Why you might want to shorten your domain name and domain email (and how to do it without breaking everything)
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If your domain name feels like a mouthful or a pain to type every time you give someone your email, this one’s for you.
Shorter domain names are easier to remember, cleaner to say out loud, and faster to type. They’re also much better for your website and any martketing materials.
They're also a win for email addresses. Think about it: hello@mybusiness.com just hits differently than hello@mybusinesssolutionsforwellnessandmore.com.
So if you're considering a change, here's what the process actually looks like.
And yes, I fully support the switch.
Step 1: Buy the new domain
You’ll need to actually own the new, shorter domain before you do anything else. Purchase it through your preferred registrar (Squarespace, GoDaddy, Namecheap, whatever you're using).
Step 2: Create new email addresses
Set up new email addresses under the new domain inside of G-Suite. If you previously had something like info@longdomain.com and lex@longdomain.com, you’ll now want to create info@shortdomain.com and lex@shortdomain.com.
Step 3: Forward the old emails to the new emails
This is key. Set up email forwarding from the old emails to the new ones.
That way, nothing gets lost and you can still receive emails sent to the old address. But you’ll respond from the new one.
I recommend keeping this forwarding active for at least 6 months to a year, depending on how often people contact you. A year is usually safe.
Expect to pay for both (temporarily)
Yes, you’ll temporarily be paying for four email addresses: two for the old domain, two for the new one. But once you're confident everyone’s reaching you at the new address, you can sunset the old ones.
Step 4: Make the new, shorter domain your website URL
This part is easy, especially if you're on Squarespace. You can connect the new domain and make it the primary one so that it shows up in the browser bar. (No need to redo your whole site or anything.)
Your old, longer domain will still be connected to your website, but if someone goes to this address, it will show the shorter url in the browser bar.
Step 6. Update your emails everywhere
Once the new domain and email are live, update all instances of your old email: your website, Google Business Profile, forms, email signatures, social bios… everywhere.
Changing your domain email might sound intimidating, but honestly, the process is super straightforward and it makes everything much easier in the long run.
Want help with the process?
Feel free to book a 1-hour coaching call with me. I can walk you through this whole process step-by-step. I’d love to help.
Three ways I can help you:
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One-on-One Coaching Calls: I offer coaching calls that are 30, 60, or 90 minutes. We can meet and I can answer all of your ConvertKit questions, help you build out email sequences and automations, embed forms on your website, and whatever else you may need.
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