Business name? Yes. Website? Yep. Email hosting provider? Um, what’s that?
When setting up a new business, you’ll have many tasks to take care of. One that may not have crossed your mind is your email hosting provider. Choosing an email hosting provider is one of your biggest hurdles, even if you don’t yet realize it.
An email hosting provider handles a very important task — providing the infrastructure to send and store your emails. Email hosting services own giant servers to facilitate email sending and receiving. In exchange for a small fee, you rent a small part of your email hosting provider’s server space. On a business plan, you’ll get a lot of bonus features for the fee you pay, including a dedicated email domain, multiple email addresses, security features, and sometimes access to workspace apps.
While you can certainly go the low-cost route and sign your business up for free email accounts through Gmail or Yahoo, it may not be as professional. Plus, you’ll lose out on some key benefits of email hosting services, such as advanced security and access to business integrations for email marketing automation. Here’s what you need to know about email hosting services.
Benefits of email hosting
Signing up with an email hosting provider is a bright idea for several reasons. Consider these advantages.
No need to manage your own email server
You can establish your own email server at your place of business. However, unless you’re tech-inclined and have the time to manage it, you’ll need to hire someone to do it for you — which usually means bringing on a full-time employee. Plus, you’ll need to buy a server. All of those costs add up.
When you sign up with an email hosting service, everything’s covered for you. Your provider already has a team of staff and equipment to manage your email needs. All you do is pay a nominal fee.
Advanced mailbox security
Your business emails may contain sensitive information, such as client payment details, invoices, and proprietary data. You don’t want to risk losing critical data, and one way to mitigate this risk is through an email hosting service.
Email hosting providers use top-of-the-line security features to protect your business from spam, phishing, and malware attacks. Some include end-to-end encryption, which provides an additional layer of security that deters hackers.
Enhanced brand awareness and authenticity
Signing up with an email hosting service means you’ll receive emails with your website’s domain. You can customize each email address for specific departments and employees. That adds more credibility to your messages and can increase brand awareness, especially among customers unfamiliar with your organization.
Additional business tools
Many email hosting providers include free or paid access to business tools you’ll likely need. Some examples include word processing tools, spreadsheets, presentation software, and video conferencing services. Rather than purchasing tools separately (which may be more expensive), you can bundle them up with your email hosting services.
Increased storage and customer support
Signing up with an email hosting provider means you’ll obtain access to enhanced storage your team can use to archive business communications. You’ll be able to easily retrieve older emails whenever you need to verify critical information. Most email hosting services also provide 24/7 support, so you can reach out whenever you encounter an issue.
Types of email hosting services
Sending an email involves three separate protocols. Each protocol plays its own role in sending, receiving, and storing messages.
Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP)
The IMAP protocol allows email recipients to access messages on a remote mail server from local clients. IMAP connects email on the server with your messaging app, allowing you to view it on different devices, such as a laptop or smartphone.
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)
SMTP sends your messages. Any time you hit the send button, SMTP acts as the mail carrier, picking up the message and directing it to the recipient’s email server.
Post Office Protocol Version 3 (POP3)
POP3 retrieves email from servers and directs it to a single computer. After POP3 completes the retrieval process, it removes it from the email server. Once POP3 completes the process, you can read your messages even if you don’t have an internet connection.
Choosing the best email hosting service
Since several different email hosting services are available for business use, you’ll need to consider the features to make a suitable choice for your organization.
Support and ease of use
You probably don’t want to spend hours trying to decipher the ins and outs of your email service. Instead, you want a user-friendly option that you can quickly activate and start using immediately. Look at the solutions’ interface and choose one that offers intuitive functions. Also, check out the support options. Some services may offer written and video tutorials, articles, and access to customer assistance teams, which can be pretty helpful in a pinch.
Security measures
Ideally, your email service provider will offer extra security features to keep your messages flowing smoothly. Some security features to look for include end-to-end encryption, malware and spam filtering, and multifactor authentication.
Uptime reliability and support
If your email service provider suddenly crashes, you won’t be able to send emails. Ask providers if they’ve had any recent crashes and the length of the service outage. You can also check downtime stats through sites like Downdetector.com. Keep in mind that even the most robust services occasionally crash, and ask about the support available if one happens to your business.
Budget considerations
In the early days of your business, you may not have much of a runway for expensive tech software and tools. However, most email service providers are budget-friendly. Some may allow you to minimize costs by only paying for features you use.
Business needs and requirements
Consider the tools you need most from your email, and ensure those are a part of your plan. Some examples include decent storage space, accommodation for large file transfers, and a functional calendar that integrates with your email. You may also need essential business software like word processing and spreadsheet capability.
Best email hosting providers
Here’s a look at the most reliable email hosting providers organizations use.
Google Workspace
Google Workspace is a top email hosting provider. It offers three separate plans, each of which includes a secure email address using your domain and access to the numerous Google Workspace apps.
The Business Starter plan costs $6 per monthly user and offers 30GB of pooled storage, security, and standard support. Upgrading to a $12 per monthly user Business Standard plan provides 2TB of storage and special tools, such as appointment booking pages and email layout templates. The $18 per monthly user Business Plus plan includes enhanced security tools and 5 TB of storage.
