Best Email Hosting for Small Business

Smooth, efficient communication is one of the most critical building blocks of every successful business operation. This was true in prehistoric times, when our ancestors had to negotiate the price of goods despite the lack of currency or rules governing their use. It’s even more true today, with the World Wide Web connecting people from all over the world.

Although we rarely use email for personal purposes today, it remains the primary communication channel in most work environments. As it grows, your small business will send and receive more and more emails, and the way you manage them is more important than you think.

We’re not just talking about processing outgoing and replying to incoming communication quickly. It’s also about optimizing your company’s workflow,  projecting a professional image with clients, and, last but not least, being a reliable business partner.

All this depends on the quality of the email hosting service you’re using.

So, how do you choose the best email hosting for small businesses?

We’re about to find out.

What Is Email Hosting?

Remember when you created your first-ever email inbox? The one with the cool nickname you thought of while at school?

This is when you first started using email hosting.

Email hosting provides the hardware, software, and connectivity required to send and receive emails using the established global protocols.

Email hosting services can be free or paid. Free email hosting services offered by companies like Yahoo and Google have been around for over 30 years, and many people still use them for their personal inboxes.

Technically, nothing can stop you from using a free email service for your professional needs. You wouldn’t want to, though. 

Business communication requires presentability and trustworthiness. You won’t get them if you send your work messages from iron_man1996@gmail.com. Even an address like company_name@yahoo.com will raise suspicion.

You need to build a brand identity, and this all starts with a domain name. You’ll use it to create a website where people learn who you are and what you do, and you’ll also set up email inboxes associated with it for communicating with potential clients and business partners.

The second step isn’t optional. If you want to be taken seriously, you must use a professional email address. And for that, you need a reliable hosting service.

Types of Email Hosting

How you create and manage your business email inboxes depends on the service you use. Generally speaking, there are three approaches:

As part of your web hosting plan.

Many hosts bundle website and email hosting in a single package. In fact, even the cheapest shared plans often allow you to create multiple inboxes associated with your domain name.

Sounds like a no-brainer, but as always, there are two sides to the coin. Here’s a rundown:

Pros:

• Simple setup and management

Your website and emails are created and managed through a single control panel. You can keep everything in check without juggling multiple logins and complicated tools.

• Lower cost

A single hosting bill covers your website and email needs. In the case of shared hosting plans, it can be pretty low, too.

• Straightforward domain configuration

Your website and emails use the same server, so there’s no need to reconfigure MX records or other DNS settings.

• Fast initial deployment

In addition to email and website hosting, many providers offer domain registration as a part of their plans. In such cases, the domain is automatically registered and configured to point to your server out of the box. Creating your first email inbox is a matter of a couple of clicks. Even if you use a separate domain registrar, getting started is pretty straightforward.

Cons

• A single point of failure

If your hosting server is knocked offline, your website and emails go down with it. You have no way to tell customers what’s going on or when it will be fixed.

• Email deliverability could be problematic

In a shared hosting environment, many people use the same IP address. This increases the risk of the address getting blacklisted and your emails landing in the Spam folder.

• Limited features

Bundled email and website hosting services may lack some security and management features, such as spam filtering and archiving.

• Performance dependency

Your email’s speed and reliability depend on server load, so if your website experiences a traffic surge, your inbox may suffer as well.

• Limited scalability

Storage restrictions and limits on the number of email accounts mean you’ll likely need to migrate to a more advanced setup as your business grows.

Using public email providers with your domain

Services like Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace allow you to use infrastructure built and maintained by some of the world’s biggest cloud providers for your business email needs. After you sign up, you update the domain’s MX records so that email is handled by Google or Microsoft’s servers. You then set up inboxes and manage them through the familiar Gmail or Outlook interface.

Some of you may already see the advantages of such a setup, but we mustn’t forget its downsides either.

Pros

• Excellent reliability and uptime

Cloud providers like Google and Microsoft invest billions into ensuring their infrastructure is as reliable as possible.

• Improved email deliverability

Cloud providers monitor their IPs, ensuring they’re clean and reputable. Nothing is guaranteed, but Google and Microsoft can reduce the risk that your messages will end up in your recipient’s Junk folder.

• Productivity tools

In addition to emails, you usually get a suite of tools and apps that can be immensely helpful for things like storage and collaboration.

• Improved scalability

Leading cloud providers offer a broad range of solutions suitable for just about anyone – from small startups to global corporations.

Cons

• Ongoing subscription costs

Using the world’s most advanced cloud infrastructure is not cheap. Subscriptions are calculated on a per-user basis as well, so as your business grows, the email hosting bills can rack up.

• Less control over the server environment

The server handling your emails is configured by the cloud provider of your choice. Your options for changing settings or implementing custom solutions are limited.

• User training may be required

The productivity tools bundled with the email service can be useful, but some employee training may be required if you want to get the most out of them.

• Potential lock-in

Some providers use proprietary formats that could limit your ability to access your data, especially if you decide not to renew your subscription.

• Potential migration issues

Switching from one provider to another isn’t a case of a simple DNS change. Data export and import are likely to be required, increasing the risk that some information will be lost along the way.

