It’s important to have a business email that is professional when you’re interacting with existing clients or trying to attract new customers. We are going to show you exactly how to set one up whether you have a website or not.
Your email address must have a professional appearance that looks trustworthy. This is how to set up a business email:
- Secure a business domain name for your company
- Choose your business email hosting company
- Set up and configure your business email
- Manage your business email address
A professional email address for your business uses your company’s name instead of a generic account such as Yahoo! or Gmail. It’s quick and easy to set up a free email account, and it can be done in minutes.
Setting up a generic email account might be fine for the first couple of weeks when you’re first opening shop, but you’ll need something that appears a lot more professional as you move forward.
Your business email address acts as a promotional point, and it’s vital to get one set up as soon as possible.
What Is an Email Address for Business?
An email address for the business is an address that is linked to your domain name. It is not a generic email legitimate linked to a Yahoo or a Gmail account.
Anyone can access these generic accounts to create an email address, and as a result, businesses and customers do not view them as legitimate as a business email. As well, a professional business email address is easier to find by consumers.
Why Your Business Needs a Professional Email Address
There are many reasons why you should be investing in a business email address, including the following:
- Looks professional
- Helps you earn trust with customers
- Easy to remember
- Shows you are a legitimate business
- It’s an easy way to promote your brand
- Higher email open rates
- Better ROI for email campaigns
- Easier to manage
If you want your business to be taken seriously, you must invest in a business address as quickly as possible.
How to Choose the Best Name for Your Business Email Address
Choose a name that is short and easy to remember. The name should resonate with your business goals and with the services or products you are selling.
It’s never a good idea to add extra letters or numbers to a word just to secure a domain name. Many consumers won’t even notice that a word is spelled differently than normal, and as a result, they won’t be able to find you.
If you are selling shoes, for example, and the name bestshoes.com is already taken, don’t consider adding an extra “s” to the word “shoes” to make it look like “bestshoess.com.”
Most people will type in “bestshoes.com” with the proper spelling, and you’ll be passing along potential customers to your competition.
1. Secure a Business Domain Name for Your Company
The first thing that you’ll need to do is create a domain name for your company. This is not necessarily the same thing as putting up a website. If you don’t want to put together a website right away, you’ll still need to get a domain name to create a proper business email address.
Consider the domain name as a plot of land with a street address. At the same time, you can consider your website to be the house that is being built. You can have an email address without needing a website built on the domain name, just like you don’t need a house to own a piece of land.
It might take some digging at first to come up with a good business name for your domain but keep persisting. When you type in different possibilities at the domain registrar site, recommendations appear when the name you have typed in isn’t available.
There are also research tools available to help you pick out a domain name, and you may consider using them if you get stuck.
2. Choose Your Business Email Hosting Company
You will need to choose a website or an email hosting company to use. Your domain name must be plugged into the Internet using a mail server linked directly to your domain. This is crucial since it allows emails to be sent back and forth.
There are many different email and website hosting companies to choose from, and they all offer a variety of services at different price points. Some of the recommended companies to consider include:
- Bluehost
- HostGator
- G Suite
- Microsoft Office 365
When you arrive on one of these sites, you’ll see that you may be provided with the option to set up stand-alone hosting for emails or a bundle that includes emails and a website.
You’ll need to know ahead of time whether you are planning to set up a website for your company. If this is in your plans, choose a website email bundle.
If you think that you will be creating a website in the future, you may also want to choose the bundle. If you are just going to be keeping your site simple, you can choose an inexpensive plan to get started.
When your site starts to take off, and there is a lot of traffic arriving on it, you’ll always have the option of upgrading to a bigger and better plan.
3. Set up and Configure Your Business Email
Most of the website hosting companies, including Blue Host and HostGator, have similar methods for setting up and configuring a business email account.
We have provided the actions required to set up your email with both of these companies. If you decide to use a different one, you’ll find that the setup and configuration requirements are very similar.
If you choose to use an email hosting company such as G Suite or Microsoft Office 365, the requirements are quite different. We will show you how to set up each one and configure them to get your business email up and running.
