lets you have a customized email address.  Many people are happy with a Hotmail or AOL account, and happy to use the User ID they were assigned there, but for a small business or even for a family, it looks more professional to have your own email domain that matches your web address (e.g. johnsmith@yourdomain.com)

An email domain hosting company will set up these accounts for you and keep them running.  They'll often provide email software to read the messages as well, or you can use your own email client with their service (e.g.. Outlook, Outlook Express or Eudora)

You'll want to evaluate several different companies in order to choose the best value for your dollar.  Here's some guidance on what to look for:

• How many email accounts do you get
• How much storage do you get per account
• What email software works with the service 
• Is there a way to read email when you're not at your own computer (i.e. via a web UI)
• What is the maximum size for attachments
• Does it include Antivirus scanning and Spam Filtering
• When is support available?  Is support available on the phone or by email only?

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