Knowing how to get a business email address is one of those small jobs that makes a new company look real straight away. An address like hello@yourcompany.co.uk tells customers, suppliers and banks that you are an established business, not someone working from a personal inbox. It is cheap and quick to set up, but a few choices at the start make a big difference later. This guide walks through them.
Step 1: Register a domain name in your company’s name
Your email address uses your domain, so this comes first. For a UK business, a .co.uk or .uk domain is usually the best fit, and it typically costs a few pounds to around £15 a year. Keep it short, easy to spell out over the phone, and close to your company or trading name.
The most important point: make sure the domain is registered to your company, with an account you control. If a web designer or a pay monthly website provider registers it on your behalf, ask for it to be in your name from the start. Your domain carries your website and every email address, so losing control of it is painful.
Step 2: Choose an email provider
- Google Workspace. Gmail with your own domain, plus Google Calendar, Drive and Meet. Charged per user per month.
- Microsoft 365. Outlook with your domain, plus Word, Excel and Teams. Also charged per user per month.
- Email included with hosting. Many website hosting plans include basic mailboxes. Fine for small volumes, but with fewer features and less protection against spam.
For most new service businesses, one or two mailboxes are enough to start. You can add aliases such as info@ or quotes@ that forward to your main inbox without paying for extra users.
Step 3: Set up the records that stop emails going to spam
This is the part most people skip, and it is why new business emails end up in junk folders. Three DNS records tell other email systems that your messages are genuine:
- SPF lists the services allowed to send email for your domain
- DKIM adds a digital signature to each email
- DMARC tells receiving servers what to do with emails that fail those checks
Your email provider gives you the exact values to add. Google and Yahoo now expect them for anyone sending in volume, and they help every sender get delivered. If you use several services that send email for you, such as a booking system or invoicing software, each one needs to be included in your SPF record.
Step 4: Use it everywhere
Put your new address on your website, your Google Business Profile, your invoices and your email signature. For a limited company, the signature should also include your registered name, number and registered office, the same details you must show on your website.
What a business email costs
Expect the domain to cost a few pounds to around £15 a year, and a mailbox from Google or Microsoft to cost a few pounds per user per month. Check the current price on the provider’s own site before you sign up, as plans change often.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use a Gmail address for my business?
You can, but customers tend to trust an address on your own domain more, and it keeps your business and personal email separate.
Can I keep my email if I change website provider?
Yes, as long as you control the domain. Email and website can be hosted by different companies, which is one reason not to let anyone else own your domain.
How long does it take to set up?
Usually under an hour, plus a few hours for DNS changes to take effect.
Business email for Luton businesses
Many owners we meet in Luton and Dunstable still run their business from a personal Gmail or Hotmail address. It works, but it looks less established on quotes, and it is tied to you personally. A business address on your own domain costs little and can be forwarded to the phone you already use.
When we build a site for a local business, we check that enquiries and business email both land somewhere the owner actually reads on their phone, because a missed enquiry is a lost job.
At ST HECS in Luton, enquiries from the website and the business mailbox are routed to a phone that is checked through the day, because a school needing cover tomorrow will call someone else if no one replies.
Business email included with your website
Our New Business Launch package includes your domain, business email and hosting for the first 12 months, set up with the records that keep your emails out of spam. It is a fixed £497 with no contract, and the site is live in seven days.
