How to get a professional email address for your business

A professional email address uses your own domain, like hello@yourbusiness.co.uk instead of yourbusiness123@gmail.com. To get one you need two things: a domain name, and a mailbox from an email provider. Here's how it works and what it costs.

Why it's worth it

• Trust: customers are more likely to reply to, and pay, an address that matches your website.
• It looks established on quotes, invoices and van signwriting.
• It's yours: if you change provider, the address stays the same.
• Separate work and personal inboxes.

What you need

1. 1A domain name, around £10 to £20 a year. See our guide to choosing one.
2. 2A mailbox from an email provider, usually charged per person per month.
3. 3DNS settings that point your domain's email to that provider. This is the fiddly bit.

What it costs

The big office suites (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365) start at around £5 to £7 per person per month and include documents and storage. If you just need email, dedicated mailboxes cost less.

Which address to choose

• hello@ or info@ for the main inbox on your website.
• firstname@ for a personal touch with customers.
• accounts@ or orders@ once you have more than one person.