It's been a while and I need a refresher. What is the preferred domain registrar? Some have recommended NetSol and some GoDaddy...most of mine are now Squarespace from Google. Does it matter?

Second question is email after I buy a domain. I am all with the google thing, workspace to be exact. But, I like microsoft stuff as well and I use outlook to check my gmail workspace stuff anyway.

What's the best way to do this? Set it up with workspace? Set it up with Microsoft? Which is cheaper? What if I set it up with Google and then just use outlook? If I set it up with workspace, can I then migrate to microsoft and outlook?

I've always used GoDaddy for registering domains.

As for Microsoft licensing, it depends what flavor you want. This is very high level and in no way goes into deep detail:

• Exchange Online Plan - This is the cheapest route, and would only give you access to your email through web apps.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/exchange/compare-microsoft-exchange-online-plans
• M365 Basic - This gives you Exchange online and access to several primary web apps, but you can't download those apps to your device
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/business
• M365 Standard and onward - From here, you have access to download the various apps, including Outlook, on your devices, along with other Microsoft features.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/business

You would need a license for every unique email address/user/login.

Do I have to have office 365? I alreayd own the pro versions of Office 2021. So, I don't NEED 365, but if i don't have a choice, I guess it doesn't matter.

EDIT: Godaddy answered the phone and helped me with my questions. Google and Squarespace, in 1 week, still have not been able to help me get my issue resolved or help talking to a person. Probably going to migrate everything over to Microsoft from Google.

If you already have a license for the Outlook App, then you should be able to use that app to access your Exchange 365 account, but any license for consumers versus businesses starts to get confusing. Microsoft licensing is confusing enough, as it is. However, you would still need the minimum Exchange Online account, which is around $4.00 per month. With how fast technology moves and how important updates are to staying current, I believe M365 is a must for any business, so am not a fan of purchasing the license key like it's the early 2000's.

Ex: I have a small doctor office as a customer, and they just need 4 individual mailboxes that everyone needed to log into. They didn't mind using the web app to access their email, and all employees just needed to use the same login to check the 4 mailboxes. That only costs them $16 per month, in Microsoft licensing.

For me personally, I couldn't live without the Business Standard, minimum. I hate using Microsoft's web apps, and I need Word, Excel, and OneDrive. I live in those applications, daily.

Now, on top of all that, you need to consider your backup and disaster recover plan, if it's important for your business. For medical, it's a HIPAA thing.

I have google workspace now. 15 per month for that plus the domain to squarespace. I use the email and that's it. The only advantage I see over MS services is that I get 2TB of storage and not just 1TB of storage.

Since all of my employees are in the same location, there is zero need for collaboration apps and even less of a need for anything google related. The 'office' type of apps for Google are not something I use or like.

In fact, I maybe should just migrate my other two domains over to the MS side with my new one since I use those apps all the time.

Interested to hear how your conversion goes. I use Workspace personally which is free but anticipate the day I have to migrate to another email host and dreading it.

They almost forced me into it last year. Domain registered through Google, but really via GoDaddy.

I also have domains through namecheap and have had no issues.

Quote:

---

In fact, I maybe should just migrate my other two domains over to the MS side with my new one since I use those apps all the time.

---

you have no need for the Google office apps, yet you use MS Office apps all the time...?

It's best to understand what you do in your day to day and how you want to execute your business to determine the tooling that supports it. There are features that google offers that to me, far outweigh MS. There will be others that disagree.

I have been in the Google ecosystem for about 13 years, and just recently started working for a client that is entirely in the MS ecosystem and I cannot stop using MS fast enough - I hate it, as it has shortcomings that make my day to day more difficult.

My business is different than yours though. Some people don't like change and think MS is the only solution out there and will die if. their series of clicks changes. You can certainly survive using MS - its your business, your preference.

Again, understanding your day to day and what you would like to possibly change in how you operate would be good to understand. There are also things you might not know exist in both Google and MS that would make your life easier, or your customer's experience better.

Correct. I use MS office apps. I do not use google office apps. I've used them when in forced to and I don't like them. I pay for workspace so I can have Gmail. No one else interact with use them and the fact is I'm a Microsoft guy.