Enterprise users may choose a customized plan with additional storage, security features, and tailored pricing options.
Microsoft 365 Business
Microsoft 365 Business is the go-to solution for businesses that rely on Microsoft’s ecosystem of products. Three subscriptions are available: Business Basic, Business Standard, and Business Premium.
The Business Basic plan is $6 per monthly user and includes a custom business email and access to all the Microsoft business apps you’re probably familiar with, including Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. However, users can only access web and mobile apps, not the desktop versions.
The Business Standard plan is $12.50 per monthly user and includes everything that Business Basic does, plus access to the desktop versions of Microsoft apps.
Upgrading to the Microsoft 365 Business Premium plan includes all the Basic and Standard features and additional security tools to mitigate cyber threats, including enterprise-grade device and endpoint protection. It starts at $22 per monthly user.
Zoho Mail
Zoho Mail offers a budget-friendly alternative to organizations that want email and don’t see a need for office productivity apps. You can sign up strictly for Zoho Mail’s service, which offers plans for as little as $1 per monthly user.
The Basic plan includes 5GB of storage space, a custom domain, and support for attachments with sizes up to 250 MB. You’ll also get access to the Zoho Mail calendar, which syncs with your email and team calendars.
Upgrading to the $3 per monthly user plan gives you access to Zoho’s workplace apps, which include a word processor, spreadsheet and presentation software, and online video meeting tools.
If you need more storage, Zoho’s $4 per monthly user premium plan includes 50GB per user and supports attachments up to 1 GB. However, it does not provide access to the Zoho workplace apps.
IceWarp
IceWarp positions itself as the cheaper option to Google Workspace and Microsoft 365. It also offers a self-hosted option rather than cloud-only, which allows you to license its tools for a monthly fee of $3 per user.
IceWarp’s Startup plan is $35 monthly for up to 10 users and includes 200GB of storage for every team member. Every user receives 1 TB of cloud storage for documents, plus access to all of IceWarp’s business tools, including word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations. IceWarp also includes a helpful calendar tool that syncs across all devices and security features to guard against viruses and spam.
Larger organizations can upgrade to the IceWarp Business plan, which supports up to 500 users. Its pricing starts at $2.30 per monthly user and includes the same storage limitations as the Startup plan. Users get access to all of IceWarp’s business apps, but you can upgrade to desktop versions for an additional fee.
Rackspace
Rackspace guarantees its customers 100% uptime, meaning you’ll never experience a crash with its services. It also provides personal support, with experts available to answer questions and resolve issues 24 hours a day. Users receive 25 GB of mail storage and can access their messages through Outlook and mobile apps.
The Rackspace Email basic plan starts at $2.99 per monthly user. Upgrading to the Rackspace Email Plus plan is $3.99 per monthly user. It includes all of the basic features, plus access to Rackspace’s Microsoft-compatible business productivity apps, shared calendar tools, and instant messaging.
Fastmail
Fastmail’s business email plans are privacy-centered. Every plan is guaranteed free of ads or tracking and offers superior spam-blocking tools. You’ll also get access to helpful organizational features, such as email inbox customization, tailored folders and labels, and calendar coordination with your team.
The Basic business plan is $4 monthly and includes 5 GB of storage per user. You can create shared email addresses and set up a company address book.
Upgrading to Standard gets you 50 GB of storage per user and customized email addresses using your business domain. If you run into issues with your email, you can contact Fastmail’s support team directly. The Standard plan integrates with common third-party email interfaces, including iPhone Mail and Outlook.
The Professional plan is $10 per monthly user and includes 100GB of storage. It includes all the features of Basic and Standard, plus an email retention archive to assist in business compliance needs.
Amazon WorkMail
Amazon WorkMail provides a straightforward email and web hosting service with no extra bells and whistles. For $4 per monthly user, clients receive 50 GB of storage for each user and enterprise-grade security, including SSL encryption and spam and virus protection. It’s fully compatible with most email clients, including Microsoft Outlook. You can scale your plan up or down according to the number of accounts needed.
Additional considerations
Most businesses use email for internal communication and messaging vendors, but you may also use it for marketing. If you plan on integrating email marketing into your advertising channels, keep a few tips in mind.
- Build a list: It takes time to build a list of subscribers who want to receive marketing communications. Start building your list early through all your messaging channels, including social media and website.
- Connect with B2B customers: If you mainly service B2B clients, promote your email list in person, through events, and on your website. Make sure clients understand its value to attract more subscribers.
- Learn email marketing best practices: Email marketing differs from traditional messaging. You may be addressing a group of people rather than individuals, and your objectives may be sales-oriented. Ensure you use captivating subject lines to increase open rates and avoid spelling or grammar mistakes that make your brand appear unprofessional.
Choosing the right email service provider starts with a feature comparison
While Google and Microsoft are the big players among email service providers, other options exist. Before deciding on your provider, list the features most important to you, such as storage, security, and access to productivity apps. Then, decide on a budget. Consider a trial run if you’re on the fence between several providers. Most provide a free trial period so you can explore their features. Remember, you can always change email hosting providers if you find yours isn’t the right fit. If you’d like to learn more about the technical aspects of email marketing, check out our guide to email deliverability.
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