4. Manage Your Business Email Address
There are different ways to manage your email address. You may have the option of setting up a different email server such as Gmail or Outlook instead of using the hosting company. We provide all the details for managing your business email address below.
How to Set Up a Business Email Address with Bluehost
The steps to setting up a business email address vary from one company to the next. We are first going to delve into setting up a business email with Bluehost, one of the top hosting providers on the Internet.
Bluehost Business Email Address
Here are the steps to follow when setting up a business email address with Bluehost:
- Choose a Bluehost plan
- Decide on a domain name
- Create an email address for your business
- Access your Bluehost business email account
When you sign up for a hosting package with Bluehost, you’ll be provided with a free email address for your business. You’ll find the prices for the plans very reasonable, and this company may provide new sign-ups with a free domain. You can access your business email account right away even if you don’t put up a website.
1. Choose a Bluehost Plan
Begin by clicking on the green button that says “Get Started Now”.
Take a look through the plans available at Bluehost. This company offers 4 different hosting plans, and we recommend getting the Basic plan if you don’t want to set up a website but only want a single business email.
This is the cheapest plan available, and if you do decide to put up a site later, you’ll have the option to do so.
If, on the other hand, you need more than one business email address, choose the Plus plan. This will give you access to unlimited business email accounts. In general, the Basic and the Plus plans are the best for small businesses that are just starting out.
Once you have chosen your plan, click on the “Next” button to arrive at the page to choose your domain name.
2. Decide on a Domain Name
At this point, you will check to see if there is a domain name available that matches your business name. If it’s not available, Bluehost will provide suggestions for you. If you don’t like any of the alternatives provided, you can search for another name for your domain by yourself.
Here are some helpful tips to help you choose a great domain name:
- Purchase a domain name that ends with .com
- Add the business location to your domain name
- Try using keywords in the name
- Keep the name as short as possible
- Don’t use a different spelling of the words
- Find a name that is easy to remember
- Avoid using hyphens or numbers in the name
- Choose a domain name that is easy to pronounce
Try to find the best domain name you can. This may take some time, but it’s an important part of getting started.
After you have finished choosing your domain’s name, you’ll need to fill in your account and package information. You’ll be asked to choose any extras you want at this time.
These are completely optional, and you usually won’t need to purchase any when you’re first getting started. You can always come back and add them to your package later.
Complete Your Purchase
It’s time to complete the purchase by entering your payment information. You’ll arrive at a page asking for your payment details, and once you have added all the necessary data, Bluehost will send you an email with the login information you need for your control panel.
Everything that you do from this point on will be managed through this control panel.
3. Create an email address for your business
Use your login details to access the dashboard on your hosting account control panel. You will see a button called “Email.” Go ahead and click on it. After you have done this, click on the tab that says “Add Email Account.”
You’ll be asked to provide a password and username for the email account. Fill in these details and then click on the button that says “Create Account.” Once it has been created, a success message will show up.
4. Access Your Bluehost Business Email Account
Your business email address has been all set up, and now it’s time to access it and test it out. Look in the email section in your account and click on the tab for “Email Accounts.”
You’ll see your new email address displayed there. You can then get to the webmail interface by clicking on the button named “Access webmail.”
While gaining access to your email through Bluehost is definitely an option, it’s better to set up another email client to use instead. This way, you won’t have to go through all of the steps and login into your Bluehost account every time.
Setting up a different email client is relatively fast and simple. Click on “Connect devices” and then click on the link that says “Set up Mail Client.”
At this point, the information you need to set up your business email address is provided by Bluehost. You have the option to use different mail clients, including:
- Gmail
- Outlook
- Other mail apps
Test Your Email Address
Once you finish this step, it’s time to test things out. Send an email to your new business email address and watch for it to arrive. Once it shows up, you can then reply to the email and watch for the email reply to arrive in the account you sent it from. When you see that everything is okay, you have finished setting up your Bluehost email address for your business.
