 · 8 minWhat a small business website needs: a checklist
The essentials every local business website needs, with sources: a mobile-first design, fast loading measured by Core Web Vitals, HTTPS, accessibility, accurate business details and helpful content.
Read the guide → Guide 05 · 5 minGoogle Business Profile: how local ranking works and how to set yours up
How Google ranks local businesses on Search and Maps (relevance, distance, prominence) and how to set up a Google Business Profile that follows Google's guidelines.
Read the guide → Guide 06 · 6 minHow to get more Google reviews (without breaking the rules)
How to ask customers for Google reviews the right way: using your review link, asking everyone the same way, and avoiding what Google's policy and the FTC's 2024 fake-review rule prohibit.
Read the guide →Written by the team at Risen, which builds and runs websites for local businesses. We cite government, standards-body and platform documentation wherever we can, and update guides when those sources change.