Ready to take your new website for your business live? You’ll want to create a custom email address while you’re at it. Having a professional email address for your business proves to your customers that you’re serious about your venture.

Young entrepreneurs often make the common mistake of using a generic email address that has little to do with their business. And an address like “SomeName@gmail.com” won’t go a long way toward convincing your customers that you’re taking yourself seriously. Since creating a business email is one of the most crucial steps an entrepreneur can take when it comes to direct marketing and long-term success, it’s worthwhile to showcase your brand’s image as professionally as possible.

Fortunately, creating a custom address for your business is pretty straightforward. This article will quickly cover how you can register a custom name for your business domain, acquire a hosting plan for your custom email address, and connect your email address with your email platform of choice.

Defining a custom email address

Before we go through the steps of setting up an email address for your business, let’s first define what a custom email address is. In short, instead of using a generic domain name, a custom address is tied to a custom domain name. It connects your email address with your brand and makes it stand out.

Rather than looking like our previous “SomeName@gmail.com” example, a custom email address may instead look something like “SomeName”@NameOfYourBusiness.com.” If you’re blasting out emails to your customers during ideal hours, it’s much easier to grab their attention if you contact them from a custom address rather than a generic one. Plus, you get to choose what words appear before and after your “@,” which isn’t always a choice you get if you’re using a generic email address.

Steps to set up a custom email address

Now that we’ve defined what a custom email address is, let’s cover the steps you need to take to set one up for yourself!

1. Purchase a domain name

First, you’ll need to get yourself a domain name, preferably by purchasing a top-level domain like .org, .com, or .net. Getting yourself a domain name is easy, and you have multiple ways of doing it.

Your first option is to visit a domain name registrar and buy a custom domain directly from there. For example, you can purchase an annual plan to host your domain with Namecheap. There are multiple benefits you can enjoy from purchasing a domain from a registrar, including:

• Server management
• Access to security standards
• Complete root access and operating system selection

You can also purchase a domain name from email hosting providers; most hosts grant you access to an automatic connection between your email host and custom domain name.

Alternatively, you can buy a web hosting package, often including a domain at no extra cost. You may also consider working with a website-building service, many of which include free domain registrations in their service packages.

2. Link your domain to an email host

You’ll need to connect your custom domain to your chosen email host. If your email host doesn’t provide ways to connect your domain automatically, you’ll need to apply some elbow grease and DIY.

Most often, you’ll need to consult your email host’s how-to guide (provided you bought a domain included in a hosting package) to get your new custom address set up. Most email hosts have dashboards from which you can find step-by-step processes to connect your domain to your host, although these steps can differ based on the host you’re working with.

3. Consider connecting your custom address to a third-party host

This is technically an optional step, but it’s basically mandatory for entrepreneurs who want to connect their new custom email address to a third-party host like Gmail, Apple Mail, or Microsoft Outlook.

The process of connecting an email address to a third-party host varies based on the email platform you choose, so, similar to what we discussed in our previous step, you’ll need to consult your email host’s how-to guide. You typically need to set up an account on your third-party host’s platform, import your custom address, and complete your host’s verification process.

Other reasons it’s a good idea to use a custom email address

There are additional benefits to using a custom email address aside from letting your customers know you’re taking your business seriously.

For one, using a custom address is simply, well, simple: custom email addresses offer simplicity since they’re easy to remember and, by extension, make it simpler for new prospects and recurring clients to reach out to you. If your customers remember your domain name by heart (which they should, assuming you’ve done your branding right), then they’ll have no trouble remembering your custom email address.

Custom email addresses simplify customer and prospect outreach and establish greater consistency and credibility for your business. It’s easier to spread brand awareness if people see your business as a well-established one and a leader in its industry. The greater your credibility and consistency, the easier it becomes to convince others that your business is a market expert.

Having a custom email address also streamlines your business’s internal operations. Want to create an email address for your sales department to make it easier for them to manage your sales pipeline and make more sales? Simply give that department a custom email address using your domain name. You can apply this same tactic to other departments such as your payroll, customer support, and HR to make things much more convenient for them.

Creating your business email address

If you’re an entrepreneur who plans on taking your business to the next level, setting up a custom email address is a can’t-miss step on the path toward long-term success. It’s important to set up a professional email address to sweep your competition and make it easier for customers and potential prospects to take you more seriously.

Setting up a custom address isn’t hard, and if you follow the simple steps we’ve outlined above, you’ll have a business email address up and running in no time. Simply choose a reliable hosting provider and start going further with a customized email address for your business.

Most small companies have fire extinguishers and insurance for when their building catches fire. They also have health insurance and medical supplies for when their employees suddenly get sick. But what about their virtual presence?

In 2021, 61% of small businesses reported one or more cyberattacks totaling a loss of $20 billion. In comparison, fire damages totaled $21.9 billion. But the spending on cybersecurity is so low and untracked for small companies that there are no reliable sources for statistics related to the average annual spending on cybersecurity.

With those statistics in mind, let’s consider common cyberattacks and solutions to them so that you can better protect your small business.

