Lots of us with limited needs have loved the free edition of Google Apps.

This service lets you use Google services with your own domain name. You get access to all the cool features while retaining your own branding.

Google has however decided to shut down this service to focus on paid plans. You can still get Google Apps but you have to pay USD 50 per user per year for it.

Google said:

When we launched the premium business version we kept our free, basic version as well. Both businesses and individuals signed up for this version, but time has shown that in practice, the experience isn’t quite right for either group. Businesses quickly outgrow the basic version and want things like 24/7 customer support and larger inboxes. Similarly, consumers often have to wait to get new features while we make them business-ready.

This update does not affect existing users of the service. It also does not affect their special plans for educational institutions.