I prefer downloaded full suite apps, I prefer a proper mail app. That said, I own office pro because I've bought 5 dollar licensing for office standalone my whole life, so I don't need ms365 either really.

What does Google do for you that you like that Ms stuff doesn't? Maybe I'm missing the big picture ?

Let me reiterate that I am willing to migrate everything and suffer through it to be with a system and company that has real time human support. Google is a pain in the neck to get help, and when you do finally reach the call center it's so noisy and accents are so thick, I can't get anything accomplished. I don't think they care much about issues anyway. Plus there is a massive language barrier and it's really not much better than just clicking trough 100 pages of help documents.

I will sacrifice my entire ecosystem over that ability the one time I need it in a 3 year period.

GoDaddy uses Microsoft and if I pay them, they will walk me through it all or do it for me and I don't appreciably care what brand I'm using as long as it works. They also can work through google so it may be ok since I could just use the middle man for support.

Quote:

---

I pay for workspace so I can have Gmail.

---

Jason - you know, just because you use Gmail doesn't mean you have to use their user interface. If you prefer MS, use Outlook as your email client, even if you are "using Gmail".

But - it sounds like you are a MS guy, so just move all your stuff there and be happy.

Although if you don't use Google apps for anything, and only email - what are you needing google support for?

Someone could tell me I'm wrong, but a small amount of money per user per month generally doesn't buy you relatively high end state side tech support.

Transitioning from one email provider to another is a pain and I don't know that you would have that much better of an experience.

Google's connector for outlook is pretty functional from what I've heard around my office, but I've never understood the need for a separate email app. To each their own though.

I've used Outlook on top of GMail, and yes it works. Not sure why people prefer that either. Gmail web interface to me is just simpler and easier all around but there are some people that will never get away from outlook for some reason. To each his own.

I haven't used outlook in ages. I was just playing with it because I own it with office. But, I do have to have something to check email. Historically, as in, for nearly 20 years, I've been in the gmail ecosystem. But I have to pay for workspace to keep my business email functional. I'm not migrating everything to MS. That's a pain in the neck. I'll just register my stuff and continue with Gmail. It's fine. What I don't like is having to keep a tab open for every email account I have which equates to about four which are used daily. It's a lot of web browser space when you like tabs like I do. A standalone app is nice because I can bring it all there and go with it but as stated, I can bring Gmail through outlook.

Outlook sucks because even if I have all accounts in it, it's local. If I go to my office, then I can't use outlook and I can't log into outlook online because it does t support multi accounts (and they are in google anyway) so I'm back to tabs. Outlook app isn't really ideal either.

My original question was related to the f sr godaddy is MS licensed so that's their preference. Didn't know if it was a thing to consider when getting a new domain.

To answer the last question, I needed it to figure out what on earth the domains were doing and what was what in my admin console. It turned out I had a domain in there I wasnt even paying for and it was no longer even registered. Just wanted some support to help me get straitened out.

As for state side support, godaddy provides that and that's why I'm using them as my registrar this time. Google went to square lace and whatever the hell that means and they a rent any better for support. Plus it's far less cost than workspace if you do it right.

I want some support because I'm a small business, in fact, I have several operations going on and I'm the IT guy. Let that sink in. When everything just kind of works for a while and you have to go back in a year and make a change like I'm doing, it's far better to get some support than it is for me to spend two days re figuring it all out which is what I do. It's fine, I'm refreshed now so squarespace has two domains, godaddy has the other. Lol.

so, the net of all this is: you have multiple gmail or other email accounts that you would prefer in one gmail interface (such as an easy listing of them on the left panel)...and not have to change tabs. Correct?

Personally I am in the same boat - I have 4 gmail accounts I use daily. I keep a Chrome profile for each, and that ends up being 5 separate Chrome windows open - each one tied to its own account, keeps my browsing history isolated to that, my favs for each account, etc. To flip between accounts I simply just flip windows. I also color code the chrome profile so I easily know where I am so I don't accidentally send something from the wrong account, or search for personal things under one of the other work accounts. I prefer this level of isolation.

