Definition
💡 A custom email domain is like a personalized license plate for your email address, and it's the part of your email after the “@” symbol.
When you normally create an email account with a provider like Gmail, you're given an address that ends in "@gmail.com". This is practical for personal use, but for a more professional look, especially in business communications, a custom email domain is highly desired.
For instance, instead of yourname@gmail.com, you could have an email like contact@yourbusiness.com. This not only reinforces your brand but also communicates a level of professionalism that a standard Gmail or Yahoo address doesn't.
Best of all, a single custom email domain can be associated with multiple email accounts. Here are some examples:
- contact@yourbusiness.com for general inquiries.
- support@yourbusiness.com for customer support.
- john@smith.com for one family member.
- mary@smith.com for another family member.
How to make a custom email domain
The creation of a custom email domain is made simple thanks to domain name registrars, which allow you to register any available domain name in a few simple steps:
- Choose a reliable registrar. Popular options include Namecheap, Porkbun, and GoDaddy.
- Search for your desired domain name. For example, if your surname is "Smith," then you might consider registering "smith.com" for your personal email account or something like "smithaccounting.com" for your business email.
- If your desired domain is available, proceed to register it (this will cost some money annually). If not (popular domain names like "smith" almost certainly won't be available), you may need to get creative or choose an alternative domain extension (like .net or .biz instead of .com).
For a more in-depth guide, including screenshots and specific instructions for popular registrars and email hosts, check out our article on how to create a custom email address.
What does “connect a custom domain” mean?
Registering a custom domain name is the first step toward creating custom email addresses, but it's not the only step. In order to actually use your custom domain for email, you need to connect it to an email service, which is why most providers give you the option to connect a custom domain.
The process of connecting a custom domain name to your email service of choice depends on the specific provider you're using, but it always involves you updating your domain's DNS (Domain Name System) settings.
Specifically, you need to add MX (Mail Exchanger) records provided by your email host to tell email servers where to deliver any email sent to an address ending in your custom email domain name.
