What’s in a domain name (corny, I know, but too obvious to pass up…)? A lot, as it turns out. As freelancers who are dependent on e-mail to keep our businesses running, domain names are very, very important. The three basic options when it comes to e-mail are:
- Use a domain name provided by your Internet Service Provider (ISP), for example yourname@comcast.net, @earthlink.net, etc.
- Use a domain name provided by a free or fee-based e-mail service, for example yourname@gmail.com, @yahoo.com, etc.
- Use your own domain name, for example yourname@yourdomain.com
Having your professional e-mail attached to a domain that you don’t own has a few disadvantages:
- You are at the domain owner’s mercy. When I first started freelancing back in the days of dialup Internet, I learned this the hard way after moving cross country. I kept the ISP I had used in Boston and several months later, they stopped offering dialup access in Colorado *on one day’s notice,* and there went a good bit of the effort I had put into my nascent freelance business. As cable companies merge, similar things can happen if your cable provider changes its name and thus its domain names.
- Your own domain looks more professional. Not to point fingers, but when I receive a professional e-mail from a Hotmail address, I have the same reaction as when I see the “Get your free business cards at…” imprint on the back of someone’s card. It makes me think that this person will not even invest $25-$50 in their business to create a professional image.
- You risk having to change your e-mail address at some point. When you work in a business where probably 90%+ of your contact with clients is by e-mail, having to change your e-mail address is something you want to avoid at all costs, especially if the old address becomes inactive at some point
After doing some unscientific research, I’ve come to the conclusion that many freelance translators just don’t know how easy it is to purchase and use your own domain. So, here’s a short lesson (now you have no excuse to keep using Hotmail!).
- Do your homework *before* you determine whether your desired domain name is available. Do not assume that just because there is no website at a given web address (URL), that means that the domain name is available. First, read this article on Important Precautions to Take When Buying a Domain Name from The Site Wizard. Be a little paranoid and follow the advice there: make a list of domain names before you ever log on to a registrar; pick the registrar you want before you search for your domain name; never run your potential domain name by anyone you don’t trust completely and when you find out that your desired domain name is available, purchase it immediately.
- Buy the domain name from a domain name registrar. Thanks to The Site Wizard for another excellent article on How to Register Your Own Domain Name. This doesn’t mean that I endorse the domain registrars that are listed there, but they’re a good place to start. Your ISP may also provide domain name registration services (just make sure you really trust the ISP!). Domain name registration should cost you about $10 a year; don’t go with a fly-by-night registrar just to save a dollar or two. In my case I register my domain through my ISP because I trust them more than I trust myself, and they will automatically renew my domain name and bill me for it (more on domain name renewals below).
- If necessary, purchase an e-mail hosting package so that you can use your domain name for e-mail. If you want to put a website at your domain, e-mail access will probably come with your web hosting package. If you just want to use your domain name for e-mail, you need an e-mail hosting package. For example (and again, I’m not endorsing them, this just gives a good example), GoDaddy has e-mail hosting packages for as little as $1.19 a month. Even the most expensive package, which gives you 10 e-mail addresses and unlimited storage is $2.50 a month.
- Don’t forget to renew your domain name. Of anything you need to remember about having your own domain, this is the most important. Especially if you purchase your domain for only one year at a time, make sure you’re clear on how the domain name registrar is going to contact you to ask you to renew; a cut-rate registrar may “forget” to remind you to renew, then one day you go to check your e-mail and you’re locked out. You can semi-circumvent this problem by purchasing a multi-year domain name subscription, but you should still make sure you don’t forget to renew it.
- Follow the domain name registrar’s instructions on how to use your e-mail. If you purchase a hosting package with unlimited storage you can probably use your registrar’s web mail if you want to, or you can use an e-mail program on your computer. Your domain name registrar should be able to give you instructions on how to do this.
Now, what are you waiting for? Go to it!
Corinne:
This is a great post! And such an important one.
Like you, about 18 months ago I started having some unpleasant surprises from my cable provider where all my email addresses (personal and professional) were hosted. Emails were deleted before they arrived in my inbox. The service was constantly interrupted and when restored I could not get the emails I had lost in space…
I finally switched my professional email address to be attached to my domain name (which I had purchased when I started my business).
