Do I Need A Com Domain Extension For My Business
The .com domain is the original extension for e-commerce companies, and its still the leading domain extension today.
However, the dot.com domain doesnt have the same effect it used to in search queries. Today, Google prioritizes local searches to local domains.
Therefore, if youre running an accountancy business in New York, you dont need to go with the .com or .org extension.
Choosing a local domain extension, like .nyc, is a better option, especially for rising through search and SERP rankings.
These custom domain extensions look great on your business card and online, adding more value to your brand identity.
One of the biggest issues with choosing a .com domain is the cost. Some premium domains sell for thousands of dollars. If youre bootstrapping your startup, you cant afford that expense.
A local custom domain like .nyc is more affordable, and youll probably find what youre looking for, and it costs you less than $10.
Register Your Domain Name
Choose a reliable domain registrar like or Namecheap. Search for an available .com, .co, or other popular domain with a combination of your full name, or your company name.
Stay away from untrusted or cheezy domains like .biz and others. After youve chosen your domain name, proceed to checkout, and you will have become the proud owner of a new domain name.
Forward An Email To An Existing Email Address
If you only plan to use your custom email address to receive mail, the easiest option is to forward it to an existing email address to which you already have access using the Catch-All option provided by your registrar.
Search for the Redirect Mail option, then click on Add Catch-All. In the Forward to field, add the address you want mails to be forwarded to. Then save everything.
Catch-all forwarding will forward all emails sent to the improbable.guru domain to one of our other email addressesnot just david@improbable.guru, but any username you can think of. Hit any random selection of keys and add @improbable.guru after it. Send an email to the resulting address, and it will get through.
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Adding Images From Wixs Free Gallery
If you click on any strip and youll have a change background option that lets you add a background color, or videos and images.
For those last two, you can upload/embed your own OR use Wixs FREE images and video gallery!
Very handy indeed.
When you select video or image from the background settings, youll have a free from Wix option.
Find something you like, drop that bad boy in.
Make Your Own Website With A Website Builder
When people think to themselves gee, Id love to create my own website a lot of them remember those Youtube Wix ads or Joe Rogan talking about how great Squarespace is.
Website builders are the all-inclusive package of the website building world
With one service, you get:
They make a lot of life easier.
BUT theyre not our favorite way to create a website for two reasons:
That being said, we have a step by step guide on how to build your own website with website builders below if this is the way you want to go!
Pros
AND WordPress gives you complete control over your website.
With plugins and themes, you can build just about any website without learning how to code at all.
If you learn a bit of coding, you can definitely do anything you want!
Plus, since basically every one of the best web hosting services has a one-click installer for WordPress, a way to buy domain names through them, and email, the only real downside is that it might take you a bit longer to learn how to build the exact website you want with WordPress.
But were here for you on that front people!
Below weve got a complete guide on how to make your own website with WordPress.
Pros
- Complete control over your website design
- Easily add features with themes and plugins
Cons
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Helps Increase Brand Awareness
Using a business email address will set you apart from the crowd. Anyone can create a simple Gmail, Yahoo, or Hotmail account, but youre not just anyone. Youre a business.
Show customers that youre serious about your brand by swapping your generic email for one with a customized domain. Not only will this help increase brand awareness, but it will also make you appear more established in your niche.
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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Add Google Workspace Users
If youre not the only employee in your company, this is the best time to add the other users. Especially if you already use a different email service to handle emails.
Fill out the name and username, and click the Add New User button.
Repeat for all members of your staff.
If your company already has email addresses, ensure that every username matches the existing one exactly.
Make Sure Google Cant Shut Down Your Email Account
When you own your own domain name, its yours. You no longer have to worry about Gmail shutting down your email account.
Google can shut down your Gmail account because they own gmail.com. They dont have to give you an account for free. They do but there are terms and if you break those terms, your email account can be shut down instantly! There wont be any notice or getting it back its gone!
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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.
Activate Gmail For Your Google Workspace Account
The final step is to activate Gmail for your Google Workspace accounts.
On the page, youll see the following MX records:
- aspmx.l.google.com / priority = 1
- alt3.aspmx.l.google.com / priority = 10
- alt4.aspmx.l.google.com / priority = 10
Youll need to open a new tab and go to your hosts DNS tool, or re-open the DNS tool tab from earlier.
Typically, you would need to copy and paste manually, but not with Kinsta. Since we are big fans of Google Workspace, we have created a one-click solution for helping our customers setting this up quickly.
Simply access Kinsta DNS through MyKinsta, and click the Add Gmail MX Records button at the top of the page.
The MX records, like nameservers, are the same, regardless of the user, so you dont have to change anything. Press the Add 5 records button to proceed.
Since it can take some time for the changes to go live, you can take a tea or coffee break before continuing.
Alternative Method For Other Hosts
For other hosts, youd need to access your DNS tool, for example, through logging into your cPanel and opening DNS Zone Editor.
Select the appropriate domain, and then click the Add Record button to open a new window.
Fill out the appropriate priority and then copy and paste the destination. Double-check that everything is correct, and click Add Record to complete. Repeat the process for the four alternative MX destinations.
If your host has email enabled by default, you might need to remove existing MX records.
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How To Make A Free Business Email Address
Do you need to create a free business email address? A professional email address is important when youre trying to win new clients.
In this article, well show you how to create a free business email address at your own domain. This will make your business look professional and trustworthy.
First, lets clear up a few questions about email addresses and domains.
Choose A Theme For Your Website
With WordPress, you can customize every aspect of your website such as buttons, text animations, color schemes, background images, and MUCH more.
If youre logged into WordPress, you can hover over Appearance and click on Themes. The just click the Add New button at the top. From here you can choose from over 1500 free themes!
