How To Buy an Email Domain – 6 Tips When Choosing

Whether you’re a budding entrepreneur, small business owner, or an individual looking to establish a distinct online presence – owning a personalized email domain name, can significantly enhance your credibility and identity.

Throughout this article, we will explore how to buy an Email Domain, the benefits of owning a custom domain and how to choose the right one for your online needs. Let us review how a professional email address can reflect your identity, profession, services, products, or brand with distinction.

What is an Email Domain?

Email domains play a key role in the functioning and appearance of email addresses and have become an essential part of our online communication tools.

An email domain refers to the suffix of an email address. The section following the “@” character – for example, in the email address ‘johnsmith @ company.com,’ ‘company.com’ can be referred to as an email domain.

They are used to create personalized and professional email addresses, thereby enhancing a small business, or professional person’s online presence by indicating trustworthiness and reliability. They give immediate recognition to branded and dependable email correspondence between all communicating parties.

In addition, email domains can be used to filter and manage your incoming emails, helping you to maintain an organized inbox, which can improve efficiency and productivity.

When private and professional individuals, consultants, or small business owners and entrepreneurs acquire a custom email domain, they will purchase and register it via a hosting company’s services. All hosting companies have APIs that link their domain registration platforms to >ICANN accredited Registrars. A Registrar manages the reservation and registration of domain names on the internet.

Once the email domain has been registered, the domain owner can set up the email accounts they want associated with that domain. Each email account is related to an individual email address. These can be specific to the various aspects of a business, as per the more generic, sales@, support@, accounts@, info@, or the personalized ones for individual staff members.

Many charity organizations buy custom email domains for different fundraising events. This ensures a separate email mailbox, where an email address with the event name is utilized. It is usually purchased prior to the event and after the necessary data has been collated, then it is usually deleted, .

Why Businesses Need Email Domains

Small businesses, professional people, startups and private individuals can benefit immensely from having their own, unique email domain, instead of relying on generic domain suffixes offered by large online companies such as Google (gmail.com) or Yahoo (yahoo.com).

We have listed a few relevant reasons that one can benefit from owning an email domain:

Professionalism

A unique email domain adds a depth of professionalism to your digital communication. It can convey credibility in that you have taken the time and effort to assure your clients that you are of good standing by registering your own domain name.

Brand Identity

One of the key benefits of owning an email domain can be to reinforce your brand identity and strengthening your startup’s image and online presence.

Trustworthiness

Identifiable email domains add credibility to communication with customers and suppliers, as they are more likely to trust emails received from a recognizable source. This contributes to better brand recall and customer engagement.

Marketing

A custom email domain can support marketing efforts by increasing the recognition and visibility of your business. Campaigns and promotions can also be enhanced through specific email addresses.

Consistency

Implementing a customized email domain that is related to your small business ensures uniformity across communication channels while enhancing your professional digital appearance.

Improved Deliverability

Several email providers are known to treat emails from generic domains as potential spam, while a custom email domain improves email deliverability, ensuring that your messages reach the intended recipients’ inboxes.

How to Choose an Email Domain Name

Choosing a email domain name plays a significant role in shaping online brand identity of your small business. Here are some suggestions to consider:

1. Be Mindful of Your Objectives

What is the purpose of your email domain and what would you use it for? Is it for a start-up, short-term project, a professional individual, a family group or a small business? Understanding the initial objectives of what you want to achieve, will help simplify the process of registering and buying an email domain name.

By carefully considering its intended uses, you can choose an email domain name that professionally represents you, or your small business and aligns with a brand identity, or short and long-term goals.

2. Research Your Market and/or Competitors

Look at the email domain names of competitors or businesses in a similar industry or marketplace. While you want your domain to be unique, observing what others are doing can provide insights and inspiration.

3. Aim to be Consistent with Your Business

If your email domain name will be associated either with you, your business or profession, aim to make it consistent with its your identity. Your email domain name is an extension of your brand, so choose a domain that reflects your business name, products, or services.

If possible, include your business name in the email domain name. Not only will this increase recognition but ensure uniformity across your operating channels. Consider securing variations of your chosen domain to prevent others from using similar names that could potentially confuse your audience or harm your brand.

Consistency between your email domain name and your brand helps in creating a cohesive and memorable identity. It forms part of your online identity and should be easy to remember and representative of your business.

4. Creativity Counts

If the email domain name is already taken, try adding a prefix such as “go,” or a suffix like “online,” or “mailer.” Also consider making use of innovative gTLDs.

It is important to choose a unique email domain name that is not too long or complicated. Try to avoid using numbers or special characters, as they can be easily forgotten or misunderstood. Opt for Keep it relatively simple and easy-to-remember.

Before finalizing your decision, check the availability of the chosen email domain with domain registration tools to see if it is available and any available variations.

