Help Guide for Choosing Business Email for Your Small Business and What Actually Matters

Why Business Email Matters

Using yourname@gmail.com for business works, but yourname@yourcompany.co.uk works better:

Credibility: Customers trust businesses with proper email addresses.

Deliverability: Business email is less likely to hit spam folders.

Security: Better protection against phishing and account takeover.

Professionalism: First impressions matter in business communication.

Control: You own the address and can manage it as staff change.

Your Main Options

Option 1: Google Workspace (Gmail for Business)

What you get: Gmail with your domain (@yourcompany.co.uk), plus Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Meet, and Calendar.

Cost: From £4.60/user/month (Business Starter)

Pros:

• Gmail interface (most people know it)
• Excellent spam filtering
• 30GB storage per user (Starter)
• Google Drive collaboration included
• Works on any device
• Very reliable

Cons:

• No desktop Outlook (webmail or Gmail app)
• Less suitable if you need Microsoft Office
• Data stored by Google (privacy considerations)
• Price adds up with many users

Best for: Businesses comfortable with Google, remote teams, those who don't need Microsoft Office.

Option 2: Microsoft 365 (Outlook for Business)

What you get: Outlook email with your domain, plus Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, and OneDrive.

Cost: From £4.50/user/month (Business Basic—web apps only)

Tiers:

• Business Basic: £4.50/user/month (web apps, 50GB email)
• Business Standard: £9.40/user/month (desktop apps included)
• Business Premium: £16.60/user/month (advanced security)

Pros:

• Full Microsoft Office suite
• Desktop Outlook app (if you prefer it)
• Teams for video calls and chat
• Deep integration with Windows
• More storage (50GB email + 1TB OneDrive)

Cons:

• More complex to set up
• Outlook web app less polished than Gmail
• Licensing confusion (which plan do I need?)
• Can feel bloated for simple needs

Best for: Businesses needing Microsoft Office, those with existing Microsoft investments, larger teams.

Option 3: Hosting Provider Email

What you get: Email included with your web hosting package.

Cost: Often 'free' with hosting, or £1-3/mailbox/month

Pros:

• Usually included in hosting cost
• Simple to set up
• Everything in one place
• Cheap

Cons:

• Limited storage (often 1-5GB)
• Basic spam filtering
• Webmail interfaces are poor
• Support is often lacking
• Moving hosts means moving email

Best for: Very small businesses with minimal email needs, tight budgets, temporary solutions.

Option 4: Zoho Mail

What you get: Professional email with your domain, plus Zoho's productivity apps.

Cost: Free for up to 5 users (5GB each), paid from £0.80/user/month

Pros:

• Generous free tier
• Good value paid plans
• Clean interface
• Includes calendar and contacts
• EU data centre option

Cons:

• Less well-known (some learning curve)
• Smaller ecosystem than Google/Microsoft
• Free tier has limitations
• Support can be slow

Best for: Budget-conscious businesses, those wanting an alternative to Google/Microsoft, small teams.

Option 5: Proton Mail

What you get: End-to-end encrypted email with your domain.

Cost: From £3.49/user/month (Mail Essentials)

Pros:

• Strong privacy and encryption
• Swiss-based (strong privacy laws)
• No data mining
• Good for sensitive industries

Cons:

• Encryption can complicate some workflows
• Smaller storage than competitors
• Fewer integrations
• Search is limited (encryption trade-off)

Best for: Businesses handling sensitive data, privacy-focused organisations, legal/medical/financial sectors.

Quick Comparison

What You Actually Need

For Most Small Businesses

Essential:

• Custom domain email (@yourcompany.co.uk)
• At least 15GB storage per user
• Mobile access (iOS/Android apps)
• Decent spam filtering
• Calendar integration

Nice to have:

• Shared calendars
• Video conferencing
• File storage and sharing
• Collaboration tools

Storage Reality Check

How much email storage do you need?

• Light user (few emails, deletes regularly): 5-10GB
• Average user (keeps emails, some attachments): 15-30GB
• Heavy user (never deletes, lots of attachments): 50GB+

Most people overestimate. Check your current mailbox size before deciding.

