A professional email address — [email protected] — is one of the first things a new business needs. A Gmail or Hotmail address sends the wrong signal to clients and suppliers. Setting up business email is straightforward and costs less than most people expect. This guide covers every method, from the simplest to the most scalable.
What You Need First: A Domain Name
You can’t have a professional email address without first owning a domain. If you already have a website, you have a domain. If not, register one through a registrar such as 123-reg, Namecheap, or GoDaddy. A .co.uk domain costs around £10–15 per year.
Once you have your domain, you have three main options for setting up business email:
Option 1: Microsoft 365 Business — Recommended for Most Businesses
Microsoft 365 Business Basic costs £4.90 per user per month (2026 pricing) and includes:
- Professional email via Outlook (50GB mailbox per user)
- Microsoft Teams for video calls and chat
- 1TB OneDrive storage per user
- Web versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint
- Spam filtering and security included
For any business that needs more than 2–3 people on email, Microsoft 365 is usually the right starting point. It handles spam filtering, backups, and security out of the box, and scales easily as you grow.
How to set it up
- Go to microsoft.com/en-gb/microsoft-365/business and start a trial or subscription
- During setup, add your domain name and verify you own it (Microsoft guides you through this)
- Microsoft will give you DNS records to add to your domain registrar — this is the technical step, but registrars have step-by-step guides for this
- Once DNS records are updated (takes up to 48 hours, usually much faster), your email works
- Add users and set up their mailboxes in the Microsoft 365 admin centre
Option 2: Google Workspace — Best if You Prefer Google
Google Workspace Business Starter costs £4.60 per user per month and includes Gmail (with your domain), Google Meet, Google Drive (30GB), and the full Google Docs/Sheets/Slides suite. If your team already lives in Google, this is the natural choice — Gmail on your own domain is familiar and reliable.
The setup process is near-identical to Microsoft 365: verify domain ownership, update DNS records, add users.
Option 3: Email via Your Web Hosting
Most web hosting packages include free email hosting. cPanel-based hosts (the most common type) let you create email accounts in a few clicks. This is the cheapest option — often included free with hosting — but it has significant downsides:
- Webmail interfaces are basic compared to Outlook or Gmail
- Storage limits are usually small (1–5GB per mailbox)
- Spam filtering is poor
- No mobile sync, no shared calendars, no Teams/Meet equivalent
- Reliability depends entirely on your host
Fine as a temporary measure or for a single-person business that only needs to receive the occasional enquiry. Not recommended for businesses with multiple staff or anyone who relies on email heavily.
Option 4: Zoho Mail (Free for Small Teams)
Zoho Mail offers a free plan for up to 5 users, each with 5GB storage, using your own domain. It’s a legitimate email platform with a clean interface and good spam filtering. For a solo trader or a small team on a tight budget who just needs professional email without collaboration features, it’s a solid option.
The paid Zoho Workplace plan (from around £2.50/user/month) adds video conferencing, chat, and more storage — a cheaper alternative to Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace for cost-conscious businesses.
Setting Up Your Email Addresses
Once you’ve chosen a platform, you’ll set up individual email addresses. Some conventions to consider:
- [email protected] — most professional, works well for small teams where names are unique
- [email protected] — better for larger teams where first names may clash
- [email protected] or [email protected] — useful shared inboxes for general enquiries
- Avoid: admin@, noreply@ as your primary address — they look impersonal
Email on Your Phone
Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace both sync automatically with the native Mail apps on iOS and Android, or you can use the dedicated Outlook / Gmail apps (recommended for better calendar and contact integration). Configure this before giving staff email access — it’s the first thing people set up.
What About Email Security?
Both Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace include SPF, DKIM, and DMARC configuration options — these are DNS records that reduce the chance of your domain being used in phishing attacks and improve email deliverability. If you’re setting up Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, follow their guides to enable these after initial setup. Most hosting-based email does not configure these by default.