If you are wanting EVERYTHING in one tab in a browser, you can make one account your main, link the others, and then use the multiple inbox feature of gmail. I have never used this feature because I prefer the window isolation as previously mentioned but it might be worth a try.

There are other email clients you can try, but most have a price. I know some like Thunderbird because it is free but it looks a bit outdated to me.

CapCity12thMan said:

---

so, the net of all this is: you have multiple gmail or other email accounts that you would prefer in one gmail interface (such as an easy listing of them on the left panel)...and not have to change tabs. Correct?

Personally I am in the same boat - I have 4 gmail accounts I use daily. I keep a Chrome profile for each, and that ends up being 5 separate Chrome windows open - each one tied to its own account, keeps my browsing history isolated to that, my favs for each account, etc. To flip between accounts I simply just flip windows. I also color code the chrome profile so I easily know where I am so I don't accidentally send something from the wrong account, or search for personal things under one of the other work accounts. I prefer this level of isolation.

If you are wanting EVERYTHING in one tab in a browser, you can make one account your main, link the others, and then use the multiple inbox feature of gmail. I have never used this feature because I prefer the window isolation as previously mentioned but it might be worth a try.

There are other email clients you can try, but most have a price. I know some like Thunderbird because it is free but it looks a bit outdated to me.

---

I think, since I am already in the Google ecosystem, and it seems OK, I'll go back to that. Having various domains dump into a single inbox sucks. Since I need a very basic website (maybe) and nothing more than a domain and email functionality. I'm just going to go back to google and pay the extra 14 bucks a month to make that work. I guess at this point the domain registrar doesn't make a bit of difference and I need the cheapest registrar I can find. Foursquare is actually twice as much as GoDaddy. I don't know why.

Since you have an MS Office license and don't use any of the Google Workspace features, get rid of both of them.

1) Move your domain registrar to CloudFlare. They charge the "cost" of the domain, no markup. Also manages all your DNS settings (when someone enters Inifinityroofer.com it knows where to send it) as well. If you ever decide to use someone else in the future, super easy to point to new IP address / servers and not swap domain registrars again.

2) Use Fastmail for your email provider. They have a business plan that operates just like you like. Lets you use any client you want (iPhone app, Outlook, whatever) and 50Gb of storage. It's $6/month/user. You can add as many domains as you want so everything could come to one address or you could have 5 different email accounts. Then if you need additional folks for basic email, it's $4/month since they don't need as much storage. https://www.fastmail.help/hc/en-us/articles/8033939068815-2024-pricing-and-plan-updates#business

They will also let you host a basic website (HTML only) if you decide to go that route.

All in, you'd be $20/year for the domain + $72/year for email provider if it's just you.

If you want help, I can help you migrate everything over. I just did this for 5 different folks.

TravelAg2004 said:

---

Since you have an MS Office license and don't use any of the Google Workspace features, get rid of both of them.

1) Move your domain registrar to CloudFlare. They charge the "cost" of the domain, no markup. Also manages all your DNS settings (when someone enters Inifinityroofer.com it knows where to send it) as well. If you ever decide to use someone else in the future, super easy to point to new IP address / servers and not swap domain registrars again.

2) Use Fastmail for your email provider. They have a business plan that operates just like you like. Lets you use any client you want (iPhone app, Outlook, whatever) and 50Gb of storage. It's $6/month/user. You can add as many domains as you want so everything could come to one address or you could have 5 different email accounts. Then if you need additional folks for basic email, it's $4/month since they don't need as much storage. https://www.fastmail.help/hc/en-us/articles/8033939068815-2024-pricing-and-plan-updates#business

They will also let you host a basic website (HTML only) if you decide to go that route.

All in, you'd be $20/year for the domain + $72/year for email provider if it's just you.

If you want help, I can help you migrate everything over. I just did this for 5 different folks.

---

I can vouch for Fastmail.

I use it combined with 1password and it makes aliases a piece of cake. Every single account I use online has a different email address used - it is so damn easy.

TMoney2007 said:

---

Transitioning from one email provider to another is a pain and I don't know that you would have that much better of an experience.

---

We had nearly zero problems moving our company to ProtonMail.

It isn't an inexpensive option, though.