Common Pitfalls

Pitfall 1: Using Free Personal Email

Running a business from yourname@gmail.com or @hotmail.com:

• Looks unprofessional
• Higher chance of going to spam
• No control if account is compromised
• Mixing personal and business is messy

Cost to fix: £4-10/month. Worth it.

Pitfall 2: Email Tied to Hosting

When your email depends on your hosting provider:

• Moving hosts means moving email (risky)
• If hosting goes down, email goes down
• Quality is usually poor
• You're more locked in

Better approach: Keep email separate from hosting. Use Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or Zoho.

Pitfall 3: Not Setting Up SPF/DKIM/DMARC

These are email authentication records that prove your emails are legitimate. Without them:

• Emails more likely to be marked as spam
• Easier for others to spoof your domain
• Deliverability suffers

The fix: Most business email providers guide you through this. Follow their setup instructions completely.

Pitfall 4: Sharing Passwords Instead of Proper Accounts

Multiple people using one email account (info@company.co.uk with shared password):

• No accountability (who sent what?)
• Security nightmare
• Can't revoke access for one person
• Unprofessional

Better approach: Give everyone their own account. Use distribution groups or shared mailboxes for team addresses.

Pitfall 5: No Backup Plan

Email providers are reliable, but:

• Accounts can be compromised
• Accidental deletions happen
• Provider issues occur (rare but real)

Better approach: Understand your provider's backup/recovery options. Consider email archiving for important businesses.

Pitfall 6: Overbuying

Paying for Microsoft 365 Business Premium when Business Basic would work. Buying per-user licences for generic addresses (info@, sales@) that could be aliases or shared mailboxes.

Better approach: Start with what you need. Upgrade when necessary.

Setting Up Business Email

Step 1: Choose Your Domain

You need a domain name first (yourcompany.co.uk). See our domain guide.

Step 2: Pick a Provider

For most small businesses:

• Google Workspace if you want simplicity and don't need Microsoft Office
• Microsoft 365 if you need Office apps or prefer Outlook
• Zoho Mail if budget is tight and you're comfortable with less mainstream software

Step 3: Sign Up and Verify

1. Create account with your chosen provider

2. Verify you own the domain (usually adding a DNS record)

3. Follow setup wizard

Step 4: Configure DNS Records

Your provider will give you records to add:

• MX records: Tell the internet where to deliver your email
• SPF record: Proves emails from your domain are legitimate
• DKIM record: Cryptographically signs your emails
• DMARC record: Tells receivers what to do with suspicious emails

This sounds technical but providers give copy-paste instructions.

Step 5: Create Mailboxes

Create accounts for each person who needs email. Consider:

• Personal mailboxes (john@company.co.uk)
• Shared mailboxes (info@, sales@, support@)
• Distribution groups (team@, all@)

Step 6: Migrate Old Email (If Needed)

Most providers offer migration tools to bring across old emails. Plan this carefully—it can take time and sometimes things break.

The Cost Reality

Per-User Costs Add Up

For a 10-person business:

Hidden Costs

Add-ons: Email archiving, advanced security, additional storage.

Migration: Moving from one provider to another takes time (yours or a consultant's).

Training: Staff need to learn new systems.

Downtime: Switching providers means some disruption.

Making the Decision

Choose Google Workspace If:

• You're comfortable with Gmail
• You work mostly in browsers
• You collaborate heavily on documents
• You don't need desktop Microsoft Office
• You want the best spam filtering

Choose Microsoft 365 If:

• You need Word, Excel, PowerPoint
• You prefer desktop Outlook
• You're already using Microsoft products
• You want Teams for communication
• Your industry expects Office formats

Choose Zoho If:

• Budget is the priority
• You're a very small team (free tier)
• You're comfortable outside mainstream options
• You don't need deep integrations

Choose Hosting Email If:

• You have extremely minimal needs
• It's genuinely temporary
• Budget is absolutely critical
• You understand the limitations

The Bottom Line

Business email is not optional for a professional business. The good news: it's not expensive or complicated.

For most small businesses, Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 Business Basic (both around £4-5/user/month) provide everything you need.

Pick based on whether you prefer Google's ecosystem or Microsoft's. Both work well. Both are reliable. Both look professional.

The worst choice is no choice—running a business from a free personal email account. For £5/month per person, there's no excuse.