In the previous blog post on we introduced the concept of domain-based business email. We mainly covered the important first step of choosing the best domain name for your business and how this is as important as your logo, branding rules and business locations.
We’re now assuming that you have a nice shiny domain name and are eager to start setting up your emails. So what are the options?
Types of domain-based email accounts
There are several types of domain-based email accounts available varying in costs, quality and usage.
Web hosting based email – these emails are provided with your website hosting package. These are typically the cheapest option and are generally part of a shared hosting server solution or more powerful web server.
Hosted Microsoft exchange emails – these are Microsoft emails hosted with larger web hosting companies.
Dedicated email services – these are typically provided by Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace but other big web hosting companies such IONOS and Fasthosts are also providing their own custom solutions.
Let’s now explore these different types of domain-based email in more detail.
Web hosting based email
If your website is hosted on a web server then the web server is, in theory, capable of providing domain-based emails. In practice choosing this option depends on your budget and business needs.
On the plus side it is by far the cheapest option with a combined web hosting and email solution starting at £36 per year. We have many clients happily using this type of email but they tend to be sole traders, micro-businesses or very small charities.
There can be issues with this type of shared email service:
- Storage starts at 1 to 2 GB, which can be increased to 10 GB but at additional cost (£10 per 2 GB of extra space per year);
- The mail server is often using a shared hosting so your emails could find themselves being blocked or blacklisted depending on the reputation of the mail server.
- Features such as spam protection, virus scanning, calendars, file sharing etc either aren’t available or not as good quality as more expensive options.
The email account can be added to any good email client such as Microsoft Outlook, Thunderbird or online web access.
This might also be an option you consider where you need a very large number of email accounts and the cost for individual subscriptions might be prohibitive.
Hosted Microsoft exchange emails
Hosted Microsoft exchange is a professional, cloud-based email service using Microsoft Exchange, where our main web hosting provider manages the powerful email server for you in their data centres, offering businesses reliable email, calendars, contacts, and collaboration tools accessible.
Effectively it is everything offered by Microsoft 365, but it is cheaper and customer service is provided directly by us.
At the time of writing there are issues with compatibly with, of all thing Microsoft Outlook, but these will be resolved and it has proved to be a robust and reliable email solution over the years.
Access to your Exchange emails is provided through Outlook on the Web. This is a perfectly usable email client on the web where you can read, reply and compose emails plus manage your contacts, calendar and tasks.
We offer Microsoft hosted exchange emails at £90 per year, per email (including VAT).
Dedicated email services
Dedicated email services are provided by bigger companies such as Microsoft, Google, Go Daddy, IONOS, Fasthosts etc.
The big 2 are Microsoft and Google. Both provide good quality email accounts and multiple features such as file sharing, online collaboration etc and but there are excellent alternatives available.
Google Workspace (Gmail): Known for speed, scalability, collaboration, and integration with Docs, Drive, etc. Prices start at £5.90 per user, per month. For example this entry level account provides 30 GB of storage for all services.
Microsoft 365: Integrates your domain-based email with Office apps (Word, Excel, Teams and One Drive) and is great for businesses already using Microsoft products. Prices start at £4.60 per month direct with Microsoft.
Proton Mail: Focuses heavily on privacy with end-to-end encryption, based in Switzerland with strong data laws, offering a free tier and paid upgrades. See this link How to use a custom domain with Proton Mail. Prices start at £3.99 per month for 15 GB of storage.
Zoho Mail: Offers a comprehensive, ad-free suite (Zoho Workplace) with business features, good for individuals and growing businesses. Your business email is hosted on a secure, encrypted, privacy-guaranteed, and ad-free email service. Prices vary but, for example, their Workplace Standard email.
In the next blog post we will cover final practical issues such as options for using your email through email clients, exporting emails to move to another provider and Domain Name Settings for emails.
Get in touch with Dinesh on 07941 686113 or contact us if you need help on web design, web hosting, SEO services or domain names.
