Changing email addresses if you’ve never done this before can be a daunting task. However, give yourself enough time to transition smoothly and you’ll find it’s worth it.
1) Set up an email address with a free service. Gmail and Outlook are two of the most popular. Do this well in advance if you plan to switch broadband providers – you may even want a few months to switch.
2) Set up a forwarding system on your old email account so that all new emails are automatically forwarded to your new email address. This sounds inconvenient, but it is not necessary. You can usually find the option to forward in the inbox settings of your old email account. This works as long as your old email account is still active.
3) Import all your contacts from your old account to your new one. You can do this in bulk to make sure you don’t miss important contacts that you forgot.
4) Send an email to your key contacts to let them know your new email address.
5) Set up an autoresponder message to your old email address. That means that when someone emails you at that address, they will receive an automated message saying their email has been forwarded and explaining that you will respond from the new email address in the future.
6) List all accounts and logins associated with your old email address. Go ahead and update your details for each with your new email address. Don’t forget internet banking, streaming services and social media accounts.
7) Once you’ve saved all the old emails you want to keep, delete the rest – especially those with personal information in them.