How to set up a Business Email Address with HostGator
As with Bluehost, HostGator will provide you with a free email account when purchasing a hosting plan with the company. You do not have to set up a website to access your account, but you will still need a domain name. Here are the steps to follow to get started:
- Choose a HostGator plan
- Decide on a domain name
- Create an email address for your business
- Access your HostGator business email account
1. Choose a HostGator Plan
HostGator offers a number of different affordable plans including:
- Hatchling
- Baby
- Business
The hatchling plan is only $6.95 per month, the baby plan is $9.95, and the business plan costs $14.95 monthly. All of these plans include a free business email account.
When you purchase a plan with HostGator, you may get a free domain for one year. Choose the best plan by comparing the different options available for each one.
Once you have selected a plan click on the button that says “Buy Now”.
2. Decide on a Domain Name
Next, it’s time to take a look through the available domain names. Type in the name you’d like and see if it is available. HostGator places a green label on available domains.
You will also be provided with alternative suggestions if the name you want isn’t available. If you don’t like any of the alternatives, try to come up with your own.
Once the name has been chosen, it’s time to scroll down the page to complete the order form. It’s best to uncheck the box that says “Domain Privacy” for now. You can decide to change this later.
As you continue to scroll down, you’ll arrive at section 2, and you’ll see the hosting plan that you selected showing up. Make sure it is correct, and then continue on to section 3, where you’ll be asked to fill in your personal information.
In section 4, you’ll be asked for your payment details, so go ahead and fill that out. Once you reach section 5, HostGator will ask you if you want to add any extra options to your account.
Go ahead and untick the boxes since you won’t require any of these right away. As with Bluehost, you can always add them later.
3. Create an Email Address for Your Business
First, click on the link for “Email Accounts,” which appears on the page’s right side. If you don’t see your email showing up right away, wait a few minutes until the icon is blue.
Sometimes it can take up to 5 minutes for the account to be set up completely. When it appears, there are 3 different tasks you’ll need to perform on this page, including the following:
- Under “Email” create a username
- Use the password generator to make a password that is strong
- Set the mailbox quote to “Unlimited”
Once this has been filled out, click on the button called “Create Account” and you are ready to go.
4. Access Your HostGator Business Email Account
You’ll see on the left side of the screen a button called “Email.” Click on this and then click on “Webmail” followed by “Access Webmail.”
Choose the application for webmail that you would prefer. If you would like to add your business email account to your PC or your phone, HostGator provides instructions regarding setting up a business email with different providers lower down on the screen.
How to Create a Gmail Business Email Using G Suite
This is another option available when you want to create an email address for your business. This may be the best option for people that are used to working with Google and its wide range of products. The G Suite package also includes the following business services:
- Google Calendar
- Google Drive
- Google Docs
- Gmail
- Video/audio conferencing
- 30GB of storage on the cloud
This is a complete business package, and even though you will have to pay a small amount to access the services, there are many benefits associated with signing up for G Suite. Some of the advantages include:
- Receive and send emails using the familiar Gmail interface
- Ability to send up to 2000 emails every day
- Google technology is superior, so your emails are delivered immediately
- Less likely to have your emails sent to spam folders
It will only take a few minutes to set up your business email address using this Google package.
Sign up for an Account on G Suite
G Suite offers all of the above services for only $5 per month. To set up a business account, you will require a domain name, but this can be purchased when signing up for your G Suite account. If you already have a domain name, it can be used.
Go to the G Suite website and look for the button “Get Started. ” Click on it, and you will be brought to another page where you will be asked to fill in details about your business.
You’ll have the option of adding other users to the account, but you should be aware that you’ll need to pay the $5 fee for each additional user. It’s best, to begin with just 1 user if you are just starting out. More users can be added as necessary.
Click on the button marked “Next” to continue.
Choose a Business Domain Name
On the next page, you will be prompted to provide your personal contact details. You will then be asked to pick out a domain name. You’ll have options to choose from here, including:
- “Yes, I have one I can use”
- “No, I need one“
If you already have a domain name, you won’t have to complete the next section, but if you don’t have one, you’ll be asked to choose your domain name.
The domain registration is not included in the $5 price of the G Suite membership, and you’ll need to pay approximately $15 and up for the name.
Once you have picked out a domain name, Google will ask you to create a password and a username for the account. Your username will be your business email address, so be sure to enter this name.
