Every Belgian company needs a website. But how do you get started? In this article we explain step by step how to build a professional website for your Belgian company, without technical knowledge and without spending a fortune. Read more about building a website in Belgium.

Step 1: Choose your domain name

Your domain name is your address on the internet. For a Belgian company, a .be domain is the logical choice. Check whether the domain you want is available with the domain name checker.

Tips:

  • Use your company name as the domain
  • Keep it short and easy to spell
  • Register the .com variant as well, for protection

Step 2: Choose hosting

You need web hosting to put your website online. At Theory7 you start from just €0.49 per month. You get free SSL, daily backups and Dutch support.

Step 3: Choose your platform

The most popular website platform in the world. Flexible, with thousands of themes and plugins. With WordPress hosting at Theory7 you install it with a single click.

Site builder

Even simpler than WordPress. Drag and drop. Ideal if you want to get online quickly without technical knowledge. Read more about building a website for free.

Step 4: Design your website

A good business website contains at least:

  • Homepage - Who are you and what do you offer?
  • About us - Tell your story
  • Services/products - What can you do for visitors?
  • Contact - Make it easy to reach you

Step 5: Belgian requirements

A Belgian business website must comply with:

  • Cookie banner - The GDPR requires consent for cookies
  • Privacy statement - Mandatory under the GDPR
  • Company details - CBE number, VAT number, registered office
  • SSL certificate - Mandatory for forms and payments (free at Theory7)

What does a website for a Belgian company cost?

Item Cost per year
Hosting (Theory7 Mini) €5.88
.be domain name ~€10-15
SSL certificate €0 (free at Theory7)
WordPress theme €0 (free) - €60 (premium)
Total €16-81 per year

A professional website for your Belgian company can therefore cost less than €20 per year. That is less than a single month of hosting at Combell.

Web hosting by city in Belgium

Theory7 offers web hosting throughout Flanders. Explore the options in your city:

Getting started

  1. Register your .be domain
  2. Choose a hosting plan
  3. Install WordPress with a single click
  4. Pick a theme and fill in your content
  5. Go live!

A website for a Belgian company must meet specific legal requirements. According to FOD Economie, you are obliged to clearly display your company number (CBE), VAT number, business address and contact details. In addition, the GDPR requires a privacy statement and a cookie banner through which visitors actively give consent for non-essential cookies.

Do not forget the terms and conditions either if you offer online services or sell products. The Belgian privacy law stipulates that you inform visitors about which personal data you collect, why you do so and how long you keep it. A good cookie banner is more than a pop-up: it must be able to switch functional, analytical and marketing cookies on and off separately.

Which CMS is best for a Belgian company?

WordPress is the most popular content management system worldwide and runs on more than 43% of all websites. For Belgian companies it is an excellent choice thanks to its extensive multilingual support (Dutch, French, German) and thousands of available plugins. Website builders such as Wix or Squarespace are simpler, but offer less flexibility and are more expensive in the long run.

With WordPress on reliable hosting from Theory7 you have full control over your website. You can use plugins such as WPML or Polylang for multilingual sites, which is essential in a country with three official languages. WordPress is also SEO-friendly, which matters for visibility in Belgian search results.

Why is a .be domain important for Belgian companies?

A .be domain extension signals right away that you are a Belgian company. According to DNS Belgium, more than 1.7 million .be domain names are registered, which makes it one of the most widely used country extensions in the world. Belgian consumers trust .be websites more than international extensions.

At Theory7 you can easily register a .be domain and connect it directly to your hosting plan. Tip: register the .nl and .com variant of your domain name as well to guarantee brand protection. That way you prevent competitors or cybersquatters from using your company name.

How do you optimize a Belgian website for Google?

SEO for the Belgian market differs from the Netherlands: you compete with both Dutch-language and French-language websites. Google.be shows results based on language and location, so it is important to specify your target region through Google Search Console and to implement hreflang tags correctly.

A few essential SEO steps for Belgian websites:

  • Use local keywords with "Belgium" or cities such as Antwerp, Ghent, Brussels
  • Create a Google Business Profile for local findability
  • Ensure fast loading times, as Google rewards websites that load within 2.5 seconds
  • Write unique content focused on Belgian topics and regulations
  • Use structured data (schema.org) for rich snippets in search results

What hosting requirements does a Belgian business website have?

A professional Belgian website calls for reliable hosting with low latency. Servers in the Benelux ensure fast loading times for Belgian visitors. On top of that, you need an SSL certificate (mandatory for GDPR compliance) and enough storage space for images, videos and downloads.

Building a website starts with the right foundation. At Theory7 you get SSD storage as standard, free SSL, daily backups and servers in the Netherlands, which is ideal for the Belgian market. Our hosting plans are specifically optimized for WordPress and offer LiteSpeed caching for lightning-fast loading times.

What does a professional website for a Belgian company cost?

The cost of a professional business website in Belgium varies widely. A simple WordPress website with five to ten pages typically costs between €1,500 and €5,000 at a web agency. Do it yourself with a website builder or WordPress hosting and it can start from €10 per month, not counting your own time.

The running costs consist of hosting (from €3.95 per month at Theory7), a .be domain name (around €10 per year) and possibly premium plugins or themes. An SSL certificate is now included as standard with good hosting providers. Rather invest more in quality web hosting than in expensive website builders: a fast, reliable website converts better than a beautiful but slow site.

Sources and references

  • FOD Economie - Belgian federal public service, information obligation for websites
  • DNS Belgium - Manager of the .be domain, domain name registration statistics
  • Belgian privacy law - National implementation of the GDPR

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