Which Is Better For Business Email: Outlook Or Gmail
Your choice of email client between Outlook vs Gmail comes down to the features you want as well as which productivity suite you prefer. If youve already committed to productivity software, use the corresponding email app. If not, Gmail is the better option for collaborative teams . Small businesses looking for advanced features and security will find that Outlook is best.
Helps You Target Global Communities
One of the great things about using a custom domain email is that you can tweak it to target communities in specific regions. This increases your chances of coming up on the first SERP as it cuts down the competition from other brands, particularly if you operate within a competitive niche.
Pro Tip: Whether you need a .IO domain name or a .AE domain, OnlyDomains has a range of global domains for you to choose from, so you can target the communities that matter the most to your business.
Setting Up Distribution Lists In The Outlook Web App
The web application for the popular e-mail program in Office 365 allows you to define distribution groups with a single e-mail address. Messages sent to the address of a distribution group are automatically sent to all members of the group without you having to add each person to the address line.
Step 1: Open your web browser and log in to Office 365 with your user credentials.
Step 2: Select the Outlook Web App.
Step 3: Click the gear icon in the menu bar and click Mail under Your app settings.
Step 4: In the left sidebar, go to the General section and choose Distribution groups.
Step 5: Click the plus sign under Distribution Groups I Own to create a new distribution list in Outlook.
Your Outlook Web App opens the New distribution group window.
Step 6: Configure your distribution group: Enter a user-friendly display name and alias and specify the e-mail address that you want to use for sending messages to the distribution list. You can enter a description for the distribution list and its function in the Notes field. Select the Make this group a security group checkbox if you want to create a closed group.
You are automatically entered as the group owner.
Security groups are managed by owners of the group. Only owners can add new contacts or remove members.
Step 7: Define other group owners who will have the same group rights as you. Click the plus sign to add people from your address book as owners.
Joining
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Gives Your Online Business Permanence
Once you pay for a domain name, its all yours, and essentially taken off the books. This means no other businesses can snap up or steal your name, ensuring your business is legitimate and appears professional in the eyes of customers. It also makes it harder for others to pretend to be you.
Pro-tip: Youll still need to update your domain once a year, though, so be sure to set up an automatic renewal so you dont forget.
What Is The Best Professional Email Hosting Option
Okay, so youve decided on a custom email domain. But what is the best option to host and handle your emails?
You have several different options, from using the options included with your hosting provider to opting for a premium solution like , which is what we use here at Kinsta.
Our entire team gets trustworthy, branded email addresses, but they also get to keep the familiar UX of Gmail for their business communication.
And thats the tip of the iceberg.
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Create A Buzz With Your Personalized Business Email Address
Having an email address that identifies who you are and what you do is the best way to stay ahead of the pack. Nothing says you mean business like a personalized domain name. Thats why at mail.com, we offer our customers over 200 domain names to choose from. Our domains cover a wide range of professions, from accountant.com to teachers.org. Or you can select a domain name like cyberservices.com or qualityservice.com to express what makes your small business special. And with your mail.com account, you are not just limited to one office email id. Manage and create up to 10 email addresses in a single work email inbox.
Verify Your Domain Name With Google Workspace
Next, youll need to verify your domain name with Google Workspace by adding something called a TXT record. Depending on how you have things configured, you can do this at either:
- The place where you registered your domain name
Google Workspace will provide detailed instructions for most popular hosts/registrars.
Heres what it looks like to add the TXT record using cPanel :
To get a domain name, youll need to call dibs with ICANN. ICANN is a global non-profit authority that maintains records on which domain and IP address belongs to whom and manages access to them.
But ICANN doesnt provide registration services, it only maintains records. Thats where domain name registrars come into play.
The primary role of a register is to:
- Coordinate claims on different domain names.
- Match specific domain names with Domain Name System nameservers.
- Ensure that there are no duplicate domain names.
Technically speaking, you are not buying a domain name from a registrar company, but reserve its usage for a specified time. You can pay to reserve a domain for 1-10 years at a time, depending on the registrar. After your initial subscription expires, youll need to renew it and pay a fee again. You can re-purchase your domain name over and over again.
