Are you a small business grappling with managing your email systems while also dealing with a multitude of other tasks?
The key to your problem is email hosting. This service takes charge of email servers, freeing businesses from this task. It’s comparable to having a dedicated IT team that ensures your communication pathways are always available, secure, and running smoothly.
This is particularly beneficial for small businesses that may not have the necessary resources or expertise to operate an in-house email server. This blog post will highlight its importance and how it addresses common issues such as security risks and technical troubleshooting.
Furthermore, we’ll assist you in choosing a service that aligns with your needs and introduce some of the best email hosting providers that are ideal for small businesses. Let’s read on!
Brief Overview of Email Hosting
Email hosting services provide servers for hosting your email domains. You pay a fee and receive custom email domains from these providers. This differs from free services like Google or Yahoo, which are primarily for personal use.
Email hosting is more suitable for businesses or individuals for professional use. For example, a free service email might be → [email protected]. A hosted email might be → [email protected].
Large businesses often have in-house email servers, which can be expensive for small businesses. Instead, they can rent servers from email hosting providers. Many reliable hosting providers, such as Cloudways, offer email hosting services as an add-on.
For instance, you can add Rackspace email hosting services to your Cloudways account for just $1/month. Read more about how to use the Rackspace Email add-on with Cloudways.
Now that we’ve covered email hosting and why you might need it, let’s explore some of the best email hosting providers for small businesses and then delve deeper into the technical side (email protocol comparison).
End Management Worries with Managed WordPress Hosting
Spend your precious time building and marketing your brand, letting Cloudways handle all your hosting technicalities. Boost performance results and rank better.
Exploring Email Hosting Services
Check out the following comparison table for email hosting for startups & small businesses.
| Email Hosts | Free Trial | Price Starts From | Attachment Limit |
| 1. Google Workspace | Yes | $6 | 25MB |
| 2. Rackspace | Yes | $2.99 ($1 with Cloudways) |
50MB |
| 3. Neo | Yes | $1.99 | 30MB |
| 4. Titan | Yes | $1.49 | 30MB |
| 5. Zoho | Yes | $1 | 20MB |
| 6. Microsoft 365 | Yes | $9.99 | 150MB |
| 7. IceWarp | Yes | $1.50 | 30MB |
| 8. Mailgun | Yes | $35 | 25MB |
| 9. SendGrid | Yes | $19.95 | 30MB |
| 10. Intermedia Exchange | No | $7.94 | 50MB |
| 11. Postmark | Yes | $15 | 10MB |
| 12. Fastmail | Yes | $3 | 50MB |
| 13. Amazon WorkMail | Yes | Custom Pricing | 29MB |
💡 Note: All of these providers offer 24/7 support, spam filtering, and custom domains.
Why Do You Need Email Hosting?
While small business owners may initially believe that a Gmail domain is sufficient for their needs, investing in email hosting services can provide significant benefits. Here’s why:
1. Enhanced Brand Awareness and Authenticity
A custom domain name authenticates your business and leaves a lasting impression on recipients, enhancing brand awareness. This is why 37% of brands are increasing their email budget.
2. Advanced Mailbox Security
Email hosting services offer superior security features compared to free services, ensuring internal and external secure communication. Additional security features such as two-factor authentication (2FA), spam protection, end-to-end encryption, anti-spoofing, and anti-phishing are often included.
3. Additional Business Tools
Email hosting providers typically offer additional tools and features that aid in marketing and business planning. For instance, some providers offer collaboration tools, email checker, HTML email customization, and increased delivery rates with Email Validation APIs.
4. Increased Storage and Customer Support
With custom plans, paid services often come with increased storage capacity – up to 50GB per mailbox or more. Furthermore, most providers offer 24/7 customer support, ensuring assistance is available whenever needed.
On top of it all, just see how the number of email users consistently grows yearly. By 2026, the number of email users is expected to soar to a whopping 4.73 billion users. So, the later you start, the more you’ll miss out on.
And it’s not just about the number of users. In terms of return on investment (ROI), statistics indicate that for every dollar spent on email marketing, a return of $40 can be expected. This makes email hosting a potentially lucrative investment for your business.
