Did you know that over 4 billion people worldwide use email? With such widespread usage, understanding the nuances of email addresses is important for effective online communication.
You’ve probably come across the term ‘case sensitivity’ in various contexts, such as your passwords, but have you ever wondered whether it applies to email addresses? Do you think ‘JohnDoe@example.com’ and ‘johndoe@example.com’ are two different email addresses or one?
The short answer is that email addresses are not typically case sensitive, meaning you can type email addresses with both lower and upper case letters and it will still go to the same inbox. In the example given above, both of those email addresses are actually the same.
What is Case Sensitivity?
Case sensitivity refers to the distinction email servers make based on the capitalization of letters, treating ‘PassWord’ differently from ‘pAsSwoRD,’ for example. Case sensitivity is a key factor in data security, especially when it comes to passwords.
However, you may be wondering, are email addresses case sensitive as well?
To answer that, let’s talk about how email addresses work.
Are Email Addresses Case Sensitive?
An email address is typically composed of two parts: a local part, which is everything before the ‘@’ symbol, and a domain part, everything after it. Now, the domain part isn’t case sensitive. For example, ‘example.COM’ is the same as ‘EXAMPLE.com’ or ‘example.com’.
However, the local part can be case sensitive, depending on the email server. But, here’s the catch: most email servers, including popular ones like Gmail or Outlook, don’t consider case sensitivity in the local part. So, in practice, your email address isn’t case sensitive. This means ‘YourName@example.com’ and ‘yourname@example.com’ are treated as the same address.
So next time you accidentally capitalize your first name in your email on an important document, don’t stress, it won’t affect anything and you will still receive the email.
Can You Have Special Characters And Numbers In Email Addresses?
Deciding whether to use special characters and numbers in email addresses can be a bit tricky, as not all email marketing services follow the same standards. If you’re contemplating using special characters in your email address, it might be wise to reconsider. The variability in standards across email services often makes it safer to omit them.
Yet, if you’re adamant about using special characters, certain symbols are generally recognized by most email services. You can use such characters as: ! # $ % & ‘ * + – = ^ _ {} ~. However, it’s best to avoid using & = _ ‘ – + , < >.
Gmail, specifically, has restrictions on the use of periods. You can’t add more than one consecutive period in your address.
Numbers are a different story. You have the freedom to use them in your email addresses, but be wary. Most recipients view email addresses with numbers suspiciously, especially if the email is coming from a business, so it’s best not to overuse them or avoid them entirely.
Always remember, clarity and simplicity in an email address can go a long way in establishing trust from your recipients.
Email Address Best Practices
Building on the understanding of the use of special characters and numbers in email addresses, it’s important to cover some best practices for crafting email addresses to make sure your target audience knows it’s you and not a scam.
Here are four key principles to follow:
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- Simplicity: Keep your domain and local names straightforward. Avoid unnecessary creativity with symbols and special characters. They don’t add value and may even confuse your recipients.
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- Lower Case Letters: Be especially cautious with uppercase letters. Lowercase letters are more readable and memorable. Furthermore, they’re safer if an RFC protocol with case sensitivity is active.
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- Special Characters: If you need to make your email address more readable, consider using hyphens or periods. But don’t overdo it. Too many can lead to adverse effects. For instance, Gmail doesn’t allow more than one period in a row.
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- Language: Stick to the Latin alphabet. This ensures compatibility with servers that don’t follow Unicode encoding standards, thus avoiding potential delivery issues. This is true even if your business operates in a country that uses a different alphabet.
How to Choose an Email Address for Your Business
Choosing the right email address for your business can have a significant impact on your customer interactions and marketing outcomes.
It’s important to create an address that’s easy to read and is self explanatory, meaning the local part of the address is indicative of where the email will be going.
These factors will help improve deliverability and open rates, which improve your overall email performance.
1. Make it Easy to Read
When crafting an email address for your business, it’s important to prioritize readability to ensure that your customers can easily remember and contact you. Avoid complex combinations of letters and special characters as they’re difficult to decipher and may lead to confusion.
Here are some best practices to keep in mind:
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- Stick to lower case as it’s more user-friendly
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- Avoid email addresses with mixed cases as they’re harder to read
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- Limit the use of special characters
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- A single period or hyphen can improve readability
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- Avoid multiple periods as they can make the email address look unprofessional
2. Consider the User Experience
Consider how your business email address will appear to your customers and what the email address may indicate about the receiver. Familiar patterns such as info@, billing@, or help@ can make email communication feel more natural and reliable. Users rarely notice an excellent user experience, but they’ll surely spot a poorly designed one.
An unusual email address might confuse them, negatively affecting their perception of your brand. A recognizable email address, on the other hand, is more likely to be opened when it lands in the customer’s inbox, increasing your open rate and reducing bounce rate.
3. Use a Domain Address
When it comes to business communication, getting an email address based on your domain isn’t just a good idea—it’s basically a necessity for maintaining professionalism. A domain-based email address lends credibility to your business. The last thing you want to do is send a professional email to a potential client, customer, or partner through an address that ends in @gmail, @yahoo, @hotmail, etc. If your business doesn’t already have a domain, get one and include it in your email address.
It’s more professional to use info@yourbusiness.com than yourbusiness@gmail.com. Your customers are more likely to trust an email from a domain-based address. If you think they won’t know the difference, they will. It’s the bare minimum and it is expected from customers.
Plus, registering your email address using your domain is incredible helpful when it comes to email marketing as you can create DNS records on your domain, such as SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, to verify your address.
