Five Reasons Why You Need your Own Domain.

This article was originally published as part of the Pobox blog. Pobox was acquired by Fastmail in 2015.

One of the most frequent questions I get from my friends is, “Why would I get my own domain? I don’t really need it.” You absolutely need it! I don’t have one domain… I have 4. But what do I do with them? Why would you need them?

1. It’s so easy to remember! For people that know you, a personal domain instantly makes sense. I’m vanessa@phillyfoodie.com. My friends always remember my email address.

2. It’s a true lifetime address. You own your own domain. As long as you keep paying for it (and at $15/year, it’s one of the cheapest personalized things you’ll ever buy – try monogramming a towel for that price!), it will always be yours. No worries about a company going out of business, or changing your email address out from under you.

3. It reduces spam. I have one domain, that I use with AllMail, that I only give to companies. Walk into the soap shop, and want to get on their mailing list for sales? Yes, my address is soapshop@preshie.com. Buy something at the Gap online? I’m gap@preshie.com. Do it consistently. Within 2 months, you will look through your spam, and find out which of these delightful organizations is in the habit of selling your information. With AllMail, you can also make exceptions, so mail to disreputablecompany@preshie.com can be bounced
“user unknown”.

4. It sets you free. While I think we provide some of the best email services out there, a domain gives you the freedom to move, to any provider, if you need or want to. It’s also a snap to separate your email services from your website, so you can use a provider (like Pobox, hint, hint) that specializes in email, while keeping your website at the place that lets you run your fancy CGIs.

5. They’re fun to share! Nothing says “Be mine” or “I think you’re cool” like giving someone an email address at your own domain.

Plus, with your own domain, you can redirect the website to your blog, your Flickr album, your facebook page, whatever you want!

Ownership has its privileges. If you don’t have a domain yet, register one today for only $15/year. If you already own your own domain, you can add it (and individual addresses at it) to your Pobox account at no additional charge, or add AllMail for only $30/year.