Types of Email Hosting Services
There are three types of email hosting services for small businesses. Let’s look at them:
| Type | Definition | Ideal For |
| Shared Email Hosting | Low-cost option with shared server resources. Lower security. | Small businesses with tight budgets. |
| Third-party Email Hosting | Businesses rent dedicated server spaces. Better security than shared hosting. | SMEs with a reasonable budget. |
| Self-hosted Email Hosting | Businesses set up their own server infrastructure. Data protectivity is significantly high. | Businesses with enough budget for in-house servers. |
Understanding IMAP, POP3, and SMTP
Email communication relies on three main protocols: IMAP, POP3, and SMTP. Each of these protocols has a unique role in the process of sending, receiving, and storing emails.
- IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol): This protocol allows users to access their email on a remote mail server from a local client. IMAP synchronizes the mail on the server with the mail in your app, allowing you to view and manage your email from different devices.
- SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol): This protocol sends emails. When you send an email, it’s picked up by the SMTP and then sent to the recipient’s email server.
- POP3 (Post Office Protocol version 3): Unlike IMAP, POP3 downloads email from a server to a single computer and then deletes it from the server. Because your email is stored on your computer, you can still access your messages even when you’re not connected to the internet.
Email hosting companies often use a combination of these protocols to provide efficient services to their clients. Each protocol has its own advantages and disadvantages, and the choice between them depends on a user’s specific needs and circumstances.
Pros and Cons of IMAP
🟢 Excellent synchronization across various devices.
🟢 Local machine failures don’t affect the data.
🟢 Local storage use is almost zero. The service provider servers are used.
🔴 You need an internet connection always.
🔴 Messages often have delay times because of real-time synchronization.
🔴 Server storage capacity is usually limited. You’ll likely need to pay for extra storage.
Pros and Cons of SMTP
🟢 SMTP attempts to send the email repeatedly, usually until it is delivered.
🟢 SMTP explains the reasons if the email doesn’t go through.
🟢 Highly dependable mode of sending emails.
🔴 Firewalls prove to be a tight security against SMTP portals.
🔴 Servers can reject email messages beyond a certain number of characters.
🔴 SMTP on its own can be insecure. It’ll need external assistance for tighter security.
Pros and Cons of POP3
🟢 Messages and resources are downloaded on devices and available even offline.
🟢 Predownloaded resources make opening and viewing emails faster.
🟢 Utilizes less server storage.
🔴 Malicious emails with corrupted files can harm your devices.
🔴 Sending large resources is difficult because of limited server resources.
🔴 Corrupted folders can result in data loss.
Future-Proof Your Businesses with Autonomous
Ensure your small business is ready for whatever comes next with Cloudways Autonomous. Stay ahead of the curve with advanced scalability and cutting-edge technology.
Best Business Email Hosting Providers
This is a detailed analysis of different email services suitable for small businesses.
💡 Note: All ratings are taken from G2.
1. Google Workspace
Quick Overview
- Best for: Businesses without budget limitations. Enterprises with more budgets can explore custom plans, too.
- Plans range: $6 – $18/user/month (custom plans are also available)
- Rating: 4.6/5
Google Workspace is a set of Google cloud-based applications that allow you to simplify many of your tasks. And it lets you have custom domains as well.
The thing with Google Workspace is that it’s a complete package with many tools to boost productivity and make communication effective. Calendar, Chat, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Sites, and Meet are some tools that you’ll get. It is one of the most popular email services available, with over a billion active users.
Key Features
- Custom email domains for businesses
- Protection against spam and phishers
- Domain ownership verification for extended security
- Security management for account protection (e.g., 2FA)
- 30GB to 5TB of storage space available
Pros and Cons
🟢 Reliable services with 99.99% uptime, so your communication will virtually never get interrupted.
🟢 There are so many tools that you can use to make your business processes efficient.
🟢 The pricing plan is inclusive. It can cater to anyone from a one-team business to large enterprises.
🔴 Pricing packages are expensive compared to other email hosting services.
🔴 There’s a learning curve with Google Workspace. Understanding so many tools will take time, and it can even get overwhelming in some instances.
