If you run the business from a free address like a Gmail or Hotmail account, switch to email on your own domain, such as hello@yourbusiness.co.uk. It looks established, it matches the website, and it stays with the firm when staff or providers change. A free inbox still delivers mail. It also quietly tells a customer you have not finished setting the business up.
On our pricing page professional email starts from £10 a month plus a setup fee, on Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. I am not going to invent other IT prices around that. Check the current vendor licence as well, because those change.
Why does a free Gmail or Hotmail address hold a business back?
It works. That is why so many people still use it. The problem is the signal and the ownership, not the technology.
A customer comparing two quotes will not always admit that joetheplumber99@gmail.com felt less solid than joe@joesplumbing.co.uk. They just pick the second one. The same person may still hire you. Some will not. You never hear from those.
The address is not yours. It is a consumer account on someone else’s platform. You cannot hand it to a colleague, keep it when you leave a personal Google account, or put a sensible accounts@ next to it. When a staff member used their own Gmail for jobs, the jobs leave with them.
It also fights your other marketing. The van says yourbusiness.co.uk. The invoice says Gmail. The two stories do not match. Customers notice the mismatch even if they cannot name it.
None of this means Gmail is “bad email”. It means it is personal email. A limited company, or a sole trader taking serious jobs, looks finished with a domain address.
What do you actually get with an address on your own domain?
You get a name that belongs to the business.
name@yourbusiness.co.uk matches the site. Everyone can have one: your name, info@, accounts@, a shared inbox for the office. When someone leaves, you keep the mailbox and turn off their login. That is the whole point of a business tenant.
You can change the email host later and keep the same addresses. The domain is the identity. Microsoft, Google or another host is just the engine behind it. That is the opposite of a Gmail address, which is glued to Google.
Every message you send also repeats the web address. It is a small, free reminder.
You do not need a huge site first. You need a domain. Most firms register the domain, stand up email, and build the website on the same name. That is the tidy order. A domain with only email is still better than a Gmail and no domain at all.
If you are weighing Microsoft against Google for more than mail, whether you need Microsoft 365 is the plain version. Email is one feature of those suites, not the whole invoice. Buy the tier that matches how people work. Do not buy the top row because the salesperson liked it.
How much does business email cost?
Less than people fear, and more than zero.
Page Forge sets up professional email from £10 a month plus setup, using Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, with calendar and the usual office tools where the plan includes them. The monthly figure is the licence and the running of the mailbox. The setup is the project: domain records, mailboxes, and the authentication that stops you landing in spam.
Vendor licence prices move. I will not quote Microsoft or Google’s current per-user figure here. Look at their comparison charts before you buy extra seats.
Mailbox-only hosts exist if you truly want nothing else. Most small businesses find the suite better value because files and calendars come with the same login.
Do not confuse this with the website plan. A Page Forge site is £29 a month or £299 a year for domain, UK hosting, SSL and six updates. Email is a separate line.
What are MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC in plain English?
These are DNS records. DNS is the list that tells the internet where your domain lives. Email uses a few specific rows on that list.
MX (mail exchanger) says where incoming mail should be delivered. If MX points at the old host after you have moved, new messages go to the wrong place. If it is missing, mail cannot arrive.
SPF is a public list of who is allowed to send mail as you. If a scammer tries to send from yourbusiness.co.uk and they are not on the list, receiving servers can treat the message as suspicious.
DKIM is a signature on each message. It proves the mail came from someone with your keys and was not altered on the way. Think of it as a wax seal, not as encryption of the contents.
DMARC tells receivers what to do when SPF or DKIM fail: watch, quarantine, or reject. It also gives you a way to see reports of people spoofing you. Without DMARC, the other two are half-finished.
Skip these and two things happen. Your real mail drifts into junk. Criminals impersonate you more easily. The usual complaint, “clients say they never got it”, is often this, not a broken inbox.
You can check the public records without logging into anything. Our email DNS checker reads MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC for a domain and tells you, in ordinary language, what is missing.
Should you set it up yourself?
A single mailbox on a quiet domain is a fair DIY job if you are happy editing DNS and you test before you tell customers. Create the mailbox, add the records, send a message to a personal account, and check it did not land in spam.
Several mailboxes, a shared info@, years of old mail, phones and laptops already configured: that is a project. The cost of a day of bounced quotes is higher than a setup fee. This is the work we do as a one-off. We are not a helpdesk. We set it up, write down what you have, and hand it over.
Turn on multi-factor authentication the same day. A domain mailbox with a weak password is a gift. The professional address is pointless if someone else can send as you.
Then print the new address on the next batch of invoices and the van, and stop giving out the Gmail. Old addresses can forward for a while. Do not run two public identities forever.
Frequently asked questions
Is a Gmail address really that bad for business?
It delivers mail. It undersells you. A domain address looks more credible, matches the website, and belongs to the firm. For a modest monthly cost it is an easy upgrade.
Do I need a website before I can have business email?
You need a domain. You do not need a full site on day one. Most businesses do both together so the name matches everywhere.
What are SPF and DKIM, and do I need them?
They prove mail is really from you. Yes, you need them, plus DMARC. Missing records are the usual reason business email dies in junk or gets forged.
Can I keep my old Gmail and just change the display name?
Receivers still see the real address. A display name of “Jane at Smith Joinery” on a Gmail account is still Gmail. Use it as a personal backup if you want. Do not use it as the public business address.
Does Page Forge run my email every month after setup?
We set it up as a project. The from-£10 monthly figure is the mailbox product on the pricing page, not an IT support contract. If you need a helpdesk when Outlook misbehaves, that is a different kind of supplier.
Should I pick Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace?
Pick the one that matches how you already work. Outlook and Excel habits lean Microsoft. Browser-first teams often prefer Google. The longer fork is in the Microsoft 365 piece linked above.
If you want the domain address set up properly once, with the records checked, that is a job we will quote. Get in touch with how many people need a mailbox and whether you already own the domain.