Email makes up the majority of business communication, and it's important to make sure your emails are sent and received through reputable, secure means. 

If you've ever received an email from a free email host — like Yahoo or Gmail — with a business-like title and address, you've likely doubted its authenticity. Custom domains offer peace of mind that you're doing business as, and with, the company in the "From" line. 

Custom domains also come with several other benefits, which are typically offered standard through your web hosting or domain provider.

Why use a custom domain for email?

Let's take a look at some of the main reasons you'll want to use your own domain:

Authority

A primary reason to use a custom domain for your email is to establish your professionalism and credibility.

While using a free email address extension like Gmail or Yahoo may be initially convenient for you to set up, it does not carry the authority of a custom domain. Your correspondents might be confused about a work message coming from an apparently non-work address, or suspect your message is spam, a scam, or a phishing attempt. 

Consistency

Using a custom domain shows consistency across your brand, promoting your website and company name. Every email you send reinforces your brand with customers or potential customers. 

In some industries, custom domains contribute to meeting compliance standards.

Scalability

As your business grows, your custom domain can support the expansion. You can add email addresses for specific people, departments, or projects with their own aliases. Most service providers offer administration tools that make it easy to manage the access, storage capacity, and other settings of each individual email account. 

Security

Complete control of your emails means you're able to manage accounts and delete them if necessary. Custom domain emails often include more advanced spam protection and enhanced encryption, and allow your company to protect its sensitive data.

Marketing campaigns

If you plan on collecting email addresses for newsletters or marketing campaigns, or want to have contact forms on your website, you'll want a custom domain email address. 

Using a free email account for these types of communications can result in emails going straight to spam or being flagged as malicious. When your website and email addresses don't match, email deliverability can become a headache — you might end up constantly monitoring and fixing issues when your messages aren't landing in inboxes.

How to set up your email account

Most domain registrars — like GoDaddy and Namecheap — offer business email address functionality. 

What's great is that the pricing for custom email is surprisingly affordable, with prices as low as $0.99 a month. Some domains are even free, depending on your domain provider. The step-by-step process for setting up a custom email address is easy, and depending on the route you take, there's no need to edit MX or DNS records. 

Here's how to do it:

1. Pick a domain name

If you don’t already run a website or own a domain name, you'll want to purchase one from a domain registrar or web hosting company. If you're picking out a new domain name for the first time, you may want to shop around to see who offers bundled hosting, domain name, and email with features that make sense to you. 

2. Choose an email hosting provider

Once your domain name is registered, you'll need to decide if you want your email host to be the same as where you manage your domain, which may be the same as who hosts your website. 

Just because you host your website or domain name with one company doesn't mean you need to use their email service. You're able to choose another company and even incorporate something like Google Workspace.

3. Set up your email

If you're using the same company to host your email as you are for your domain name, you can skip this step. If you're using a different company to handle email, you'll want to verify ownership of the domain name by providing a TXT record, MX record, and potentially a DKIM for enhanced security to the DNS settings of your domain provider. 

This can be done by accessing the DNS management section of your domain registrar account. Your email hosting service will provide the TXT record, MX record, and DKIM information you'll be adding. Copy the record information from your email hosting service to your domain name registrar.

4. Choose your email accounts

With your email host selected, you'll want to create a new email account under your domain name. If your email host and domain registrar are the same, you can easily create an account such as info [at] example.com or name [at] example.com. 

You'll create your account names, settings, and passwords in this step, which will then be used to log into the addresses later. The good news is, if you’re using multiple email accounts and addresses, an AI-powered email platform like Superhuman makes inbox management a breeze.

5. Configure your email client

In order to access your new custom email address, you'll need to connect it to a client like Outlook, Thunderbird, or even the Gmail app on your phone. 

This is done through a process known as IMAP or POP3. IMAP syncs your emails across multiple places, whereas POP3 delivers the email to that device only, permanently removing it from the server. Your email host will have the credentials needed to log into your email account from your email client.

If you're searching for the right email platform, Superhuman is the fastest email experience ever made, and it was built for teams using Gmail and Outlook. Superhuman makes it easy to manage your inbox, respond to what matters most, and reach Inbox Zero. 

6. Test your email

It's always a great idea to send yourself a test email from another account to make sure you can receive emails. Send a test from your new email address, too. Make sure your emails aren't being marked as spam and that you're happy with the timeliness of delivery. 

And just like that, you've got a custom business email address. Depending on your email host, you may be able to employ extra security and back up your emails. 

To be even more professional, it's a great idea to add a custom signature for consistent branding and to quickly share information about you and your business.

Managing a busy inbox

As your business grows, your inbox will too. Keeping your inbox organized and productive is a key component to running a successful business. 

Superhuman is the fastest email experience ever made, saving teams over 10 million hours each and every year. AI-powered features like Instant Reply and Ask AI help you fly through your inbox twice as fast.

Ready to move faster and collaborate more effectively? Try Superhuman today.