🔴 Google Workspace is primarily dependent on the internet’s connectivity. Your activity will be really limited without the Internet.
2. Rackspace
Quick Overview
- Best for: Small and medium businesses with limited email budgets.
- Pricing Range: $2.99 – 6.99/user/month
- Rating: 3.8/5
Rackspace offers a business-class email hosting service for small businesses. It is perfect for users who are looking for reliable email servers that can handle their email campaigns. Rackspace uses Outlook and Rackspace email service for email hosting.
The prices of both services may vary.
The best thing about Rackspace is that you can use it as an add-on with your Cloudways’ fully managed hosting service.
Key Features
- Easy setups and migration to the service.
- Offers protection against spam and viruses.
- Compatible with MS-office applications.
- 24/7 support available.
- 25GB email boxes.
Pros and Cons
🟢 Reasonably priced compared to other services.
🟢 Data centers are spread across multiple locations, which results in better performance.
🟢 There’s 24/7 support ready to assist you in case you face any blockers about your email hosting.
🔴 There’ll be a learning curve with the service. But with easy documentation and tutorials, you’ll get through this issue soon.
🔴 You may face migration challenges. If that’s the case, you’ll need help from the support team.
🔴 Additional features offered are a little compared to other services. But that’s something most small businesses don’t need anyway.
Rackspace is $1/month with Cloudways!
Host your site on Cloudways and enjoy discounted prices for Rackspace. You’ll also get access to other features, such as Cloudflare and SafeUpdates. Also, migrating to Cloudways is ABSOLUTELY FREE!
3. Neo
Quick Overview
- Best for: Small and medium businesses. Not the best option for enterprises.
- Pricing Range: $1.99 – 3.99/user/month
- Rating: 4.0/5
Neo is specifically designed for solopreneurs, freelancers, and small businesses, empowering them to establish meaningful connections with their customers, vendors, and partners.
Neo offers a range of practical built-in features, including a free co.site domain name, an easy-to-use one-page website creator, schedule send, email templates, follow-up reminders, and a priority inbox.
Key Features
- Compatible with Android and iOS.
- Anti-virus available for inbound and outbound messages.
- Built-in signature builder.
- 50GB storage available.
Pros and Cons
🟢 Very reasonably priced. Small businesses can get started right away without budget constraints.
🟢 You can set up a custom email domain without having your own domain.
🟢 A free trial is available for a month, which is great compared to other services that usually offer a 14-day trial.
🔴 No offline functions available.
🔴 It is a comparatively newer service, so fewer reviews are available online.
🔴 No advanced features are available. Though its lower price point justifies the lack of them.
4. Titan
Quick Overview
- Best for: Small businesses who don’t want to pay much for email services.
- Pricing Range: $2 – 2.5/user/month
- Rating: 4.8/5
Titan enables solopreneurs, freelancers, and small business professionals to build meaningful customer relationships. With useful built-in features such as Schedule Send, Email Templates, Follow-up Reminders, Priority Inbox, and more, Titan offers the tools required to help small businesses grow.
Key Features
- Guaranteed email delivery.
- Built-in signature builder available.
- Easy data import via IMAP servers.
- 50GB email storage for the Business Premium package.
Pros and Cons
🟢 Titan has a WP plugin that makes email management easy for WP website owners.
🟢 Great email management features include scheduled sending, signature, open receipts, follow-up reminders, etc.
🟢 User-friendly interface, which makes the service pretty easy to use.
🔴 Limited integrations with third-party tools.
🔴 Not very impressive customer support.
🔴 Message trails can sometimes be confusing to follow because of the UI.
5. Zoho Mail
Quick Overview
- Best for: SMEs who need more business features besides email marketing.
- Pricing Range: $1 – 4/user/month
- Rating: 4.4/5
Zoho mail service is considered an alternative to Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 business email. This service offers lots of exciting features for businesses that we shall uncover down yonder.
Key Features
- SecurePass email feature offers extra layers of security for your business messages.
- Up to 50GB limit per user.
- Allows you to attach large files of up to 1 GB.