I have not had one single issue to report in the last 18 months.
And the customer service I have received from the domain name company is so superior to the one from my local company.
And some of my clients think I am a big shot agency now…chut!!!!
Good advice. In my case, it helped that I have an unusual name, so there wasn’t much chance that it would be taken.
I’d also advise that you use a different service to register your domain name and get hosting. A lot of ISPs will register your domain name for you, but this can complicate matters if you decide to change hosts.
I agree with Ryan’s suggestion. I have found I can have more control if I register my name separately from who I host with. That way, I totally control the name and do not have to depend on them. Had a bad experience with Network Solutions in the “old days” with that.
It’s so easy to have your own domain name these days, there’s really no reason not to.
I highly recommend Google Apps for Your Domain. It’s all the great features of Gmail, for free, but with your own domain used at all levels (it’s not just forwarding email into a standard @gmail.com account).
I agree with Aaron, Google Apps is amazing and very reliable
I totally agree. I’ve had my own domain name from day one. While image may not be everything in the professional world, it counts for a lot. Having your own domain name says you’re concerned about a quality image, while relying on gmail or another free provider often gives the impression that you’re not bothered; some may even think you only do translation as a side-of-the-desk activity rather than a serious profession.
Rob
Great post!
I would also recommend buying alternative domain names, for example .com plus the extension for your own country, or a different language version of your domain name, if only to prevent someone else from using a domain name that is very similar to yours. You can ask your ISP to set these up as aliases of your domain name, so that they will all lead to your website.
Great post, Corinne! I had my own website created and domain registered at the beginning of the year, and I know people find it a lot more professional when you contact them from a yourname@yourdomain.com address.
I’ll be sharing this post with other colleagues who still don’t have their own domain name.
It’s amazing how many professionals in our business still don’t get it regarding e-mail domains. They are absolutely convinced that an AOL, T-Online or Gmail address looks just as good as one using their own business domain name. I used to argue about such things until I realized that Barney Frank is right: it makes more sense to have a dispute with a dining room table.
In addition to what Percy recommends, I would also recommend that, when you purchase your domain name, to a) purchase slight variations of it as well (e.g.: DoeTranslation.com but also DoeTranslations.com), and b) purchase at the same time other domain names you think you might need in the future (or simply, that you don’t want other people to use in the future) so, in addition to DoeTranslation.com and DoeTranslations.com, also purchase JohnDoe.com)
For those of you who posted about Google Apps, if I already have a domain through someone else, can I use Google Apps for my email with that address, or does the domain have to be registered through Google? Basically, I’d like my professional email to show up in REPLY TO field consistently when I use Gmail….sometimes it shows my gmail address instead on certain email clients – even though it is supposed to show the REPLY TO that I have designated. Any ideas?
Eve,
You can use Google Apps for your email with your own professional domain. And it’s free. You need to create a Google Apps account and change the MX records for your domain, so that your email is managed directly by Google.
Here is how to do it:
http://www.google.com/support/a/bin/answer.py?answer=33352
I cannot thank you enough. I have been asking for this information for months on other ‘tech’ lists and no one had the answer. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Hynek!
Great post, Corinne. Agreed with everyone’s comments, especially Kevin’s spot-on one. There’s no reason any professional (translator, landscaper, dentist, lawyer) should be e-mailing anyone from a hotmail address. When I get e-mails from those addresses, I hit the delete button very quickly. Really, who wants to work with “translate4you@hotmail.com”?
Google Apps/Google Sites is great to get started and to get your entire website built yourself without the need for a brilliant web designer. We posted on our blog how to get started on that. It won’t be a top-of-the-line site, but it will be a site. Read more here: http://translationtimes.blogspot.com/2009/03/thanks-google-ten-dollar-website.html
Thanks for contribute this helpful article. Hope that you will maintain doing good article similar to this. I will be one of your loyal reader.
Hey, awesome post.
Good thoughts in this post, but if you use a free service like google apps, you just can’t expect to have any problem with the service solved quickly.
Isn’t reliability important?
I prefer using fastmail.fm for e-mail, you can have your own domain with an enhanced account.