Phishing attacks

Phishing attacks make up 90% of all data breaches and are the most common scams you will see. Typical phishing attacks come in the form of malicious emails that include links designed to draw you in using the trustworthy name of a legitimate business along with their standard branding and language.

The only thing that can separate these types of emails from legitimate ones is a one-letter change in the email address. Although you may think your keen eye can detect those minute differences, a Cisco study shows that at least one person has clicked on a phishing link in 86% of companies. The best way to stop this type of attack is education on the topic and keeping your eyes peeled.

Malware

Malware is an encompassing word for multiple software types that have malicious intent and will cause damage to an infected system. Malware can range from annoying to company destroying. We will cover five types of malware and solutions to each:

Adware

Adware is the harmless side of malware that most of us have already experienced after downloading a less than safe audio file or video game. This software will present the downloader with advertisements for various products or services. Maybe you have seen the memes of “hot moms near you?” Those are the types of “services” you will get. The best way to avoid adware is not to download that song from a YouTube converter.

Viruses

Computer viruses get their name from the real-world equivalent because they can replicate and spread across multiple systems. Viruses can record keystrokes and mouse movements, search databases, send information to places you don’t want, etc. There are only two real solutions to a virus problem.

1. Get malware identification software to avoid the problem in the first place.
2. Once your computer is infected, you’ll need antivirus software. You might be looking to pay a pretty penny to clean your systems, but it could be well worth it, especially if you have stored user data.

Worms

In contrast to viruses, worms can spread without sharing files. They spread via networks and the computers that share that network. Antiviral software is good for singular computers, but when it comes to this type of malware, you might want to look at full-fledged network protection and enterprise software. To give you an idea of ​​how dangerous worms are — the most damaging virus to date was a worm called Mydoom, which, adjusted for inflation, caused $52.2 billion in damages.

Trojans

Like the horse, these software attacks look like wholesome gifts but will release a torrent of damage to your computer when opened. Trojans can replicate and spread quickly; however, they need human interaction at least once to initiate. The easiest defense is requiring software downloads to come from reputable developers, a setting that can be turned on in Macs or Windows settings.

Spyware

Spyware is a sneaky, usually non-destructive form of malware that is looking for login info, keystrokes, and opportunities to take any credentials that can offer financial gains. Spyware can be packed and shipped to you via a trojan or even advertising interactions. Most dangerous of all, they can even be initialized from tracking cookies. Spyware can be avoided by using antivirus software and anti-tracking browser extensions.

Ransomware

Most commonly heard about in local and national news, ransomware is like a virtual kidnapping and hostage situation. Instead of people, this software will infiltrate via one of the ways described above, locate the most valuable data or system, wrap it, and create a “smart contract” — an if/else statement.

The If/else statement will present something like this, “If you pay me, you will get your data back; otherwise, we will destroy all your information.” Sometimes ransomware doesn’t destroy the data; it can do something worse and even more damaging… it can release the data.

In the case of small businesses, ransomware will threaten to release sensitive information, like customer data (including names, addresses, credit card info, etc.), company secrets, and anything else needed to continue business operations.

How to protect your small business

There are many ways to increase your small business’ cybersecurity, including educating yourself and your team about cyber threats and creating a well-thought-out cybersecurity plan. But the first defense against cyberattacks should be using a VPN.

You might ask yourself, “If the main thing I have to worry about is downloading files and clicking links, then what do I need a VPN for?” Well, one of the last cyberattacks comes from network visibility. A VPN will encrypt your data and send it through an anonymous server, hiding where your traffic is coming from.

Virtual workers should consider getting a VPN, especially if they plan to work on public Wi-Fi networks. If you are logging into sensitive information on public Wi-Fi and a hacker can identify the data going through the network, it could be bad news for your servers and passwords.

Protecting your business

Software continues to advance, becoming good and worse at equal speeds. Knowing what is lurking on the Internet is the best way to protect yourself and your small business. The main things to take away are:

• Cyberattacks are becoming more common.
• Don’t click links in emails unless you know the sender.
• Don’t download music or films from a suspicious website.
• Use a VPN when accessing sensitive information on a public network.

All Hostinger users have the ability to try out the handy Client Access Logs.

The feature lets you see who is accessing your website and filter out traffic accordingly.

Use it to monitor access based on the information the log provides and gain insight into how your website could be improved.

Constantly Striving for Better

It’s in the small details that huge improvements can be felt towards website security. Using Access Logstraffic can be limited to specific IP addresses or countries.

What’s more, the tool displays 5xx and 4xx website errors, allowing you to fix issues and improve the SEO of a website.

How Does It Work?

Access Logs are available for all Hostinger users via hPanel. To use the tool, click on the Access Logs icon in the Websites section of your utilities.

Here are the options that are available under Access Logs:

• Analytics (Total requests, Unique requests, and Bandwidth)
• Access logs (filters by IP address, country, and type of request)
• Error code 5xx (All errors with code 5xx recorded on client domain name)
• Error code 4xx (All errors with code 4xx recorded on client domain name)