- The Workplace offers several exciting business features, such as a file manager, online meeting feature, etc.
- IMAP/ POP access in email clients.
Pros and Cons
🟢 Prices for Zoho Mail services are affordable compared to its features.
🟢 Offers mobile applications for iOS and Android users.
🟢 Strong security features such as 2FA and S/MIME support.
🔴 While the suite is feature-rich, integrating third-party applications can be challenging.
🔴 Since its direct competitors are Google and Office 365, Zoho is an underdog in the custom email domain segment.
🔴 Zoho is limited in offering advanced features. While most small and medium businesses would be fine with it, scaling to the higher side can be challenging.
6. Microsoft 365
Quick Overview
- Best for: Businesses with highly professional email needs.
- Pricing Range: $69.99 – 99.99/user/month
- Rating: 4.6/5
Choosing Microsoft 365 can be a great decision for your business, considering the key features mentioned below. You get well-rounded features to assist you with routine business operations. You’ll also find it to be easy to use and understand.
However, it’s a little over-priced compared to other services in the league.
Key Features
- Real-time monitoring of mailboxes and continuous monitoring for online threats.
- Works well on multiple platforms and devices.
- Skype and MS Suite come in the packages.
- Video processing options with Clipchamp.
- 1 TB of cloud storage available.
Pros and Cons
🟢 A set of great features that can assist you in business operations other than your email needs.
🟢 Cloud storage of 1 TB is amongst the highest compared to most services.
🟢 Microsoft is built on Azure, which is a great and reliable platform. So, you can keep using the services with the minimum risks of disruptions.
🔴 The pricing structure is pretty limited compared to the vast audience that needs email hosting services. Revised pricing can be a fishnet for more SMEs who want affordable email solutions.
🔴 Always dependent on internet connectivity, which will restrict many features when you are offline.
🔴 The software is pretty heavy-duty, and older devices can experience lags when using MS 365.
7. IceWarp
Quick Overview
- Best for: Businesses looking to start without paying much for the email service.
- Pricing Range: $1.5 – 3.5/user/month
- Rating: 4.2/5
IceWarp is the tool to consider for SMEs looking for growth with email and other assistive tools. The service offers a comprehensive package of features that can make businesses efficient with operations.
The service offers excellent tools for collaboration and better organization of emails. Let’s explore a few key features that’ll catch your eye and help you make better business decisions about purchasing a custom email hosting service.
Key Features
- Integrates email, chat, and collaborative tools.
- Mobile synchronization using ActiveSync.
- Real-time communication tool with file sharing and task creation.
- Online office suite with real-time collaborative editing.
- Advanced anti-spam, anti-phishing, and built-in antivirus protection.
- Allows for integration with third-party apps.
- 200 GB mailbox and 1 TB of storage.
Pros and Cons
🟢 Offer a wide array of features that businesses can use to streamline their operations and get better utilities from purchasing email hosting.
🟢 3 months of free trial available means you have ample time to try and test the platform before making a purchase.
🟢 A storage capacity of 1 TB is pretty impressive in its offered price.
🔴 It is less popular compared to major competitors in the league, such as Zoho Mail.
🔴 A limited community to discuss your issues with on different platforms since it’s not a well-known service.
🔴 Heavily dependent on the internet, and services will mostly freeze when you are offline.
8. Mailgun
Quick Overview
- Best for: SMEs that want professional services and add-ons with their email hosting.
- Pricing Range: $35 – 90 (custom plans are also available)
- Rating: 4.3/5
Mailgun is an SMTP email provider created primarily for software developers. It allows to send bulk emails with ease and also dramatically increases engagement. Mailgun is not an email marketing tool; it’s simply a mail API.
The best part is that you get a free monthly trial where you can send 5,000 emails for free. And if you exhaust that, you can extend the service for $1 for 1000 emails.
Key Features
- Live phone and chat support.
- Retains the activity logs for up to 30 days.
- Dedicated technical account managers for custom accounts.
- Flexible pricing based on usage.
- Thorough email analytic reporting is available.
Pros and Cons
🟢 Flexible pricing packages definitely make it worth a look.
