Buying and setting up own domain name and email address

unclebob123 · 28 Jan 2011 at 17:39

So I'm looking to get my own domain name and from which I want to set up an email address. I figure it will look a little more professional when applying for jobs etc.

I have been looking about and it all seems very cheap, but I'm not really sure what I need to be looking out for.

I don't intend to host a website on the address just yet, but would like this option in the future. For now I will just have a holding page and a single image.

I want to be able to send a recieve emails. Maybe with the option of multiple email accounts.

There are tons of companies offering these services, so Im a little overwhelmed who to go for. I was looking here http://www.domainexpress.co.uk/ but thought someone else might have a better idea.

Thanks

PapaLazaru · 28 Jan 2011 at 17:42

I have registered a few over the years and have always used http://www.123-reg.co.uk/.

Never had any issues with them. Cannot really comment on others though.

bledd · 28 Jan 2011 at 17:44

I use 123-reg.co.uk

QIQ is who my hosting is with, you could just get both from QIQ, easier to setup

unclebob123 · 28 Jan 2011 at 17:46

cheers, i shall check them out.

Also when looking at Email options, I don't have a clue what some of the terminology means, and therefore if I want it or not. Some examples

# Catch-All Email Account
# Aliases/Forwarding
# Auto-Responders
# Mailing Groups
# Web Based Email
# POP3/IMAP Support
# SMTP/Outgoing Mail
# Mail Security & Management

beh · 28 Jan 2011 at 17:49

123-reg and Google apps so you can use Gmail with your domain.

asim18 · 28 Jan 2011 at 17:52

TSOhost and Google Apps.
Their cheapest package is something like £14 per year and they have awesome customer service. And you can get your domain name from them too, which is something like £6 for 2 years (for a .co.uk).

It's extremely easy to set up google apps. Recently set it up on a new domain and it's easier than ever.

DJDaz · 28 Jan 2011 at 17:52

If you're not bothered about a website at the moment then just buy a domain from 123 reg or (i use) Heart Internet. Then set it up with google apps (which is free) for the email. You then get the same interface as gmail but with your own domain name.

Then worry about hosting when you actually want a website.

SexyGreyFox · 28 Jan 2011 at 17:53

I've been with Fasthosts for about 8 years and never had a problem (they use UKREG for domains).
With email (if you want) you can redirect to your normal email address so for instance sending me an email to [email protected] will actually redirect it to my normal one.

asim18 · 28 Jan 2011 at 17:54

DJDaz said:
Then worry about hosting when you actually want a website.

Hosting isn't only for websites though. It's extremely useful for other things too (FTP, Personal proxy, other random things that you need to distribute to friends/family etc..).

The amount of times I've been on computers when I need to copy things for later use at home (without a USB drive). I don't email it to myself like the average joe, I just login to FTP, drag & drop, and then feel better than everyone else

Aod · 28 Jan 2011 at 17:55

I registered my Domain with 123-reg.co.uk which in hindsight was a mistake - their website is a pain in the ass to navigate if you access it as infrequently as i do.

my hosting is with TSO-host who are EPIC beyond belief. their customer service is second to none and their hosting is extremely quick.

lcg · 28 Jan 2011 at 17:55

bledd. said:
I use 123-reg.co.uk

QIQ is who my hosting is with, you could just get both from QIQ, easier to setup

Exactly the same for me. I also have my email accounts set up with Google Apps.

unclebob123 · 28 Jan 2011 at 18:11

DJDaz said:
If you're not bothered about a website at the moment then just buy a domain from 123 reg or (i use) Heart Internet. Then set it up with google apps (which is free) for the email. You then get the same interface as gmail but with your own domain name.

Then worry about hosting when you actually want a website.

Hi, I just looked on google apps site and says it's £33 per year, or am I looking at the wrong package?

beh · 28 Jan 2011 at 18:25

unclebob123 said:
Hi, I just looked on google apps site and says it's £33 per year, or am I looking at the wrong package?

http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/group/index.html

Beansprout · 28 Jan 2011 at 19:40

My only advice is to pick a small company where you can get through to someone who cares when you have a problem. And some of said companies are cheaper than said larger companies mentioned in this thread too

www.ochostreview.co.uk has a huge number of reviews of more hosts than you can shake a stick at

unclebob123 · 28 Jan 2011 at 20:56

cheers guys, I decided to go with 123-Reg and Google Apps.

Im having trouble verifying my domain with google apps though.

They have given me a code to add, whihc I do like in step 5 of this guide

http://123-support.co.uk/support/answers/how-do-i-verify-my-domain-name-for-google-apps-1514/

but after clicking update, nothing seems to change in the manage DNS page. I presume it is supposed to add another entry underneath @ and WWW?

Google apps is still failing to verify also.

Any ideas what I could be doing wrong?

Thanks

killsta · 28 Jan 2011 at 21:28

Try http://www.Register1.net

Excellent host, all the usual free catchall/forwarders etc

unclebob123 · 28 Jan 2011 at 22:53

Ok so I have this problem

I type in the verification code that google apps gives me to verify I own the domain, and I get this error message

Invalid name: Each part of the name can only contain letters, numbers, underscores (_) and dashes (-), and may not exceed 63 characters in length
Invalid new entry

This is the code google apps gave me

google-site-verification=yd64nNjn9KB48qsJ0G4z4K04BP5eE_xM2hIyeG8lxFw

Now if im correct I count that at 68 characters, so it exceeds the character limit. So I don't understand what I need to do. Do i ignore the google-site-verification= maybe?

DJDaz · 28 Jan 2011 at 23:05

asim18 said:
Hosting isn't only for websites though. It's extremely useful for other things too (FTP, Personal proxy, other random things that you need to distribute to friends/family etc..).

The amount of times I've been on computers when I need to copy things for later use at home (without a USB drive). I don't email it to myself like the average joe, I just login to FTP, drag & drop, and then feel better than everyone else

And considering he said he'd like the option of being able to host a website in the future and nothing about FTP and proxy's, i'd say that's not relevant to the OP

unclebob123 · 28 Jan 2011 at 23:10

DJDaz said:
And considering he said he'd like the option of being able to host a website in the future and nothing about FTP and proxy's, i'd say that's not relevant to the OP

Yeah, I don't really need to worry about any FTP at the moment. Just want this for a more professional looking emil address for now.

DJDaz - I went with your origional suggestion of 123-reg and google apps. But do you have any ideas how I resolve my problem (see my above post)

Cheers

DJDaz · 28 Jan 2011 at 23:24

It was a while ago now that i set mine up but that doesn't look like the right code to me.

Looking at the 123 reg support link you posted it looks like it should be something like "googleffffff911f9d86" for example.

---EDIT---
Hmmm i just went through the motions of setting up a domain to see what it does, and it gave me a long txt record aswell. Think it's changed since i done my original one so afraid i can't be much help here

You could try contacting 123 reg and see what they say.