Get an email address at your very own domain name by Roald Madison

Whether you're selling products, advertising services, or simply want an online presence for your business, having an email address at your own domain name is necessary. Sure, email services such as Yahoo, Hotmail, and Gmail are free and easy for beginners to set up. However, free email services have their disadvantages:

• Unprofessional -- free addresses look cheap on flyers, Internet sites, and business cards.
• Undependable -- there is no assurance that your email address will be supported in the future.
• Advertisements -- in your inbox and, worse yet, in your outgoing emails.

Getting your unique domain email address is more dependable over the long term and offers you more control over your email. And it certainly makes you look more respectable, dependable, and professional. Just follow these simple steps if you'd like to get one:
Come up with a good domain name
A domain name is the address of your online space. Yahoo.com is an example of a domain name. Brainstorm carefully for a name that's distinctive, easy to remember, and reflective of your brand name, company, or individuality. Try to stay away from immature or unprofessional names; you need to look for a name that will last you a long time. Also list down some second-choice names in case your preferred name has already been registered by another person.
Acquire your domain and web hosting

Register the domain name and sign up for web hosting. Web hosting provides your online space while your domain name is your online address. Think of it as the distinction between your home address and your actual house. You may want to get your domain name and web hosting separately, but choosing only one company is advisable for beginners. That way, you won't need to configure them to work together.

If your desired domain name has been registered by another person, you could try another domain name, or try the same name with a different extension. Examples of extensions are .com, .net, and .org. If yourbusiness.com is already taken, try yourbusiness.net.
As for web hosting, it's essential to find a quality web host. Below are some issues you should consider when signing up for email web hosting:

• Email accounts. If you own a company, you're not the only one who will use this domain for your email address. Make sure that your web host provides adequate email accounts to accommodate your business partners and employees so that they can enjoy the benefits as well.
• Email access. Ensure that you can access your email through your medium of choice, whether it's through a desktop application, a web browser, or your mobile phone.
• Spam protection. A good spam filtering system will save you a lot of time and frustration.
• Email features. You may want to send a regular bulletin or occasional promotion announcements to your customers. Or you may want to have separate email addresses for various business functions (such as customer feedback, support, and billing) -- all forwarded to just one address for easier retrieval. Look for email hosting that makes everything you need possible.
• The web hosting itself. Even if you just want an email address for now, you may want to use the same domain to set up a website in the future. Look for a web host that will accomplish all your potential needs.

Set up and try out your email address
You can use your web host's control panel to create your new email address. Once it has been created, figure out how you want to access your email. If you'd like to read email straight from your computer, make use of a desktop application like Outlook or Thunderbird. If you'd like to check your email on a web browser, ensure that your web host offers webmail access.
If you run into any problems while creating your account or configuring your email access, just have patience. Read your web host's instructions thoroughly and follow them to the letter. It certainly helps if your web host offers good technical support so you can get your email up and running quickly.
Once you've set up your email, test it thoroughly to see that it's working. Send some test emails to your new address. Use it to send outgoing emails as well.
Congratulations. You now have an original and professional email address under your own domain name.