Registering your domain name with G Suite

In our post, How to register your domain name with Google Domains we signed up for a G Suite account at the end of the process after the domain name was purchased. Google makes the process simple. For most new business startups with one or two individuals that need a domain e-mail, it’s perfect. If you’re already assembling a team, or you’re on track to grow beyond a couple of users, then starting with G Suite to secure your domain and e-mail structure makes more sense. If you’re working with One Dog Solutions, keep reading, we can help you get a discount on your first year of service with G Suite. Finding ways to save money in your first year of business is essential.

Getting started with G Suite

Once you click on any of the “Get Started” buttons, you’ll be presented with a screen to enter your business name and a query about the number of employees. If you already have a team you’re starting your business with, this is a better option to start with than Google Domains.

Choosing your domain name

You’ll be prompted for your personal information and a current e-mail to register the account with. Once you’ve completed that step, you’ll be asked is you need to register a domain name. In this article, we’re walking through the steps to register a domain name. If you’ve already registered you’re domain name, you can still sign up for G Suite, and skip down a bit.

Here’s where you can enter your desired domain name into the search bar and see if it’s available. If the first option that you enter isn’t available as a .com, try your second variation. If you’ve struck out again, we talked about how to research your business name in our article: Choosing the right name for your business.

Choosing your e-mail address

After you’ve selected your domain name and entered your business address information, it’s time to choose your first domain e-mail address. At One Dog Solutions, we like to use firstname.lastname@onedog.solutions. It’s pretty easy and straightforward. Another popular option is the first name letter and last name option as well.

When I founded One Dog Solutions, I was the only employee. I wanted to have additional addresses that you typically see on a company website. Gmail e-mail addresses through G Suite allow you to configure aliases. If you are just starting out, you can configure additional e-mail “addresses” as aliases to land in your master inbox that you define here. If you’re the only one for now, just sign up for the single e-mail address. When you’ve grown your company enough to need the actual e-mail inboxes for these addresses, you can set these to deliver differently later. If you need help with this just send an e-mail to info@onedog.solutions and we’ll be happy to help you.

G Suite Promotion Codes

I mentioned this at the start of the article for good reason. This is the only place you can enter a promotional code for G Suite. Not transferring from Google Domains, not later after you’ve signed up, just here. If you are working with One Dog Solutions, we’d be happy to share an offer code that can save you up to 20% off of your first year with G Suite. The code works for both Basic and Business accounts. You will need to sign up for Business by default. If you want to downgrade to Basic we’ll show you how below.

Choose your registrar and checkout

The initial e-mail address you choose here is the administrator for your Google G Suite account. Once you’ve signed in with your new address you’re set to checkout. You do have the option to register your domain name with other registrars, although we generally suggest using Google.

You’ve signed up for G Suite!

Congratulations! You’ve registered a domain name and signed up for G Suite Business. Not everyone needs the business edition. I certainly didn’t when I signed up. Don’t worry, you can downgrade your account, if necessary, you’re the Admin!

Google Admin

Once you click the continue link shown above, you’ll land on the Google Admin Console. If you need G Suite Business and your team can use the unlimited storage and extra features, you can start your work! If you’re like most of us when we started out, you’ll be fine with G Suite Basic. You still get all of the business software (Google Docs, Google Slides, Google Sheets, etc.) and the Google Drive storage, just 30 GB of space, instead of unlimited. You can find more information on the plan differences from the G Suite Pricing page.

If you’d like to downgrade to G Suite Basic, select the Billing icon. You’ll see the various services that you have purchased through Google. First and foremost is G Suite. Clicking on the Actions toggle in the upper right will bring up the option to Access Billing Account (update your payment method), Downgrade to G Suite Basic, or Cancel your subscription. Follow the prompts to downgrade if you choose to and you’re all set.

We’ve hit most of the highlights of registering your domain name and setting up your business with G Suite by Google. It’s a wonderful set of tools that can help you with word processing, complex spreadsheets, presentations to potential clients or donors, and online cloud storage for your files to be available anywhere you have internet access. Having tools like this accessible for a small monthly cost was a great asset when I started One Dog Solutions. If you have any questions on what we’ve covered here, or need help on how to set up your business feel free to contact us!