🟢 Works well with most popular languages and frameworks such as Python, PHP, Ruby on Rails, Node.js, etc.
🟢 Analyze email data and offer actionable insights that businesses can use to develop better email strategies.
🔴 Heavily focused on developers. Many SMEs will lack the resources to manage this platform and will likely need to hire an expert.
🔴 Price structures are pretty high compared to most of the other email hosting services.
🔴 The platform has a learning curve, and users will likely take time to get comfortable with it.
9. SendGrid
Quick Overview
- Best for: Businesses that want to pay for what they use and not buy a plan.
- Pricing Range: Free – $89.95/user/month (custom plans are also available)
- Rating: 4.0/5
SendGrid is another robust cloud-based SMTP provider that lets users easily send emails without creating or maintaining email servers. It even offers real-time analytical data and has built-in reputation monitoring tools as well.
Key Features
- Reliable delivery for transactional emails.
- SendGrid integrates with 3rd-party applications via email API.
- Tools for creating and sending email marketing campaigns.
- Pre-designed and customizable templates.
- Detailed insights into email performance.
- Technical support and a knowledge center are available for assistance.
Pros and Cons
🟢 Users share that their emails make it to the inbox of their audiences rather than going into the spam folder.
🟢 Easy to integrate via API and SMTP.
🟢 Offers a free plan for users, which is free forever. This makes it a unique service since others only offer a trial period and charge once it ends.
🔴 UI isn’t the most impressive one out there. Users complain that it can be a little confusing to understand.
🔴 The support can be laggy at times. Users may sometimes have to wait for days to get their queries addressed.
🔴 Pricing is pretty high when compared to the other services. Also, the additional features offered aren’t that impressive after all, considering the high price of the service. You can also check out SendGrid alternatives that provide similar features with varied pricing options.
10. Intermedia Exchange
Quick Overview
- Best for: Mid-sized businesses who want a hassle-free email service without budget constraints.
- Pricing Range: $7.94 – 15.44/user/month
- Rating: 3.4/5
If you are looking for a no-frills, easy-to-use email hosting service for your small business, Intermedia Exchange can be a great choice. The service offers several features to assist you with your business operations and team collaborations.
With a widespread price range, Sendgrid captures a wide range of customers. The company has something for anyone who needs email domain hosting. Be it a small agency or an enterprise.
Key Features
- Insightful engagement analytics.
- Message transfer agent (MTA) API is available for Sendgring customers only.
- Ticket support is available. Calls are available for Pro and Premier customers.
- Searchable email activity of up to 7 days.
- Tight security with features such as 2FA, IP Access Management, TLS Encryption, SOC 2 Type II Certification, etc.
Pros and Cons
🟢 Intermedia offers robust security features, including automatic patching and updates, to help protect your data.
🟢 Offers round-the-clock customer support, providing assistance and helping resolve issues at any time of day.
🟢 Intermedia’s services integrate well with popular business tools like Microsoft 365.
🔴 Intermedia’s services can be more expensive compared to other service providers, particularly for small businesses or startups with limited budgets
🔴 Moving your existing services and data to Intermedia can sometimes be a complicated process
🔴 Discussion forums show that complaints can take a while to resolve, even though they get addressed on time.
11. Postmark
Quick Overview
- Best for: Everyone from small businesses to enterprises who want reliable email hosting that’s priced for what’s used.
- Pricing Range: Starts free; charged as resources used.
- Rating: 4.6/5
Postmark is another popular email service provider among developers.
It is primarily focused on transactional emails, and since it doesn’t feature bulk promotional email sending, it has managed to create a strong reputation for itself. This no-fuss email service provider offers metrics for performance and email tracking, and its email automation feature makes it an excellent tool for businesses on a budget.
Key Features
- SMTP and Rest API integrations.
- Advanced data analytics, including click tracking, unsubscribe tracking, etc.
- Dedicated support via Email and Phone.
- Delivery, bounce, spam, & open rate numbers are available for viewing.
- Paid add-ons available like Dedicated IPs, DMARC Monitoring, etc.
Pros and Cons
🟢 You can have a content history of 7 to 365 days to track changes and troubleshoot problems.