When registering a domain name, you sign a long-term lease of your domain . You can read more about the domain costs here.
In practice, all of the above is much simpler than you think as we will show below.
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Create A Google Workspace Account And Follow The Wizard
To get started, website and follow the account setup wizard to configure the basic details, like which custom domain you want to use with Google Workspace. This will be the domain name at the end of your email address e.g. @yoursite.com:
If youre the only person who will be using Google Workspace , youre finished once you complete the wizard. If you want to give other people custom email addresses, you can also do that after completing the initial setup wizard:
How To Get A Free Business Email Using Google Workspace
Step 1) Go to this link. To start off, it is recommended that you choose the smallest plan. It is easy to upgrade the plan later based upon your usage needs.
Step 2) will ask you the basic information about your company. The most important field in this section is the country of your business location, which cannot be changed later.
To begin with, in the number of employee section, you can choose Just you.
Step 3) Since you are creating Google Workspace account for the first time, an administration must be assigned to your business email domain. This information can be changed later.
Step 4) You have an option to use an existing professional domain name. In this guide, we will register a new domain with Google.
In the next screen, click on NO I NEED ONE button.
Step 5) allows you to search your desired custom email domain.
Many a times, your desired domain may not be available. Google Workspace will display alternative domains that can be booked. You can also use domain name generator tools to come up with unique domain name ideas.
Once you have confirmed the availability of the domain, click on Next button. The domains are privacy protected.
In the next screen,
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Is Gmail A Professional Choice For Business
Some countries, like China, revere a Gmail address for business. The business culture there is different from the Western world.
In China, they view Gmail and Hotmail accounts as branding, kind of like online fashion for your emails. However, China banned its netizens from accessing Google accounts back in 2014.
Owning a Google account is forbidden, and communication through Gmail accounts is illegal.
However, having a Gmail address for your business email account is tacky and unprofessional in the Western world.
That said, many small businesses and freelancers rely on gmail.com for its free webmail services. If you want to take your Google account to the next level, consider signing up with G Suite for a $6 monthly subscription.
With G Suite, you have the option of connecting custom domains, replacing the @gmail.com with your custom variant.
You also get access to plenty of inclusions, such as the built-in inbox security features and productivity and collaboration tools like Google Sheets, Docs, and Slides.
Check out YouTube for a tutorial explaining the advantages of using G Suite and Gmail for business.
Why Is It Worth It
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Gives You A Chance To Customize
One of the great perks of a custom domain email is the customization options. You can easily personalize your brands email account with multiple different email addresses, each associated with your business.
This is especially helpful if you have multiple departments and employees, and will ensure customers are directed to the right person in the team. Just head to your email client, add an account and assign it to your new colleague or team member.
Not only this, but a custom domain name can set your brand apart from others in your industry. If you specialize in AI and tech, for example, you could opt for a domain name ending in .AI. Though the .AI domain originates from Anguilla, its often used by companies in the tech space to show their innovation, marking them as industry leaders in AI. Subtle right?
Setting Up Email Forwarding For A Shopify
Email forwarding is a service that enables you to direct an email message thatâs sent to one email address to another email address. If you have a Shopify-managed domain, then you can set up an unlimited number of custom domain email addresses that forward to an email account hosted by a third-party. For example, if you own the domain name johns-apparel.com, then you can create the custom domain email address info@johns-apparel.com for your customers to contact and set the forwarding email address to your personal account john@gmail.com. When customers send an email message to info@johns-apparel.com, the email message is forwarded to your existing personal account john@gmail.com.
To help ensure that email messages are forwarded successfully, add a Sender Policy Framework record to your Shopify-managed domain.
If you use a third-party domain, then you canât set up email forwarding addresses from your Shopify admin. Email forwarding or hosting might be offered by your third-party domain provider, or you can transfer your domain to Shopify.
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What Is A Business Email
A business email is a professional email address dedicated to a companys custom domain name. It differs from generic email addresses because it contains the business name instead of a regular Gmail or Yahoo address.
