Step 1: Choose and register your domain name
The domain is the part after the @. Pick something short, easy to spell when read out on the phone, and as close to your business name as you can get. For a UK business, .co.uk is the familiar choice; register the matching .uk and .com too if they are free, so nobody else can use them.
- Register it in the business’s name, on an account you control, with an email address that will still work if a member of staff leaves.
- Turn on auto-renewal. A lapsed domain stops your email the day it expires.
- You do not need a website to have email on a domain. The two are independent.
Step 2: Choose an email provider
The domain gives you the name; an email provider hosts the mailboxes. The main options, per mailbox per month, excluding VAT:
| Option | Typical price | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Basic IMAP email (often bundled with a domain or hosting) | £1–£3 | One person, light use, no shared calendars |
| Microsoft Exchange Online Plan 1 | £3.10 (annual) | Exchange mailbox only, 50 GB |
| Microsoft 365 Business Basic | £5.40 (annual) | Email plus Teams and web Office apps, 100 GB |
| Google Workspace Business Starter | £5.90 (annual) | Teams that prefer Gmail and Google Docs |
| Hosted Exchange (MyExchangeServer) | £8.00, no commitment | Exchange and Outlook hosted in the UK, with UK support |
If two or more people will share calendars or an inbox, skip basic IMAP email: it cannot do either. Our guides to what business email costs, cheap email hosting and free business email compare the options in more depth.
Step 3: Add the DNS records
Your email provider gives you a set of records to add wherever your domain’s DNS is managed — usually the company you registered it with. Each does one job:
- MX — where incoming email is delivered. This is the switch that makes your new addresses work.
- SPF — which servers may send email as your domain.
- DKIM — a key that proves your messages are genuine and unaltered.
- DMARC — what receivers should do with mail that fails those checks. Without it, anyone can send email that looks like yours.
- Autodiscover — lets Outlook find your mailbox from just your address and password.
Once they are in, check them with our free MX lookup and email security checker. Our guide to SPF, DKIM and DMARC explains the three security records.
Step 4: Create your addresses
Create a mailbox for each person. For addresses several people answer — info@, sales@, accounts@ — use a shared mailbox rather than a mailbox with a shared password: everyone sees the same inbox, and you can see who replied. On most business plans shared mailboxes are free. Our shared mailbox guide explains the rules.
Step 5: Set up your devices
Add the account to Outlook, your phone and any tablet. With Exchange, Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, mail, calendar and contacts stay in step everywhere. Add an email signature with your name, role, phone number and company details. UK limited companies must show their registered number, registered office and where they are registered on business letters, order forms and websites, and most put the same details in their email signature.
Business email address examples
Pick one format for people and use it for everyone. The common choices, for Jane Smith at yourbusiness.co.uk:
| Format | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| First name | jane@yourbusiness.co.uk | Friendly and short. Breaks down when you hire a second Jane. |
| First name and surname | jane.smith@yourbusiness.co.uk | The safest choice as you grow. Easy to guess. |
| Initial and surname | jsmith@yourbusiness.co.uk | Short, but harder to spell out on the phone. |
| Role | sales@, accounts@, support@, info@ | For shared inboxes. Survives staff changes. |
Avoid numbers, hyphens and nicknames, which are hard to read out and look less established. Set up aliases for common misspellings if your name is often mistyped.
Mistakes that cause trouble later
- The domain registered to someone else. A web designer or former employee holding the domain holds your email.
- No SPF, DKIM or DMARC. Mail goes to junk, and your domain is easy to impersonate in invoice fraud.
- One shared login for info@. Use a shared mailbox, so you can remove a leaver’s access without changing a password everyone knows.
- Choosing on the first-year price. Compare the renewal price, and whether you can leave without penalty.