🟢 Link tracking is pretty dependable for monitoring emails, tracking data, and making efforts to improve your emails.
🟢 Service offers different infrastructures for transactional and bulk email, which means optimized delivery results for each purpose.
🔴 Less advanced email features are offered for the provided pricing schedule.
🔴 The free version only offers 100 monthly emails, which is very low for any business.
🔴 If you aren’t tech-savvy, it’ll take you some time to get familiar with the features and UI of this service.
12. Fastmail
Quick Overview
- Best for: Businesses with routine email needs and nothing much fancy.
- Pricing Range: $3 – 9
- Rating: 4.3/5
One of the oldest email service providers in the industry, Fastmail is a great option for those of you looking for a premium service that costs as much as a basic email service provider.
It supports IMAP and PGP. Each plan also starts with a 30-day free trial. They have several tiers you can choose from. You also get several assistive tools that you can use to get your routine work done more efficiently.
Key Features
- Proprietary anti-spam filters
- Email search feature
- Calendar, email, and contacts
- Customizable notifications
- Import/export from other email services
- Up to 100 GB storage per user.
Pros and Cons
🟢 Offers comprehensive email features that are used by most small businesses on a daily basis.
🟢 Support is available for users. Also, sufficient security measures, such as 2FA and protection against unauthorized access, are in place.
🟢 Pricing is on the lower side on average compared to other services. So, businesses can easily start out without worrying much about costs.
🔴 The Fastmail ecosystem doesn’t offer many advanced email features compared to other services.
🔴 Integrations with 3rd-party applications are challenging.
🔴 Doesn’t allow you to use your own domains in the lowest-priced package, so you’ll have to pay more for a custom domain.
13. Amazon WorkMail
Quick Overview
- Best for: Businesses with AWS hosting that also want a heavy-duty email service
- Pricing Range: Starts at $4 (custom plans are also available)
- Rating: 3.5/5
Amazon WorkMail is surely an option to consider because of the many features the service offers. From comfortably managing your emails from your mobile devices to enjoying enterprise-grade security, you can have it all with Amazon WorkMail.
The pricing structure is unique compared to most other services, and you only pay for what you use. The service delivers impressive results on several fronts, including data management, email migrations, etc.
Key Features
- Easy migrations.
- Compatibility with Microsoft Outlook.
- IMAP support.
- Spam and virus protection.
- 50 GB mailbox.
Pros and Cons
🟢 Being a part of the AWS ecosystem, WorkMail seamlessly integrates with other AWS services, making it easier for businesses already on the AWS platform.
🟢 WorkMail offers encryption of stored data and supports security protocols such as S/MIME for email. Also, it has built-in spam protection that protects your email infrastructure without the need for additional applications.
🟢 It is easy to add new users and manage all users simultaneously.
🔴 Compared to matured platforms like Microsoft’s Office 365 or Google Workspace, WorkMail may not offer as extensive a set of features or capabilities.
🔴 While it’s deeply integrated with AWS, you might find fewer integrations or plugins for other third-party tools
🔴 The interface isn’t as intuitive as other services. For example, users can have difficulties managing contacts in their address books.
Guidelines for Choosing Email Hosting
When selecting an email hosting service, consider the following key factors:
1. Security
Ensure the service provides robust security features such as two-factor authentication (2FA), protection against unauthorized access, and secure password management. For enhanced security, look for services offering end-to-end encryption, PGP, S/MIME, etc.
2. Uptime Reliability and Support
Review the service’s uptime statistics to avoid potential business losses due to email downtime. Also, assess the quality of customer support to ensure timely resolution of issues.
3. Budget
Choose a service that fits within your budget. Avoid overspending on unnecessary features.
4. Email Service Requirements
Identify your specific needs. A basic service may suffice for internal communications and client interactions. However, more advanced features may be necessary for managing mailing lists or customer service tasks.
Remember, finding a single service that meets all your needs is not always necessary. If the budget allows, consider using multiple services to fulfill different requirements.
Cloudways isn’t just Managed Hosting!
We also offer email addons such as Rackspace and Elastic Email (Starts only at $0.1). So migrate to Cloudways and enjoy discounted email services!
