Small business websites and email

[draggar]

More and more I'm seeing a small business truck with their website and email on it. No big deal, it's today's contact information but..

Say their site is tonyspizza.com their email address is usually something like tonyspizza98 @ (ISP).com

WTF?

You're paying for a domain and a website - why not just have tony @ tonyspizza.com (IMO it's a lot easier to remember!). Why make your customer remember your website AND a different email address? Personally, I think this looks unprofessional and sloppy.

Do they just not know how inexpensive this can be or does their webmaster overcharge them for this? They could even have an email forward set up so they don't have to worry about another email address.

[fab]

So true Draggar. People outside the business don't seem to understand some basic logic!

[enterpryzman]

Funny you should bring this up. I own hundreds of domains and market my brick & morter business online and offline very heavily. I promote my URL on everything and I have a full time staff of 20. When I am in my office and hear one of my employee's taking a phone call, they are nor very effective in directing consumers to my site for additional info. To make matters worse, when they are telling someone to email them something it makes me cringe to hear them try to explain their isp email address.

I have set up email forwarding of very specific to their names on our primary domain that goes to their isp address....they simply fail to get it. I struggle with this all the time and I am about ready to close all the other email addresses they have and require that they use ours.

Enterpryzman

[Jeroen]

Same thing here in Europe and it really puzzles me. It's anywhere they promote their urls/email addresses: vehicles, newspaper/magazine ads, etc.

[draggar]

Maybe I'll start noting their email addresses and sending them emails letting them how how easy it is sto set up even an email forwarder.

[whitebark]

I made two websites for companies this month who wanted to use their isp email on the website. I told them it was nothing for me to set up their own personalized email and explained all the reasons why it was a better idea. In the end they both agreed to use the personalized one only if it was forwarded to their isp email. At least they went half way!

[Acro]

Email is obsolete, just use your @twitter

[adrlux]

It's often because people think that so their email is with so many people and they don't want to take the risk to loose contact. Which is stupid.....

[draggar]

It's often because people think that so their email is with so many people and they don't want to take the risk to loose contact. Which is stupid.....

Which is why forwarders are so great.

[cbk]

I would discourage using a url and a email at the same time like that on a vehicle or billboard or post, it is confusing to the average person. Lead them to the website with a clear link to an email. A url and a phone number are best.

[Tia Wood]

Do they just not know how inexpensive this can be or does their webmaster overcharge them for this?

I agree. It's a pet peeve of mine to see that, too. Most of them don't know how simple it is and assume it costs a lot of money. Some were already using their ISP's email and are too scared to change it. However, I have came across some legit reasons for clients using gmail for backup and portability.

[draggar]

However, I have came across some legit reasons for clients using gmail for backup and portability.

QFT. I have someone who refuses to change his email address so he has several old ones floating around the internet. I run his site (realname).org and I have an email address for him (firstname)@(realname).org. I keep telling him to promote that one and I can point it to whever he wants since he still uses Juno and Netscape (scary, isn't it?). I also screated a gmail account for him and all emails that go to the .org email go to that also (and his Netscape).

I've even offered to contact webmasters who have his old email addresses and ask them to change it (for free). I think his reluctance is from when he was seirously burned from a unethical webmaster who stole money from him and then used the domain (realname).com to pretend to be him while selling illegal copies of his books etc..