How do I create my own email address?

Yesterday, I got a feedback mail from Charles Donner who wanted to know how he can create his own email address. I pointed him to pages in which I have detailed step by step instructions on how to create a Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo! Mail account.

In a few minutes, he replies – “I already have an email account at Hotmail and one at Gmail… these are generic email services… [what] I am looking for is to create my own email address such as charles@charlesdonner.com“.

What he was looking for was a email address on personalised domain name!

I suppose many readers would be interested in getting a personalized email address – something that’s distinctive and attractive. So here are the details on how to create your own email address.

Heads up – though such an email is not free, it will cost about $15 per year… and this is only for the domain name. The benefit is, if you take hosting, which would be about $40-50 per year, you can get hundreds of email addresses and even a chance to set up a blog / web site!

A brief on email addresses

All email addresses have the format someone@somewhere; for example, webdevelopersnotes@gmail.com is my Gmail account address. What appears before the at (@) sign is the ID (typically, your username) and what follows it, is the domain name. So the first thing you need for creating your own email address is to get a domain name.

How to get your own domain name

The easiest way to get your own domain name is to buy it. Though there are hundreds of companies that offer domain registration services, only a few are reliable. I recommend www.GoDaddy.com. I’m sure you have heard of them. They have been the largest domain name registrars in the world for many years now.

Important note: Contrary to what you read on the web sites of hosting companies, domain names do not come for free. These companies, if they do offer a “free domain name”, bundle it along with their web hosting package. If you stop using their web hosting services the following year you would still need to pay the domain name renewal charges!

Take my word for it; no company gives you a domain name for free. And if they do, there has to be a catch somewhere, right?

However, as I’ve mentioned, domain names are quite inexpensive costing around $15. An email on your own domain name is like a vanity car plate… you are expected to fork out some money for prestige!

Registering a domain name through GoDaddy

A domain name needs to be unique – no two web sites can have the same domain name. Your aim is to search for a domain name that is either your name or describes you or your business in some manner.

Head off to www.GoDaddy.com web site. Type in the domain name in the search box. If you are lucky you may find your desired domain name available on the first try. Else you need to go through this process again. I suggest reading the points below that may just help you in locating a domain name of choice.

Finding a suitable domain name

As mentioned above, domain names need to be unique. And in today’s scenario finding a suitable domain name can be quite an exercise. Why? Because all the good ones are already registered!

However, this should not discourage you. From time to time, I too go through this process and am able to get my hands at a “catchy” domain name. How? Patience and persistence. Here are some pointers to help you in your search for a good domain name.

• Since we are looking at creating your own email address, first check whether the domain name of your last name is available. This will probably work if you have an uncommon surname – imagine owning an email address like firstname@lastname.com – WOW! You can also try a domain name of your full name or just your first name (in that order).
• Domain names can contain dashes which can be used to separate your first and last names. This gives a great flexibility when hunting for a personalized domain name.
• Don’t just narrow the search to the .com extension. If you are in the UK, for instance, a .co.uk is more suited.
• Continuing the point above, www.GoDaddy.com offers several alternatives to the dot-com. A few of these might just appeal to you:
  • .me
  • .email
  • .cool
  • .online
  • .ninja
• No luck with your name? Hunt for domains that describe you in any fashion. For example, if hanniballector.com is unavailable, pyschopathickiller.com would aptly describe the evil murderer from The Silence of the Lambs.
• Do not use numbers unless, of course, they are a part of your name (???) or describe you in some way (Idea: number1dad.com)

OK, you have the domain name – how do you create your own email address?

The company from where you purchased the domain name will also provide you the email service. You would be able to create not one but multiple email addresses of your own. The charges will be extra, however.

What I like about www.GoDaddy.com is that they often have great deals on the domain and email account bundle. Once you get your own email address, you can contact the support at GoDaddy to help you in using this service.