After posting about how to connect your custom domain email address to Microsoft’s Outlook.com service, I noticed that I forgot to mention why you should do this. I use GoDaddy for my web hosting and I feel that their email packages are lacking features, overpriced, and slow. I finally decided to use Outlook.com instead and it’s working much better for me – and it’s free.
Some Hosts Charge Extra For Email
In the case of GoDaddy, some web hosts charge you extra money to use their email services. When I was hosting with FatCow, unlimited IMAP email addresses were included with your hosting for free, but GoDaddy charges a fee per month for the smallest plan that includes one email address, 1GB of storage, and only supports POP3. To upgrade to IMAP services, it’ll cost you $3.19 per month extra.
Microsoft Exchange Is Outrageous
The alternative to using GoDaddy’s email services is to opt for Microsoft Exchange. I have used Exchange for about three months in the past and it has wonderful features – email is instant, calendars stay in sync, contacts are on all devices, and I never feared of an email getting lost out in cyberspace. The only problem with Microsoft Exchange is that it costs $8.49 per month for a single email address. This price is way too expensive for an email plan that basically does the same thing as Gmail or iCloud.
GoDaddy’s Email Is Slow and Spotty
After using GoDaddy’s email service for about three months, I think it’s safe to say that it is very slow. When I try sending large files (using Apple’s Mail client, not the GoDaddy webmail), it would often take many minutes to send or simply time out. This is not the kind of service I want to pay almost $40 a year for.
Outlook.com and Google Apps Are Free
What many bloggers and web designers don’t know is that services like Outlook.com and Google Apps allow you to use their servers and it’s absolutely free. Google Apps functions the same way Gmail does and includes unlimited emails, IMAP support, and more. Outlook is Microsoft’s newly-launched web email service and they plan to add IMAP support in the near future.
Hey Ian,
I like to see you recommended what is nice to your readers. Hostgator is what I have been using for the past 4 years and there have been no issue. I have used Google Apps and found it to be supper good too but I’m still sticking to hostgator. I love their expertise of their customer service.
I actually switched to Host Gator after I wrote this post because they gave away the free six months… I love it so far!
Wow, it is shocking how much we pay for these e-mail services. While this Google apps really looks inviting. I have heard many things about the emerging outlook.com and hope that it keeps up to its expectations.
I use Outlook.com both for my personal email and for the one I was given by my school (@nwfsc.edu) and I love the service. I am normally not a fan of Microsoft’s products, but I definitely like Outlook.