What Cloudways Users Recommend?
We carried out a survey to determine the most effective email hosting service for businesses worldwide. The findings were unexpected.
– Source: Cloudways Users Group/Facebook
Summary
Navigating the world of email hosting can seem daunting, but as we’ve explored in this blog post, it’s a crucial tool for small businesses. With the right email hosting service, you can ensure your communication line is always open, secure, and efficient.
Remember, every small business is unique, and so are its needs. Take the time to understand your requirements and choose an email hosting service that aligns with them. With the right choice, you’ll have a powerful email system and a partner in your business’s success.
Q 1. How do I set up email hosting for my small business?
A. Here’s how to set up email hosting for your small business:
- Choose a reputable email hosting provider like Google Workspace, Rackspace, or Microsoft 365.
- Sign up and create an account.
- Follow the provider’s DNS configuration instructions to link your domain.
- Your email hosting will be set up.
Q 2. What should I look for in an email hosting provider?
A. While choosing an email hosting service, look for the following:
- Reliability and uptime stats
- User reviews
- Efficient spam filtering
- Robust data protection
- Intuitive user interface
- Customer support
- Moderate to high data protection
Q 3. Can I use my domain name with my email hosting service?
A. You can use your website’s domain for your email addresses (e.g., [email protected]).
Q 4. What security measures should an email hosting service provide?
A. An ideal email hosting service should provide the following security measures:
- Spam filtering
- Virus protection
- Data encryption
- Two-factor authentication (2FA)
- Backup and data recovery mechanisms.
- Data privacy
Q 5. How can I migrate my existing business emails to a new email hosting service?
A. Follow the steps below to transfer your existing business emails to a new email hosting service:
- Back up your data.
- Create an account with the new service and configure DNS.
- Import your emails.
- Start using the new service.
- Once you have a bug-free experience for a sufficient time, delete your backups to free up the space.
Q 6. Should You Use a Separate Server for Email Hosting?
A. It depends. If you are using a service that offers email hosting servers, then that is an advantage for you. Cloudways offers an email hosting service as an add-on, so you don’t have to use another service.
All the charges will be deducted from your Cloudways hosting account. On the other hand, if you use a hosting server that doesn’t offer email hosting, you will need a separate hosting server for sending and receiving emails. You can use Google Workspace or Microsoft Office 365 depending on your requirements
Q 7. What bandwidth server to get for small business email hosting?
A. For sending emails, you rent out space from email servers on which SMTP and IMAP email interfaces are installed. The email hosting servers manage incoming and outgoing emails.
However, bandwidth doesn’t usually matter when buying email hosting space unless you send emails in bulk. If you send less than 10,000 emails daily, then the Cloudways Rackspace email hosting, Google Workspace, and Microsoft Office 365 service will serve you well.
Q 8. What’s the essential software for email hosting service?
A. You must have SMTP, IMAP, and POP3 protocols available on your email hosting server to send and receive emails easily.
Most email hosting providers like Cloudways Rackspace email hosting, Google Workspace, and Office 365 offer many other features such as slides, docs, sheets, hangouts, and presentations.
Q 9. What is the best email host for small businesses?
A. While there’s no “best” email host, several email hosting services are quite popular. These include:
- Google Workspace
- Cloudways Rackspace
- Zoho Mail
- Office 365 Outlook
- Mailgun
Q 10. How much should email hosting cost?
A. Email hosting is generally very cost-effective. However, when evaluating email hosting providers, note that if the price is low, remember to check out the features because the providers could skip essential features such as security and space.
Q 11. Why do small businesses need email hosting?
A. It is always a good practice to separate web hosting and email hosting because, in case of any unfortunate incident involving an attack on your web host, you would still retain access to your emails.
In addition, email hosting has different requirements, and a single server might be unable to cater to both.
Sarim Javaid
Sarim Javaid is a Digital Content Producer at Cloudways. He has a habit of penning down his random thoughts and giving words and meaning to the clutter of ideas colliding inside his mind. His obsession with Google and his curious mind add to his research-based writing. Other than that, he's a music and art admirer and an overly-excited person.
