Guides

Business email, explained plainly

Practical, sourced guides written by the engineers who run our Exchange platform. No gated downloads, no email address required. For quick answers, see Answers; to check your own domain, try the email security checker.

Deadlines coming up

Outlook how-to

Outlook How to recall an email in Outlook, and what to do when you can’t How to recall or replace a sent email in classic Outlook, the new Outlook and Outlook on the web, why recall only works in some cases, and what to do instead. Read the guide Outlook How to add a signature in Outlook, plus templates you can copy Add or change an email signature in the new Outlook, classic Outlook and Outlook on the web, step by step, plus copy-and-paste signature templates for UK businesses. Read the guide Outlook Out of office message examples, and how to set them in Outlook Out of office message examples for annual leave, bank holidays, sickness, parental leave and staff who have left — plus how to turn on automatic replies in Outlook. Read the guide Troubleshooting Outlook not receiving emails? Ten fixes, in the right order Outlook not receiving emails or not syncing? Work out whether the problem is Outlook, your mailbox or your domain, then fix it — checks in the order that saves time. Read the guide Outlook How to add an email account to Outlook, and what to do when it fails Add an email account to the new Outlook or classic Outlook for Windows, set one up manually when automatic set-up fails, and the account types each version supports. Read the guide How to How to set up email on an iPhone, including work Exchange accounts Set up business email on an iPhone: Exchange and Microsoft 365 accounts in the Mail app, IMAP accounts, the Outlook app alternative, and fixes for common problems. Read the guide Troubleshooting Why Outlook keeps asking for your password — and how to make it stop Why Outlook keeps prompting for a password on Exchange and Microsoft 365 — saved credentials, Autodiscover, old versions — and how to fix each one. Read the guide Troubleshooting Mailbox full? How to fix it without losing anything Why your Exchange or Microsoft 365 mailbox is full, what stops working at each stage, and how to free space fast — or get more of it — without losing mail. Read the guide Outlook Outlook calendar permissions, explained in plain English Every Outlook calendar permission level explained in plain English — Reviewer, Editor, Delegate and the rest — and which to use for PAs, teams and rooms. Read the guide Outlook How to create a distribution list in Outlook, and which kind you need Create a distribution list in Outlook: a contact list just for you, or a group everyone can email. Steps for the new Outlook, classic Outlook and Outlook on the web. Read the guide

Exchange and shared mailboxes

Deadline: October 2026 Exchange 2016 and 2019 end of support: your options before the last updates stop Exchange 2016 and 2019 left support in October 2025, and the final paid security update period ends in October 2026. Your three realistic options, compared. Read the guide Exchange Server Exchange Server SE: what it is and what it really costs What Exchange Server Subscription Edition is, how it is licensed, why it costs more than 2019, the upgrade paths, and the running costs nobody quotes you. Read the guide Outlook The new Outlook and Exchange Server: what works, what does not The new Outlook for Windows does not support on-premises Exchange accounts. What that means, why you see “We couldn’t reach the email server”, and what to do. Read the guide Licensing Do shared mailboxes need a licence? Usually not — with four exceptions When an Exchange shared mailbox is free and when it needs a licence: the 50 GB limit, archives, litigation hold, the 25-user ceiling and the leaver trick. Read the guide Troubleshooting Shared mailbox not showing or not updating in Outlook? Here is why Fixes for a shared mailbox that will not appear, will not update, or puts sent mail in the wrong folder in Outlook — for Exchange and Microsoft 365. Read the guide How to How to add a shared mailbox on a Mac, iPhone or Android How to open a shared mailbox in Outlook for Mac, and on iPhone and Android — for Microsoft 365 and for Exchange Server or hosted Exchange, which differ. Read the guide

