Now we know it is a big advantage to have our domain’s “fate” divided between more than just one company and on one service. We are able to change the DNS to fit our needs and so there is no problem to point visitors to our web site and the emails they send to an absolutely different location. Everything you need to do is to set your domain’s DNS right.
Mail server options
Every wbe host offers you the option to manage and create a certain number of email accounts for your domain name. This does not mean you do not have any other options and you have to stick with this solution. You might not be satisfied with your host’s level of email service or you are just cautious and want to make your website and domain name more robust and trouble free. You have n option to either:
- search for a specialized email hosting service [e.g. Godaddy or 1and1]
- use a free service from a third party [e.g Google Apps]
- use a standard email service [e.g Yahoo mail or AOL mail...]
I will talk about all of them and try to give some opinions about them. I am using only two of them and am satisfied with the state of things.
Email hosting service
This is a somehow limited type of package. I do not mean it is limited in some bad way. No, it is limited in the fact that all it does is provide you with an email account and nothing else. You can create a set limit of email accounts and there is a quota you are able to use. The quota determines how much email can be stored at all accounts.
The good thing is that you have the redundancy and if something happens to your web site your visitors or customers are able to reach you trough email without any trouble. The downside of this solution is the price you have to pay. It’s a paid service and you can own a domain name or buy one during your sign-up process. The principle is to point your DNS entries to your email host [MX records] and your web site [NS records] to your web site host.
It’s a paid service and thus you can expect a certain level of service you will get and you can ask the host for assistance. But always check their Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. I would suggest to use only reputable services to stay away from trouble.
Examples of such a service are Godaddy and 1and1, but there are tons of other hosts out there and you only need to perform a quick search by using your favorite search engine to find more of them.
Free & paid Third party services
Another option is to use the Google Apps service. It is available in two different flavours. The first one is a standard one and it is for free. Well, it is free but there are some limits you can not cross. But the limits are much better than using a paid email hosting in many ways. You get some 7GB of storage and you are able to create 50 accounts per one domain.Tthis is pretty enough if you are not running a social network and feel like you need 150 accounts 
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To set-up a Google Apps account is a very easy process and numerous tutorials exist on the web. I will post one in a short here at Icethunder.net as well just to make your life a little bit easier.Until then here and here are just two of them. Google also provides a tutorial [help page] itself and there are automatic set-ups available for some web hosts 
I would recommend this service for those who need a safe and secure way for email. You don’t need to worry about anything as Google takes care of everything. You only set the DNS right and all is done by Google. One thing to note here is the loss of a certain degree of privacy, but it’s Google right… This service is like using Gmail, but you are using your very own domain name
Standard email service
I think this one is the least desirable option you could use for your companie’s email solution. If you are just an individual and want to provide people some way of accessing you trough email than it is an OK solution. If you are a web company or a business in general than it is a very unprofessionally looking solution and you should most definitely look somewhere else [point 1. and 2. ]
I don’t think I need to talk a lot about this service. You subscribe with Yahoo, Gmail, AOL or Hotmail [the list could continue...] and use their service. Your email is secure but as I mentioned it just does not look very professional if you are doing business.
One thing to mention here is using your own your_name@your_domain.com is a very secure thing, because the customer exactly knows who he is talking too. But if you use e.g your_name@yahoo.com – he could be talking to anyone as anyone can sign up for such an account
Well, in the next part I will tell you how to set up the Google Apps right and get it going. Until than have a nice day and see you next time!
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