Anyone can create generic email addresses. Business emails can only be used by employees and leaders working at a specific organization.
How Do I Create A Professional Email Address
With your professional email address, you should aim to project a sense of confidence in your brand, company or organization. Once you have selected a domain name that reflects your business or profession, we find that the most popular choice for a professional user name is your first name + surname. After you have decided on your preferred work email address, you can check its availability and create a business email account with mail.com.
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How To Sign Up For An Email Hosting Service
Chances are that your domain provider will also offer email hosting services, but you do have the option to connect your domain elsewhere. Make sure that whoever you choose offers fair pricing, strong security and plenty of storage. Your email host will handle the backend for your email address, meaning that it will communicate with the rest of the Internet to send and receive your emails, as well as store your incoming emails and files.
You have two options available when creating custom email addresses: forwards and mailboxes. The forward option will forward any incoming emails that are sent to your custom address to another specified email address you own, but will not let you send emails from your custom address. A mailbox, on the other hand, will let you send and receive emails from your domain email address.
Setting Up A Business Email Address Without Domain Name Registration
Depending on the type of business you have, you may simply wish to set up a business email address without registering a domain name. This is often the case with many sole traders who work with just one or two clients and do not require a web presence.
Many of these accounts are free of charge. UK Mail Exchange, Mail.com, Gmail, and Freeola are all popular choices, some of which will allow you to personalise your business email address with a professional extension.
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Why Its Important To Have A Professional Email Address
Aside from being an assertive communication and professionalism tool, a branded email address is important for multiple reasons.
It Projects Professionalism
Unlike many business decisions, choosing between a business domain email and a free email is black and white. Using a business domain email address is a baseline requirement if you want your company to come off as professional.
When you provide your business email address to customers and prospects, dont expect them to be impressed by the fact that you use a business domain email. Doing so is more about avoiding the alternative using a free email account for your business purposes is a terrible mistake.
Which of the following email addresses seems more professional jdoe@acmeplumbing.com or acmeplumbing@gmail.com?
Using a Gmail account makes customers and prospects wonder if your business is more a side project than a serious business. Using a business domain account gives people the impression that you take your business seriously and have set up a dedicated communication channel to serve your customers.
You Stand Out from the Competition
Using a free email account for business looks awful. Thats common knowledge. But there will always be a few companies that didnt get the memo.
For some people, seeing that generic email address will make them move on to a different company one like yours that has a professional image, complete with a domain email address.
It Establishes Your Brand
Create Your Business Email Address Today
Using an email address that contains your company name makes you look more legitimate than if you were to use a generic one from an email service provider. A custom business email address is a simple yet effective way of boosting your credibility and promoting your brand.
In this post, we walked you through four methods you can use to create a business email address. You can create one via cPanel with hosting providers that include it with plans, as well as GoDaddy if youre looking for a hosting plan that includes a free domain and email. However, both and Office 365 let you use custom domains with their paid services, too.
Finally, if youre on a tight budget, you can check out our guide on how to get a free email domain.
Do you have any questions about creating a business email address that includes your domain name? Let us know in the comments section below!
Free guide
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Get Down To Business With Free Professional Email From Mailcom
In business, the last thing you want to do is take your eye off the prize to worry about small thingslike email. Most free business email accounts cut corners and because of that, they fail to deliver the goods. At mail.com, weve designed our platform around your needs to create an email service that outperforms other work email addresses and puts you on the fast track to success. Complete with powerful tools, features and mobile apps weve revolutionized email from the ground up. This includes cutting-edge email security that protects your business correspondence and documents, safeguards your privacy, and keeps spam out of your inbox.
Connect Your Email To An Email Client
Next, if you chose to host your email through your hosting platform, you’ll need to connect your email address to an email client.
To do this, you’ll log in to your hosting platform, go to the “Email” section, and find a button that says “Set up Mail Client” or something to that affect.
This will walk you through the process of setting up your email with Outlook, Gmail, or any mail app.
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