Many have more than one email account, but only a few know about “Plus Addressing.” Plus Addressing allows you to create different front-end emails using the plus (+) sign. This trick essentially allows you to create an unlimited number of email addresses.

Why use Plus Addressing?

Many use it to stay organized and filter their inbox. The plus sign can also help you better understand how your email address is distributed or spread around. You can even use it to find out who is spamming you or selling your email address. Find out more here.

How does it work?

For example, username+example1@gmail.com and username+example2@gmail.com are ultimately the same email accounts. Emails that get sent to these addresses will be delivered to the same inbox that belongs to username@gmail.com.

Which inbox providers support Plus Addressing?

Gmail, FastMail, SmarterMail, and many more providers allow you to create a + address.

Make sure your business supports plus addressing! Many websites have opt-in forms that reject addresses with a plus sign. This may prevent potential leads from signing up for your mailing list. Therefore, when you create your opt-in forms, make sure to enable plus addressing to give users the ability to use the plus sign in the email form. This way, you won't miss out on any potential new customers!

In case you are wondering, there are no real, legitimate security reasons to prohibit a plus sign in the email address form. However, it may take more work for you or your database administrator, but it’s worth it. You may need to add an extra query on the database to allow the acceptance of plus symbol, while ensuring that you set a limit the registration of email to only a single alias per email address.