Now you may be wondering, Which one do I pick??? Where do I start??
Well, heres my Top 5 recommendations for free themes that offer the most functionality, customization, and user-friendly experience :
Again just click on Appearance > Themes > Add New.
You can preview over 1500 free themes and select your favorite. But if this is your first website, then I HIGHLY recommend Astra. Its free, incredibly user-friendly, and makes customizing your first website a breeze. Just click on the search box to search for a theme.
Then just click Install on your theme.
Then, just click Activate.
So once youve selected and installed a new theme, you can start changing the colors, fonts, and overall look of your website. Heres how to get there
Step 1. Hover over your website title at the top left of the dashboard and click Visit Site .
Youll then be taken to your website which now has a lot of sample text and is overall pretty empty
Step 2. To start changing colors, buttons, fonts, etc. just click on the Customize button at the top of the page.
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Choose A Hosting Plan And Sign Up For Bluehost
As we discussed earlier, all Bluehost hosting plans come with free custom email domains. So to start with, head over to Bluehost and click on the Get Started Now button.
On the next screen, youll see details of the available Bluehost plans. All of these plans will let you create an email domain for free, but you should consider all the other features to make the best pick for your needs.
Click on the Select button under your desired plan to continue.
Next, well be creating your new domain name.
Create The Domain Name Email Address
Now all the emails sent to will be sent to your personal email address.
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Let Google Workspace Manage Your Email
Google handles email exceptionally well. One of Google’s many services is Workspace, formerly known as Gsuite. This tool is primarily designed for businesses, although there is nothing to stop you from signing up as an individual.
All you need to do is work through the wizard. When asked for the business name, put your own nameand set the number of employees to Just You.
When asked for your business domain name, enter the domain name you bought earlier. Agree to the terms and conditions, then select your plan.
Next, Google will ask you to verify ownership of the domain by adding a TXT record for the domain.
Visit your registrar again, and click on Advanced DNS, find the section marked Host Records, and click on Add a New Record.
For the type, select TXT, set @ as the host, and in the value field, paste the string given to you by Google. Set the TTL as low as possible, then hit Save All Changes.
You need to set five MX records. Scroll down to mail settings and from the available options, select Custom MX. The host value for all of these is your Domain name, and the values and priorities are as follows:
- ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM, 1
- ALT3.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM, 10
- ALT4.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM, 10
Once you have saved these changes, you will be able to send and receive emails with your custom address through Google Workspace.
Choose Your Initial Branding
Once youve got some concept of what kind of site you want to build and why, its branding time.
Some companies spend millions to have giant teams of people do this for them.
So the possibilities are endless.
But we dont need to get that fancy for now.
When it comes to create my own website types like you, branding basically means the colors and fonts youll use on your site.
Your logo too.
A lot of times you dont have to think too hard on this because you can start with a website template that comes with certain font and color options.
Just go with those because there are literally people whose entire job is to pick the right fonts and colors for things and we dont want you to waste too much time here!
That being said, having a bit of knowledge of how to choose good colors and fonts is helpful for making a site thats fire.
Website color schemes
Color is a big part of the website designing game.
There’s a ton of psychology behind what colors mean and how to use them effectively, but here are the basics of what colors mean:
- Black = luxury, power, elegance, and sophistication.
- Gray = simplicity, neutrality, logic, and the future.
- Red = urgency, excitement, danger, and passion.
- Pink = sweetness, femininity, innocence, and romance.
- Yellow = optimism, cheerfulness, and youth.
- Orange = creativity, friendliness, and enthusiasm.
- Purple = success, wisdom, wealth, and royalty.
- Green = health, wealth, peacefulness, and nature.
- Blue = security, stability, trust, and calmness.
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Next Learn More Ways To Use Your Free Business Email
Thats it! Youve now created a free business email address at your own business domain.
Do you want to do more with your new email account?
Next, we can show you how to easily get messages from your contact form to your business email address. Check out this article on the best free WordPress contact form plugins to learn more.
Specify Your Smtp And Server Credentials
Here, you will specify your SMTP Server, Email Username, and Password. Your SMTP in simpler terms helps google locate where your domain email originally sent and received messages. For specifics, I would recommend going to your respective support page. For NameCheap, I also recommend that you choose port 465 and secure the connection with SSL.
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How To Use Gmail With Your Own Domain For Free
This beginners guide will take you through the setup process of connecting your custom domain to your Gmail account, for free. This allows you to use Gmail to send emails from your @gmail.com email address, or from your custom domain email address.
Before we begin, youll first need email hosting for your domain name. Dont worry, weve got you covered. Well show you a quick and easy method to getting your own email hosting at an affordable cost through one of our recommended email hosting providers, Bluehost.
Why Not Just Use Googles G Suite
In case you havent heard, of its free apps.
For people like you looking to create their first pro website, the most important benefits of G Suite are additional Google Drive storage and support for custom domain email addresses.
But, thatll cost you $5 per month nothing crazy but thats an extra $60 a year you can spend on other cool tools to grow your website.
And, as it turns out, if you already have a custom domain name and a professional email address from your hosting company, theres actually a way to use your websites custom domain with Gmail for free!
So lets go over how to make a professional email address and connect it to Gmail in 4 easy steps.
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Sign Up For An Email Hosting Service
Now that youve got your domain, its time to sign up for an email hosting service.
Most domain providers offer a hosting plan, but you do have the option of connecting your domain to an entirely different hosting provider. There are a few things youll want to consider when choosing your email and web hosting service:
- Whats their pricing?
- Do they have a secure platform with strong security?
- How much storage capability do they have?
Your email hosting provider will deal with the backend of your email address, so you dont have to do this manually. They will help you deal with incoming emails and communicate with the rest of the web to ensure files are sent and received properly.