How to Make an Email Address

For business websites, even the slightest thing can make a grand impression. For many that browse a business’ website, one of the first pages they will visit is the About or Contact page. These pages ideally provide an email address or phone number to contact the business. If visitors see that the primary way to reach the company is via an email that ends with @gmail.com or @hotmail.com, then they’ll wonder whether or not the company is organized enough to separate personal email from business accounts.

To combat this poor representation, it is important to make an email address that uses your company’s domain as the ending point to your email address. For example, if you work for an alcohol rehab center, then having an email like [email protected] is much more practical than one like [email protected]. Many domain and hosting providers actually provide domain-based email for free. Either way, considering the options below can make your email address more attractive and relevant in no time.

An Easy Method with Gmail

If you have a pre-existing Gmail account, then Google provides a fairly simple step-by-step approach, where you will have your domain-based email connected to Gmail in no time. To get started, log in to your Gmail account and click on “Settings” in the top right corner. From there, click the “Accounts and Imports” sub-heading, and then—to the right of “use Gmail with your domain for free”—click “Learn more.” You can also click “Add Another Email Address You Own” for the same result.

At this point, Gmail will walk you through a series of steps that are easy to follow. You must have access to your company’s website’s server, so you can upload an .html document provided by Google so they can ensure you are permitted for use. Once these steps are complete, you can receive and send emails from an account with your company’s domain, all from the familiar and user-friendly interface of Gmail.

Slightly More Complicated But Similarly Effective: Mail Forwarding

If you don’t use Gmail or feel like doing the method above, consider using mail forwarding instead. This type of forwarding sends incoming mail to a domain email account to be redirected to another email address, regardless of whether it’s your Gmail or Yahoo account. This is the easiest way to set up a new email address without swapping interfaces and programs.

The precise method for setting up email forwarding depends on your blog/web host. Most hosts will have an Email Accounts section where you can create/edit new accounts and set up forwarding. For any pre-existing or newly formed email account with your site’s domain, there will be an option to forward to a different email address. Filling in that box with the email address of your choice will effectively forward all email to that address.

Combined Methods and Gmail Labels

Combining both of these methods will allow you to choose on Gmail which email address you’d like to reply from, whether it’s your old @gmail.com address or the one with your business’ domain at the end of it. You can choose this on a message-to-message basis, so separating emails from family and business associates isn’t difficult. Creating a Gmail label for any mail sent to your domain email address will ensure constant separation and organization.

Regardless of the method you choose, it’s important for businesses to make an email address displaying their domain and using it with each email. Not only does this make it easier for potential leads to go to their site when reading an email from them, but—perhaps more importantly—it asserts authority and technical knowledge. With a domain-based email, potential leads are significantly less likely to question the credibility of a business.