5. Choose the Right Domain Extension

Recognizable TLDs (Top-Level Domains) such as ‘.com,’ ‘.net,’ or ‘.org’ are widely known and popular however, other extensions may also be suitable depending on your type of small business, geographic location, profession or event.

If your small business operates in specific regions, consider localizing your email domain name to reflect that, using Internet country code top-level domains (ccTLD) such as .us for the US, can enhance your connection with local audiences.

6. Renewal and Ownership

Select a reliable web hosting company to register your chosen email domain. Compare pricing, features, and customer support offered by different email hosting providers. Understand the renewal process and fees associated with maintaining your email domain name, especially if you are buying a discounted TLD, as the annual renewal fee may be more costly. Ensure that you have complete ownership and control of the email domain name.

7. Think Long-term

Consider how the email domain will fit if your small business when it expands, if it is a personally professional, or private one, will it still be of value should circumstances change. As your business grows, your email domain will become an essential part of your marketing and future branding styles. Therefore, it is important to choose an email domain that will perfectly represent your operation’s expansion.

Avoid using industry-specific terms that may limit your business in the future. Instead, opt for a broader and more versatile email domain name that can adapt to the ever-changing needs of your chosen target markets.

How to Buy an Email Domain with Hosted.com

Purchasing a new unique domain name for emails is a straightforward process with Hosted.com. Customers get a free Email SSL Certificate, providing an extra layer of security for their emails, and a free domain name registration* on the Email Hosting 50 plan and up. In this section, we will guide you through the process of how to buy your email domain name:

Step 1: Visit the Hosted.com Email Hosting page, browse the available plans and select “BUY NOW” under the plan of your choice.

Step 2: The next page will guide you through your Hosting Configuration, here you will be able to choose your Free Domain Name Registration* on selected plans, register a new one or transfer an already existing one, before clicking “PROCEED TO CART”.

Step 3: After selecting your Hosting Configuration, the Review and Checkout page follows and will finalize your order before payment by credit card is made.

Step 4: Once you’ve clicked “CHECKOUT”, you will reach the Login or Create a New Account page, where you will choose new credentials or, if an existing client, input your account Username and Password, either registering or entering your payment details.

Risks to Consider when Using an Email Domain Name

Using an email domain name for your start up, small business or personal email address can offer many benefits, such as a professional image and increased security. However, some potential risks and pitfalls should be considered before deciding to use a custom email domain name.

Spam

This is one of the first risks to consider of your email domain getting blacklisted or marked as spam, which can happen if your email is flagged by spam filters or if recipients report your messages as spam.

Optimize the contents of your emails, including your subject line, avoid unnecessary attachments, and test emails before sending to avoid being marked as spam. When choosing Hosted.com, all Email Hosting plans include the SpamExperts Spam, Malware, and Virus Protection to keep your Email Hosting safe.

Phishing

Email spoofing and phishing attacks take place when scammers use a fake email address, with an email domain that looks like yours, to trick recipients into giving out sensitive information or making payments. This can cause reputational damage to your business and could lead to financial losses for both you and your customers or clients. It is important to implement proper security measures, such as email authentication protocols, to prevent these types of attacks.

Cost

Some email hosting providers may offer a free email domain registration* along with their website hosting service, otherwise you will have to purchase and register your domain, separately. However, with Email Hosting from Hosted.com, you can get a free email domain registration*, create and manage email accounts using your domain name without needing website hosting, and the highly affordable plans will fit your needs.

Support

Without using a trusted provider, you may not have easy access to good technical support if you experience any issues or need assistance. This can be frustrating and cause delays in resolving any problems that may arise. However, Hosted.com’s Support Team are all friendly, expertly-trained, and efficient, to give you the support you need, or you can simply log a ticket.

By considering these factors and implementing proper precautions, you can make an informed decision on whether a custom email domain name is the right choice for your email communication needs.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Email domains create personalized and professional email addresses, giving small businesses, start-ups and entrepreneurs credibility and allowing for brand consistency.
• Professional individuals and consultants also benefit from email domains, which enhance professionalism, trustworthiness, support marketing campaigns, and offer improved deliverability rates.
• When choosing an email domain name be mindful of your objectives and aim to be consistent with your small business, while considering its long-term.
• Purchasing an email domain name with Hosted.com is an uncomplicated process which offers a free domain name registration* on selected plans with a free Email SSL Certificate.
• Potential risks such as scamming and phishing should be considered before deciding to use a custom email domain name.

Other Blogs of Interest:

– What Next After a Domain Name Purchase? Follow these 6 Easy Steps

– How to Buy an Expired Domain

– Web Hosting Versus Domain Name – All the Facts Explained

– International Domain Name Registration: What You Should Know

– How To Buy A Domain Name Permanently