Email forwarding

This is a popular technique for providing "lifetime email addresses". The email provider never re-allocates your email address and forwards all mail addressed to this address to another address (your current address) which you provide. This is commonly provided by universities and colleges for students. The problem with this type of arrangement all hinge around fact that you don't control email address. There are things that could happen that would mean you don't receive email from this address; such as: * The email provider changes its policy and decides stop service or charge for service. * The email provider ceases to exists and hence doesn't renew its domain name. * You change your email provider and forget to inform other email provider to forward to a new address.

Register your own Domain Name

This is only way to guarantee that you truly have a lifetime email address. Because you register your own domain name you have complete control. The advantages are: * Complete control of domain name- you choose it and it's registered to you not to an email provider. * Complete control of email addresses * Unlimited email addresses. * Can be cheaper if you need lots of email addresses. * You could have a domain name for all family. * You can use it for your Website as well. The disadvantages are * More complex as you have to a) register name and b) find an email provider.- Most domain name providers will also provide mailbox space and forwarding services. * Can be more costly. * Need to renew domain name each year or you will loose it.

This is my preferred method and so if you are Interested in registering your own domain name and using it for email I will be covering it in a future articles.

• Part 2 of Lifetime email addreses
• Part 3 of Lifetime email addreses

Webmail

This is becoming a very popular way of accessing email using a web browser using http protocol. With Webmail email remains on server and so can be accessed from various client machines. This type of access is ideal for people who travel and need to have email access regardless of location.

POP3 and Webmail

It is also very common that email can be accessed from you mailbox using either webmail, POP3 or both.

Account Management

Whether you are going to use email forwarding, Webmail, POP3 etc you should also take into account how easy registrar makes it to configure and reconfigure you domain name. Most use a web control panel interface. You should check if there are any extra charges for configuration/reconfiguration. For example let's assume that you've been using email forwarding from steve@lifetimeemail.name to stevelifetime@hotmail.com and have now decided to use a yahoo account stevelifetime@Yahoo.com. Can you make change yourself? How easy is it? Do you have to pay extra. These are things you should be aware of when deciding on a domain registrar.

Using Registrar to Host your Website/Mailbox

If you currently don't have a mailbox/ website then I would choose package from domain name registrar. I wouldn't choose to register domain name with one company and host it with a different one, unless I had already, for some reason, purchased one or other. The normal practise with lifetime email addresses is to use domain name registrar to forward email to an existing mailbox ( your ISP mailbox or hotmail account).

You domain Name and Website

These articles have concentrated on email. However you have purchased a domain name and this name can be used for your website. So not only can you have email at steve@lifetime.name you also can have a website at www.lifetime.name. If you want to learn how to make your own website then http://www.build-your-website.co.uk/ has information and tutorials suitable for beginners.

• Part 1 of Lifetime email addreses
• Part 2 of Lifetime email addreses