- What is hosted Exchange? Hosted Exchange is Microsoft Exchange email run for you by a provider, on its servers. You get Exchange mailboxes — Outlook, shared calendars, contacts, mobile sync and shared mailboxes — without buying, patching or looking after an Exchange server, usually for a monthly fee per mailbox. Read the answer
- Hosted Exchange vs IMAP: what is the difference? IMAP only synchronises email. Exchange synchronises email, calendars, contacts and tasks, and adds shared mailboxes with permissions, delegate access, a company-wide address book and instant push to phones. IMAP is fine for one person; Exchange is built for teams. Read the answer
- Exchange Online vs Exchange Server Exchange Server is software that you — or a hosting provider — install and run on servers. Exchange Online is Microsoft’s cloud version, sold on its own or as part of Microsoft 365. Users see much the same mailbox; the differences are who runs it, how it is licensed and updated, where the data lives, and which Outlook clients support it. Read the answer
- What is Autodiscover? Autodiscover is how Outlook and mobile devices find your mail server’s settings automatically, from just your email address and password. It relies on DNS records for your domain. When those records are missing or point at the wrong place, Outlook fails to set up an account or keeps asking for a password. Read the answer
- What is email hosting? Email hosting is a service that runs the servers that receive, store and send email for your own domain name, so you can use addresses like you@yourcompany.co.uk. The main types are basic IMAP/POP hosting, hosted Exchange, and suites such as Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. Read the answer
- Shared mailbox vs distribution list: which should you use? A shared mailbox is a single mailbox that several people work from: everyone sees the same inbox, can tell what has been dealt with, and replies come from the shared address. A distribution list simply sends a copy of each email to every member’s own mailbox. Use a shared mailbox when a team handles enquiries together; use a distribution list when everyone just needs to receive a copy. Read the answer
- Public folders vs shared mailboxes A shared mailbox suits a team working through the mail sent to one address. Public folders suit large, structured shared collections of mail, contacts or calendars that many people browse. Both are supported in Exchange Server and Exchange Online, but the new Outlook for Windows has only limited public folder support, so organisations that rely on public folders should keep classic Outlook. Read the answer
- What is business email compromise? Business email compromise (BEC) is fraud in which criminals use email — from a hacked mailbox or a convincing fake — to trick staff or clients into sending money or sensitive information. The most common version changes the bank details on a genuine-looking invoice. Read the answer
- Email archive vs backup: what is the difference? An archive keeps older email for the long term, searchable by users and governed by retention rules — it is for finding things. A backup is a copy kept to recover from loss, corruption, accidental deletion or ransomware — it is for putting things back. They do different jobs, and a business needs both. Read the answer
- Business email vs Gmail: why use your own domain? A business email address on your own domain looks more trustworthy, stays with the company when staff leave, lets you control access to mail, and supports SPF, DKIM and DMARC to protect your brand from impersonation. A free Gmail or Outlook.com address does none of those things for the business. Read the answer
- Can I keep my email address if I change email provider? Yes. Your email address belongs to your domain name, not to the company that hosts your email. Changing provider means pointing your domain’s mail (MX) and related DNS records at the new service and copying your existing mail across. Your addresses stay exactly the same. Read the answer
- Professional email address examples, and the ones to avoid The most professional email addresses use your own domain and a simple, consistent format: jane.smith@yourbusiness.co.uk, or jane@yourbusiness.co.uk in a small team. Shared inboxes use role addresses such as info@, sales@ and accounts@. Avoid free addresses like Gmail or your broadband provider’s, numbers, nicknames and anything you would have to spell out twice. Read the answer
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