Creating a domain name means having an e-mail address for receiving and sending your business messages. In short, it's the equivalent of a postal address, enabling you to receive mail and parcels addressed to you. A business email address is linked to a domain name (usually your company name). It's designed to last, as it's the address you'll use to communicate with all your customers and on all your advertising materials (leaflets, sales brochures, business cards). You'll also use it if you decide to create a website dedicated to your business. Choosing the right logo is an important step for all entrepreneurs.
What are the main advantages of having a professional email address?
- It reinforces your professionalism and therefore your credibility, because the recipients of your messages are immediately able to authenticate you.
- It contributes to the reputation of your establishment or brand.
- It's a great way to promote your company or brand, especially if you decide to include its name after the arobase (@).
- It's future-proof, and you'll keep it as long as you keep your domain name, even if one day you decide to change your hosting platform.
- It guarantees optimum security with antivirus and antispam to protect your mailbox from malicious content.
- It guarantees better distribution of your messages, preventing them from ending up in spam.
- For sole traders, it's also an excellent way of establishing a clear separation between professional and personal life.
Finally, you have the option of creating several e-mail addresses with the same domain name. This can be very useful if you want your employees to have their own professional e-mail address. You can also create personalized e-mail addresses corresponding to departments within your company (service_comptabilité@mondomaine.fr, service_client@monentreprise.com, contact@entreprisedupont.fr...).
How do I create a professional email address?
Owning a domain name
This is an essential step if you want to use a professional email address, even if you don't have the intention or the time to create your own website right away. In fact, many web hosts offer you the option of acquiring just a domain name with storage space for your messages. Depending on the package you choose, you'll be given one or more e-mail addresses, enabling you to assign a professional e-mail address to your key collaborators. As for storage space, you can increase it by changing your pricing, as your needs evolve.
How to choose your domain name?
The domain name you select can be that of your company or brand. It can also simply be related to your field of activity. Make sure it's not too long so that it's easy to remember, especially if you intend to create a website later on.
To find you, most of the time, it's the name of your domain that Internet users will enter on their computer keyboard, tablet or smartphone. That's why, to avoid typing errors, it's advisable not to exceed 12 characters (without incorporating numbers or hyphens), bearing in mind that the maximum authorized length is 63 characters.
Even if special characters are accepted by certain extensions, such as ".fr", you must absolutely avoid them, as Internet users often forget to enter them. What's more, these characters often cause problems when encoding URLs.
To help you make your choice, domain name providers offer a search tool to check that the name you've selected is available, i.e. that it hasn't already been reserved.
Choose the appropriate extension
The cost of a domain name depends largely on the extension you choose.
- The one most widely used worldwide is ".com". It is suitable for all types of sites (commerce, services...) wherever they are located, since it has no geographical restrictions. It also has the advantage of already being present on the numeric keypad of many smartphones.
- The " .fr " extension is reserved for companies based in the European Union.
- The " .org " extension is used by NGOs and non-profit associations.
- The " .net " extension has become an alternative to ".com" since it is no longer reserved for Internet service providers.
There are also more specific extensions that are less expensive than traditional ones. For example, since 2012, ICANN (Internet corporation for assigned names and numbers) has embarked on a wide-ranging program of new extensions that make it possible to refer to specific activities, locations, industries...