Enable A Windows Live Experience for Your Domain

Want to use the world's best e-mail platform and web services with your custom domain name?  Well you can for free using Windows Live.

Configuration can be completed easily assuming you already own a domain name.  I use godaddy.com for hosting my domain names and have found their service easy to use, cost effective, and reliable.

Steps for enabling Windows Live Hotmail email for your domain name:

• Step 1 - Navigate and login to the Windows Live Admin Center.
• Step 2 - Provide your domain name.
• Step 3 - Read and agree to the terms of condition.
• Step 4 - Review the DNS information that must be used to configure the MX and TXT records in your domain settings.  I have provided an example of the settings using GoDaddy's Domain Manager.
• Step 5 - refresh the page to confirm that the DNS configuration settings are correct and working (note it may take up to 48 hours for your registrar to propagate these changes to the internet).
• Step 6 - After step 5 has successfully confirmed the settings, click on "Member Accounts" in the left hand menu to begin adding email accounts.  Click on "Add" and complete the required information for each email account (note that the "Member Accounts" item will not appear in the menu until the configuration has been confirmed in step 5).
• Step 7 - logon to Windows Live and start using your new email account.

There is no need to pay for e-mail services with your custom domain when you can get Windows Live Hotmail with an integrated Windows Live Calendar service for free.

There are other Windows Live services that can be used with your custom domain such as maps, spaces, and search.  For example, http://maps.yourcustomdomain.com could point to a specific location at maps.live.com.