Google is rated as #1 Search Engine worldwide. Besides Search Engine there are lots of services that they offer for the users. Some of the popular services includes Google Search, Google Co-op, Google Earth, Google Maps, Picasa, Gmail, Google Adsense, Google Adwords, Blogger, Orkut, YouTube, Google Apps etc. Well I am not on the way of either you are familiar with above services or not, but here I am going to give info regarding Google Apps.

What is Google Apps
Google Apps is a recently popular service from Google for using your domain names with several Google Products. As we have been enjoying Gmail (with 2GB and increasing) services from such a long time, but now we can even use same Gmail service with extra added features for custom domains (eg. yourdomain.com) with Google Apps. This features includes several Web Applications including Gmail, Google Calender, Google Talk, Google Page Creator and Docs & Spreadsheets etc. In simple language you can use 2GB space and above specified services for your personal, official and portal websites like (info@yourdomain.com, john@yourdomain.com, any@yourdomain.com). And the great news is that the basic system is totally Free.

There is three types of Google Apps.
They are: (a) Standard Edition (2GB Space and Free), (b) Premier Edition (10GB Space with lots of features and $50 per user account per year), and (c) Education Edition (2GB Space and added features, Free, Only for educational organization).

Features
The Standard Edition is free and offers 2GB of e-mail storage per account. The Premier Edition, which offers 10GB of e-mail storage, is 50 USD per year, per account. The Education Edition, which is free, combines features from the Standard and Premier editions.

Differences between editions:
Standard Edition

• Free
• 2GB space for e-mail
• Text ads mandatory

Premier Edition

• 50 USD / account / year
• 10GB space for e-mail
• Text ads optional
• Conference room/resource scheduling
• 99.9% e-mail up-time guarantee
• API’s for Single Sign On, etc.
• 24/7 phone support
• 3rd party applications and services

Education Edition

• Same as Premier Edition except for:
• Free for “accredited not-for-profit K-12 schools, colleges, and universities”
• No up-time guarantee
• 2GB space for e-mail

Step-by-Step Process for Applying and Setting Google Apps Standard Edition

1. First of all click below to apply it.
   Apply for Google Apps
2. Click on “Get Started” located on Top-Right corner.
   
3. Click “Sign Up” button located below Standard Edition
   
4. If you do not have a Google Account, you can create an account but if you have already one then enter the details in login box.
5. After the successful login you have an option to “Choose a domain name”.
6. If you want to register a new domain and switch it to Google Apps then you have to register it from right side of that page.
7. If you have already a domain and need to switch your existing domain mail server to Google Apps then enter your domain name in the text box below “I already have a domain” (eg: user@yourdomain.com) and click Use my domain button.
8. Then after that you must have to provide some Information for your domain. Enter the Number of email accounts you need basically. This is not the actual number of a/c that you’ll be provided. Google Apps determine from various factors how much a/c does your domain required. But if you had provided less than what you expect then you can ask for additional a/c later without any cost.
9. Enter the details on “Account Administrator” & “Organization Information“. You can set “Does your organization currently provide email accounts?” to “No” and leave the text box below it to be blank.
10. Then after you submit the form you have a page where you can Create your first administrator account, Enter the details correctly and remember it, as it will be use to login to you Google Apps Control Panel and click on “I agree..” button.
11. Now you have successfully sign in for the Google Apps. The next and most important thing you have to do is verifying domain ownership and Changing MX records for your domain. Your Google Apps a/c will be useless if you do not point your MX and verify the domain ownership properly.

Verifying Domain Ownership

1. Click on the “To activate Google Apps services you must verify that you own your domain – myblog.com.np. Verify domain ownership” located at the top of the page.
2. Choose the verification method. According to me the “Upload an HTML file” method will be more practical.
3. If you choose the “Upload an HTML file” method then make a googlehostedservice.html file and enter the text specified there, save it and upload it to your home directory of the website.
4. After you have place the file click on “Verify“.
5. Now you have verified the domain ownership.
6. Now next most important steps is to changing you domain MX record.

Channing MX Record (Activation Email Service)

1. To change MX record or Activate Email Service click on “Activate email”
   
2. And choose the “Instructions” based on your server configuration.If you have access to cPanel then (Changing MX for cPanel for Google Apps):
   
   1. Log in to your cPanel account.
   2. Click Mail.
   3. Click Modify Mail Exchanger (MX Entry). A list of your current MX records will appear.
   4. Click Change an MX Entry.
   5. In the Change MX for… field, enter ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM.
   6. Click Change.

   
   If you have access to WHM then (Changing MX for WHM for Google Apps):

   1. Log in to your WHM account.
   2. Click on DNS Functions .
   3. Click Edit DNS Zone .
   4. In the box on the right, select the domain you want to edit, and then click Edit .
   5. Delete the existing MX record entry.
   6. In the first box, enter your domain name (e.g. example.com).
   7. Don’t change the second box.
   8. Select MX from the drop-down menu.
   9. In the box to the right of the drop-down menu, enter 10 as the priority value.
   10. In the next box, enter enter ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM.
   11. Repeat steps six through eight for the rest of the MX record entries listed below. Add new entries in the Add New Entries Below this Line section. NOTE: Make sure each entry is entered exactly as it appears in the following table. Each record must have the trailing dot.
       

       Priority	Mail Server
       10	ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM.
       20	ALT1.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM.
       30	ALT2.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM.
       40	ASPMX2.GOOGLEMAIL.COM.
       50	ASPMX3.GOOGLEMAIL.COM.

   12. Click save.
3. After you have finished setting up MX then click on “I’ve Completed these steps” button.
4. Now you have successfully completed all the steps. You can simply create new email accounts from Dashboard > Create new user

If you have any queries, got problem and need help; then please post it as a comment here.
Now It’s time to switch to Gmail Mail Server and Apply for free 2GB (and increasing) unlimited email accounts on your own domain.

Similar Posts:

• What is a Wildcard DNS?
• How Google Detects AdSense Invalid Clicks
• 15 Common Mistakes by Google Adsense Publishers that Violate Terms of Service
• What Is AdSense Clickbot?
• A Policy Clarification About Images Besides Adsense Ads