Microsoft 365

Microsoft 365 Microsoft 365 Business Basic vs Standard vs Premium: which do you need? Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard and Premium compared for UK businesses: 2026 prices, mailbox sizes, what each adds, and which one you actually need. Read the guide Microsoft 365 Exchange Online Plan 1 vs Plan 2: which do you actually need? Exchange Online Plan 1 is £3.10 and Plan 2 £6.20 a user a month in the UK. What Plan 2 adds, what neither includes, and how Business Basic compares. Read the guide Pricing The July 2026 Microsoft 365 price rise: what UK businesses now pay Microsoft raised UK Microsoft 365 prices on 1 July 2026. What each business plan now costs, when the rise hits your bill, and honest ways to pay less. Read the guide Deadline: December 2026 Scan to email and Microsoft 365: the December 2026 SMTP change Microsoft is switching off basic authentication for SMTP AUTH in Exchange Online from the end of December 2026. What breaks — scanners, apps — and your options. Read the guide

Security and compliance

Email security SPF, DKIM and DMARC explained: stop spoofing and stay out of junk What SPF, DKIM and DMARC do, how they work together, how to set them up in the right order, and the mistakes that send your invoices to junk. Read the guide Deliverability Why are my emails going to spam? The causes, and the fixes Why your business emails land in spam or junk — missing SPF, DKIM and DMARC, sender reputation, content and bulk sending — and how to fix each, in order. Read the guide Troubleshooting Email bounce back: what it means and how to fix it Got an email bounce back? How to read a non-delivery report, what the common error codes mean (550 5.1.1, 5.7.1, 5.2.2 and more) and how to fix each one. Read the guide Security How to report a phishing email in the UK, and what to do if you clicked Where to report phishing emails and scam texts in the UK — the NCSC, your email app and your IT provider — and what to do straight away if you clicked or lost money. Read the guide Compliance Where is your business email actually stored? A UK guide to data residency What “UK hosted” email really means: primary copies, backups, support access and sub-processors, what UK GDPR does and does not require, and what to ask. Read the guide Compliance How long should a UK business keep emails? It depends what is in them There is no single UK law on keeping emails — it depends what they contain. The HMRC, VAT, payroll and contract periods that matter, and how to set a policy. Read the guide

Choosing and moving email

Comparison The best email hosting in the UK: an honest comparison The main business email providers UK firms choose between — Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Zoho, IONOS, Fasthosts, 123-reg and hosted Exchange — compared honestly. Read the guide How to How to get a business email address: a step-by-step UK guide Set up a professional email address on your own domain, step by step: register the name, choose a provider, add the DNS records and pick an address format. Read the guide Comparison Free business email: what is genuinely free, and the catch Can you get business email for free? The genuinely free options for UK businesses, what each one leaves out, and when paying a few pounds a month is worth it. Read the guide Pricing How much does business email cost in the UK? Every option, honestly compared UK business email costs about £1 to £14 per user per month. IMAP, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace and hosted Exchange compared honestly, option by option. Read the guide Comparison Cheap email hosting in the UK: what it really costs after the offer The cheapest UK business email hosting, with the price you pay after the introductory offer: IONOS, Fasthosts, 123-reg, Zoho, Microsoft and Google compared. Read the guide Comparison Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365 (and where hosted Exchange fits) Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 and hosted Exchange compared for UK businesses in 2026: prices, mailbox sizes, Outlook, apps and which suits whom. Read the guide Pricing Google Workspace pricing in the UK: every plan, explained Google Workspace UK prices for 2026: Starter, Standard, Plus and Enterprise, annual vs flexible billing, what each includes, and how it compares with Microsoft 365. Read the guide Migration Moving your email away from GoDaddy: the safe order of steps How to move Microsoft 365 email away from GoDaddy safely: the official release process, the mistakes that cause problems, and the alternative routes. Read the guide How-to How to move from IMAP email to Exchange without losing anything A step-by-step plan for moving a business from IMAP email to Exchange: what migrates, what does not, the DNS changes, and the pitfalls that lose people mail. Read the guide

Last updated 5 October 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us on 0121 233 0200 and we will correct it.

Ready to move your email to a UK Exchange platform?

Tell us how many mailboxes you have and who hosts them today. We will send a written quote, a migration plan and a fixed cutover date — usually within one working day.

Free assisted migration
No set-up fee, no minimum term
UK data centres, UK engineers

Get a quote 0121 233 0200

Or request a callback, or email sales@myexchangeserver.co.uk