Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

How do I keep the same email address for the long run?

Jun 5, 2008 10:19PM PDT

I am a self-employed consultant who relies heavily on email to stay in touch with clients, business contacts, and friends. Years ago, I used an AOL address, but then migrated to a comcast account when I got their broadband service. I just switched over to Verizon FIOS (much more reliable!) and am faced with trying to let dozens of people know I have a new address (since I don't want to keep paying Comcast just to use their email account). And, who knows, I may leave Verizon in a few years. I am uncomfortable with a Gmail account since I don't necessarily like Google's computers reading my emails and deciding what ads to serve based on the content.

I am thinking I should just get my own domain name and set up email with it. That way, I can keep it for life. Is that a good idea? If so, what hosting service should I use? I've heard of GoDaddy because of their superbowl ads, but don't know where else to look. Suggestions?

Thanks.

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
Your new domain ...
Jun 5, 2008 10:40PM PDT

is forever (that is, as long as you pay the yearly fee). Your host is only for the time of the contract. Your domain can be switched between hosts, if you like.

The advantages of such:
- You can have your own website with general information on your consulting work. Might give some hits and work.
- It looks much more professional to have an emailaddress in your own domain than any hotmail or gmail or aol-address. For example, s.algoud@algoud_consulting.com is better then s.algoud85@gmail.com and if the firm grows, your colleague will be j.doe@algoud.com.
- It will stay as long as you want.

On the short run, the most important thing is that your new provider has webmail (so you can use your account from anywhere) and possibly pop3-also, so you can keep using Outlook or Thunderbird as you are used to. If webmail, be sure it has enough capacity to store all necessary mails. And a good uptime and guarantees for backup (if using webmail) are nice also.

On the long run, you might be interested in tools to host your own website. But, as I said, it's rather easy to switch hosts.

I'm sure some of our American members will have suggestions for reliable hosters.

Kees

- Collapse -
Another Question
Jun 6, 2008 1:38AM PDT

Kees:

Thanks. I would like to keep using outlook, so are there limits on what type of email service I should be looking for? POP3? IMAP? Others?

- Collapse -
(NT) POP3
Jun 6, 2008 5:26AM PDT
- Collapse -
Good idea
Jun 6, 2008 6:46AM PDT

I would definitely do that. Just get a domain (~$10/year) and a host (~$60/year) and you're set. You can then use webmail or pop3 with Outlook, Thunderbird or any other client. You could also setup forwarders, anti-spam programs, vacation responses, etc.

~Sovereign

- Collapse -
Which Hosting Service?
Jun 6, 2008 7:16AM PDT

Thanks for all the good advice. How can I find the right hosting service? Reliability is very important to me, as is a reasonable price. Also, I'd like to deal with a well-established company with good customer service. Like I said before, the only one I've heard of is GoDaddy, because of their TV ads. That doesn't seem like a great reason to pick them. Thanks.

- Collapse -
Somewhere at the bottom of the page at the moment ...
Jun 6, 2008 8:07AM PDT

is http://forums.cnet.com/5208-6616_102-0.html?forumID=37&threadID=235693&messageID=2414654

That's the start of 26 post thread called "Please Recommend Best Web Host for Reliable Email Service". And it might be useful reading for you.

I'm in Europe, and can't offer any help to select a host in the USA.
Useful things to do when you're near to a decision:
- look at their website
- see if they have a physical address
- google the name in combination with words like scam, support, complaints, service, quality and see if anything worthwhile pops up
- maybe ask your customers for their experiences with hosting companies

I don't think there's anything wrong with godaddy. It's big and exists for a long enough time to have no real doubts about their continuity. But I'm sure the thread I linked to will have recommendations also.

Kees