Most businesses set up a single domain for everything—website, email, marketing tools, you name it. It’s straightforward and familiar. But as your business grows, it might be worth thinking about a smarter, more flexible strategy: using one domain for your website and a shorter, separate domain just for email.
To be clear: we’re not currently using this approach at Montana Banana—but it’s something we’re seriously considering, and we think more businesses should too.
A Working Example
Let’s say your business website is montanabananawebdevelopment.com (solid name, yes—just not exactly compact). Now if you also owned mb.com, and used that just for email—like [email protected] or [email protected]. Your public-facing brand and website would remain the same, but email addresses would suddenly become shorter, cleaner, and easier to work with.
Here’s why this setup might be worth your attention:
Benefits of Separating Your Email Domain
1. Short, Clean, and Easy to Remember
An email like [email protected] is much easier to say, type, and remember than [email protected]. It’s not just aesthetics—it’s practical, especially on business cards, signage, or quick verbal exchanges.
2. Better Email Deliverability
Email deliverability depends on a lot of things—your sender reputation, how your DNS is configured, and whether your messages get flagged as spam. Using a dedicated email domain lets you:
Configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records without worrying about disrupting your website settings
Protect your website domain’s reputation in case your marketing campaigns hit spam traps
Improve deliverability by keeping the email domain lean, clean, and tightly configured
3. Reputation Isolation
Each domain has a digital reputation, especially in the eyes of email providers. If your email domain gets flagged for spam—even accidentally—it can hurt your entire brand’s deliverability.
By isolating email to a separate domain, you create a buffer: even if your emails take a hit, your main website and other services remain untouched.
4. More Infrastructure Flexibility
Want to switch from Google Workspace to Fastmail? Need to migrate your website without disrupting email flow? Splitting your domains lets you:
Change hosting or email providers independently
Avoid downtime during migrations
Troubleshoot issues faster with decoupled DNS configurations
Common Questions & Answers
Should I use a separate domain for email and website?
Yes, especially if you want better deliverability, flexibility, and control over your email setup.
Using a separate domain (or even a subdomain) for email allows you to configure DNS records like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC independently, reduce the risk of spam blacklisting affecting your main site, and simplify transitions between email or hosting providers.
What are the benefits of a shorter email domain?
Shorter email domains are easier to remember, type, and say aloud.
They look cleaner on business cards and digital platforms, and they create a more polished and professional impression. For example, [email protected] is much more concise than [email protected]
Does separating email and web domains improve email deliverability?
Yes, it can significantly improve deliverability.
When your email domain is separate, you can fine-tune email authentication settings without interfering with your primary website’s DNS. It also helps isolate your sender reputation—if your emails run into spam issues, your main domain and website won’t be affected.
Have questions about your domain setup or email infrastructure? We’re happy to help you think it through.
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