How to Make a Custom Email Address in 5 Easy Steps

A custom email address uses a domain you own vs free generic domains like Yahoo or Gmail.com. Branded emails make your business look professional and trustworthy, and they are simple to set up. Get a domain, choose a format, create your account, and then add it to your email app. We walk you through the process below, including how to use custom email addresses to build brand credibility.

1. Get a Domain & Provider

To make a custom email address branded to your business, you first need to get a domain name. It’s easy and affordable, with options as low as $1 a month. However, there are several different ways to go about it, depending on the needs of your business, and many providers combine email hosting with domains for a one-stop solution.

Here are the best places to get domains for custom email addresses based on different use cases:

Best Domain Providers by Use Case

For more information about the options above, we’ve created the following statements to help you decide which business domain name registration method is right for you. Simply follow the statement that suits your needs best, or explore them all to find the one that offers the most value for your business.

I need an email host and domain provider

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I just need a domain

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I need office email & productivity software with my domain

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I need an all-in-one site builder with a domain

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I need WordPress hosting & a free branded email/domain

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2. Choose a Format

Before setting up your email account, decide how you want to format your address. Establishing the best format for all of your company’s email addresses ensures consistency. In turn, consistency creates trust. In fact, branding statistics show that 46% of consumers will pay more for brands they trust.

Some popular formats for personalized and semi-custom business email addresses are as follows:

Common Formats for Branded Email Addresses

Top considerations for choosing a format for business email are scalability, brand image, and whether it’s easy to remember. For example, using first names can cause trouble quickly if two people with the same first name work for your business.

Alternatively, going super-complex makes your brand look bigger but also makes your company’s email addresses harder for people to remember. If you’re unsure which format to use, get more insights into the best options on how to create a professional email.

3. Make Your Custom Email Address

Once you’ve settled on a format, create your email account within your chosen provider or email solution. You may have to connect your domain to your email app first, depending on where you registered your domain name. Most providers have detailed instructions available to help you connect your domain and email accounts, if not live support to assist you.

If you got your domain as part of a web or email hosting plan, navigate to the provider’s instructions on how to make your own email. In most cases, you will see an option labeled “Email” in your account dashboard, followed by fields to add your desired username and password, and create your email address. Once done, your email is ready to use.

Alternatively, in the tabs below are brief guides for creating custom emails with some of the providers we recommended in the first step.

Set Up a Custom Email on IONOS

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Make an Email Address on Google Workspace

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Create Custom Email Accounts on Bluehost

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4. Add Your Email to Your Favorite App

No matter which solution you choose, it will be fairly easy to connect your email to your preferred email client (including Outlook, Gmail, and Apple Mail). Read our guide on the best business email apps to find the one that has the features you’re most interested in.

The exact process differs from app to app, but we have guides for using the two most popular email clients: Gmail and Outlook.

5. Create an Email Signature (Optional)

With your branded mail account added to your email client, the next step is to make a professional email signature to use when sending or replying to emails. The easiest way to create one is to use a free email signature generator like HubSpot. Here’s one we created on HubSpot in about four minutes.

From there, you can either grab your signature’s source code to embed in your app or simply copy and paste it into the email signature settings on your app. Follow our step-by-step instructions on how to create a professional email signature, including what you should include.

Personalized signatures build your brand’s credibility and can produce web traffic and sales through compelling calls to action. To get inspiration and ideas, check out our list of more than a dozen professional email signature examples and learn what makes each one effective.

What’s Next: 5 Ways to Use Custom Email Addresses

The most obvious way to use a branded email address is for professional use. It lends credibility to marketing and sales emails, lead nurturing messages, follow-ups, and business communication in general.

Besides the emails you send from your personalized address, here are some other ways to use custom email addresses:

• Alias emails: Create custom or semi-custom alias email addresses to use on public-facing assets, like for your website, social accounts, and email marketing. Then set up forwarding to a shared or individual account. This helps to protect your employees’ individual accounts from spam and phishing.
• Trackable emails: Making unique addresses for specific sales and marketing campaigns effectively tracks engagement and performance. They can be used in conjunction with direct mail marketing, email campaigns, advertisements, and more.
• Cold call emails: Cold call emails can be perceived as spam, resulting in blocked email addresses. To avoid this, get a custom domain name similar to your brand’s main domain and create emails to use for cold email campaigns. This prevents your email addresses and domain from landing on spam lists.
• Making it memorable: If your business has a longer email format, creating a shortened alias version gives you a more memorable option. It will fit better on small marketing collateral like business cards and be easier to say and remember.
• Subscriptions: Signing up for newsletters, webinars, free demos, and all the other things you do to run your business means your email gets added to lists. And sometimes, it’s shared with other organizations you never subscribed to at all. You can keep your main inbox clutter-free by creating a dedicated email address for sign-ups and subscriptions.

Looking for more ways to use business email effectively? Read our list of the best email tools for small businesses.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How can I get a custom email address for free?

You can get free email accounts with other services your business needs, like a domain or web hosting. Or, if you already own a domain, you can create up to five custom email addresses on Zoho Mail for free. Learn more in our article showing how you can get a free business email to use for work.

Why do I need a personalized email address?

An email address personalized with your domain and business name gives your small business professionalism and credibility. Aside from improving your business’ credibility, it is also a cost-effective marketing tool. For example, it increases the legitimacy of your company when you send emails patterned after these business email examples.

How much is a custom email address?

Custom email addresses cost from $0 to $23 a month (or more, depending on your solution). If you have a domain, you can use Zoho Mail free for five accounts. IONOS’ standalone email hosting costs $12 annually and comes with a free domain. Web hosting plans with a domain, SSL, and business email start at around $2.95 monthly. Squarespace includes a domain and Gmail business email in plans from $23 a month.

Bottom Line

Don’t settle for a generic email address for your business. A personalized email address is key to maintaining a professional appearance for you and your team. You can create your own by securing a domain, deciding on the format, creating the email, and adding it to your work apps. Go the extra mile by creating an email signature.

There are several easy ways to make a branded email address, including with the leading business email provider, Google Workspace. They make it simple to create a business email address, and it comes with the productivity and collaboration tools your business needs.

Visit Google Workspace