Set up a professional business email without overbuying

Start with your own domain

An address such as hello@yourbusiness.co.uk is easier to trust and keep than an account tied to one person's free mailbox. Buy the domain in an account the business controls, switch on renewal protection and record who can recover it.

What you are choosing

Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Zoho and other providers combine email with different mixes of calendars, documents, storage, meetings and administration. There is no universal winner. Choose around the tools the team will actually use and the support you can manage.

Compare:

• price per user now and after any introductory period;
• mailbox and file storage;
• shared addresses such as support@ or accounts@;
• calendars, documents and meeting tools;
• mobile and desktop compatibility;
• adding and removing users;
• data export, backup and leaving the provider;
• UK support needs and any sector-specific requirements.

Set it up safely

1. Create named accounts for people rather than sharing one password.
2. Turn on multi-factor authentication immediately.
3. Keep recovery methods and admin access under business control.
4. Add the provider's current DNS records carefully and verify that mail is authenticated.
5. Test sending and receiving, password recovery and access from the devices people will use.
6. Decide who owns shared inboxes and how access is removed when somebody leaves.

Avoid these common traps

Do not let a web designer or former colleague become the only domain or email administrator. Do not buy a large software bundle simply because it has more features. Do not assume mailbox synchronisation is a full backup. And never ask people to share security codes over email or chat.

What complete looks like

The domain renews reliably, two trusted administrators can recover the service, every person has their own protected login and the business can export its mail and files if it changes provider.