You’ll notice a success message once you have completed these steps. Click the “Continue” button to finish setting up the account.
On the setup page, Google will ask whether you want to add more users to the account. If you only want to have one user, there is a button you can click that says, “I have added all user email addresses.” Then you can click on the button marked “Next.”
You will then have to verify the domain and the email you have set up, and you are done.
How to Set Up a Business Email on G Suite If You Already Have a Domain Name
If you already have a domain name that existed before setting up your G Suite account, you’ll need to verify that you own the domain. There will be an HTML code provided that you must add to your existing website if you have one.
If you don’t have a website but have a domain name, there is another method you can use to verify ownership of your domain name. This method uses an MX record, and if you need to use it, there are easy instructions provided by Google in a step-by-step format that you can follow.
You will then need to add your domain MX record to your hosting account or add it to your domain’s registrar account.
Once you have arrived on the hosting or registrar account, you will need to search for the DNS settings below your domain name. Select the domain name you will be using on G Suite and then click on the link that says “Manage.”
The DNS zone editor will open, and at that point, you’ll need to return to the setup screen on G Suite. You’ll see a box to click saying “I have opened the Control Panel of my domain name.”” Click on that box. You’ll be provided with the MX record that must be entered in your DNS settings.
You will need to delete any current MX records. Scroll down to the section for MX records and click on the button that says Delete”. You’ll have to return to the G Suite page to verify that you have deleted them.
Then, depending on the hosting provider or the domain registrar, you’ll need to save the actions you have performed. Once again, returned to G Suite to verify that you have saved them.
Once this has been completed, you will notice a button that says, “Verify domain and set up email.” Click on this, and you will be done.
How to Manage Your G Suite Business Emails
It’s easy to manage your business email account using G Suite. Simply go to the Gmail website and sign in with your business email address as the username.
How to Set Up an Outlook Business Email Using Microsoft 365
To create a business email address using this method, you’ll first need to sign up for a subscription with Microsoft Office 365.
The subscription for the Business Basic plan begins at $5 per month. You can also choose to use the Microsoft 365 Outlook service instead, which will provide you access to:
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft PowerPoint
This method is very similar to G Suite, but you’ll have access to the Microsoft tools instead of the Gmail services.
Sign up for a Subscription
To get started, you’ll be required to sign up for a subscription to Premium Office 365. Visit the Microsoft 365 site and look for the “Buy Now” button. If you already have an account set up with Microsoft, you can sign into it.
If you don’t already have an account, simply follow the prompts provided by Microsoft. You’ll be asked for your basic contact details, and you’ll be provided with an option to choose your existing domain or purchase one.
To verify that you have ownership of your domain, you’ll have to add a TXT record to the DNS settings in the control panel at your web hosting site or at your domain registrar’s website.
If you aren’t familiar with your DNS records, your hosting our registrar provider can provide you with the instructions you need.
You’ll have to create a password and user ID to sign in to your email account on the form provided at the Microsoft site. After completing this step, you’ll see a button that says, “Sign up.”
Click on it. You’ll be asked for your payment information, and once the order has been processed, you can then sign in directly to your Microsoft 365 portal.
After you have signed in, you will arrive at your admin panel. Under “get your custom domain set up,” click on “Set up” and then “View. ” You will then be provided with instructions to add your DNS records.
Once you have done this, the setup is complete, and you can start using your business email address right away.
Access your Outlook Business Email Using Microsoft 365
To get started with your email accounts and test the system out, go to the Microsoft 365 menu and select the “Outlook” app. Send an email to your new 365 business email account and then reply to it.
Ensure everything is functioning properly, and start using your new email address to reach out to clients and customers.
Final Thoughts
Using a business email address containing your company name is the best way to promote your business. This email type looks a lot more legitimate than generic emails and provides a solid boost to your credibility.
We have demonstrated how to set up a business email account with Bluehost and HostGator, both reasonably-priced hosting companies.
We have also shown you how to set up an email for businesses through Office 365 and G Suite, which provide you with customized tools and services that you can use to operate your business.
You can’t go wrong with any of these choices, but we strongly suggest that you choose one of the web hosting providers if you plan on setting up a company website either now or in the future.
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