A dedicated email hosting service

Many hosting providers offer email-only services specifically designed to handle communication. You have one server hosting your website and another dealing with your messages. Yet again, the setup may require updating your domain’s DNS settings, but on the plus side, it eliminates the single point of failure you have to accept when using the same account for web and email hosting. 

Furthermore, the email service is most likely managed through a version of a web hosting account with all non-email tools removed, so you still enjoy a user-friendly graphical interface.

Here’s a rundown of the advantages and disadvantages.

Pros

• Reliable uptime and performance

Sending and receiving emails is not particularly resource-intensive, so email hosting servers tend to be under relatively low load most of the time. That said, it’s still a good idea to research individual hosting providers and see whether they can deliver the high uptime they promise.

• Better deliverability and reputation

Dedicated email services are typically used by businesses. Because deliverability is so important in a corporate environment, your host is likely to invest more effort in keeping your IP address clean.

If you use an SPanel-powered email hosting service, you can see it yourself. ScalaHosting’s proprietary server management system includes a specialized IP reputation monitoring tool that periodically checks whether your IP address is on one of the world’s top spam blacklists. If it’s there, it informs you so you can work with your host and remedy the issue.

• More control over the server and your data

Compared to public cloud email services, dedicated email hosting uses less proprietary technology, and you usually have more freedom to tweak settings, install additional software, or implement custom solutions. Even if you can’t do it yourself, your host’s support team should be able to assist you.

• Professional features and management tools

A modern email hosting service offers a range of tools and features that make email management more efficient and secure. These include everything from simple forwarders and autoresponders to spam filtering and sender blacklisting.

• Scalability

Often, hosts offer multiple tiers of email hosting, each with unique resources and limitations, so you can always find the right solution for you. A virtual server tasked with hosting your emails is especially easy to scale.

In addition to all this, you have plenty of per-user limitations and controls to ensure your resources are used efficiently.

• Strong security and spam protection

Business emails contain tons of extremely sensitive information, so email hosts use advanced spam protection and anti-malware tools to ensure it stays safe. In addition, you can expect to find access control utilities, such as two-factor authentication (2FA), to further boost your security.

• Quicker problem resolution

Because you have a server that handles only email, there are fewer active services. As a result, troubleshooting potential issues is easier. If the service is complemented by a competent technical support team, you can expect quick resolution of all technical glitches.

Cons

• Monthly/annual subscription costs

A dedicated email service is not a part of your primary hosting plan, so it’s a separate expense. Most email hosting packages don’t have any limitations on the number of email inboxes you can create, and the service tends to be significantly cheaper than using a public cloud provider. Nevertheless, you can’t afford to ignore the extra expense.

• Separate control panel

Your email hosting account is managed through a separate control panel with its own individual login details, so keeping track of everything is a little bit trickier.

• Lack of productivity and collaboration tools

When you sign up for Google Workspace, you get a suite of apps and platforms in addition to the email service. They’re not included in a typical email hosting package, so if they’re a part of your everyday workflow, you may need to look for an alternative.

Key Features Small Businesses Should Look For

When it comes to email hosting, there’s something for everyone. Having examined the three basic setups, you can probably draw some conclusions about the type of service your business needs based on its size and stage of development.

If you’re running a tiny startup with only a few people on board and a tight budget, the email service integrated into your web hosting account will probably do, especially if you choose a managed VPS service.

As your business grows, a separate email hosting service will probably make more sense. If your organization depends on popular productivity apps like Google Drive or Google Docs, then suites offered by the big cloud providers may be the way to go.

Things aren’t that simple, though. Your business may be small, but this doesn’t make deliverability any less important. Furthermore, you need to factor in your company’s expected growth. Migrating emails between servers can be complex, so be sure you choose a service that will work in the long run.

Here are the things you need to consider.

Storage

Every email message arrives on the server as a file. Its size depends on the contents, but it rarely exceeds 200 KB. This doesn’t sound much, but over time, it could accumulate, especially if you have several dozen inboxes.

Mind you, this doesn’t include attachments.

Freeing up space isn’t as easy as it sounds, either. In a corporate environment, you must keep track of your business communication, so deleting old messages simply isn’t an option most of the time.

Exceeding your hosting account’s capacity can have serious repercussions as well. If you run out of storage, all incoming emails will bounce back to their senders. A high bounce rate means lots of missed business opportunities, but it also affects your IP’s reputation.

Security

Corporate communication (both within the company and with clients and partners) contains a lot of extremely sensitive information, and you have to ensure sufficient precautions are in place to minimize the risk of unauthorized access to that data.

There are three main aspects that every host must consider.

Spam and malware filtering

An estimated 45% to 50% of global email traffic consists of spam. At best, spam is annoying. At worst, it can serve as a gateway for hackers seeking to infiltrate your company’s IT systems.

Your hosting provider must set up a secure filter that scans all incoming and outgoing communication and correctly identifies all suspicious messages. This is especially important in a shared environment where many people use the same IP.

Encryption

This has fortunately become pretty much the norm across the board, but it pays to double-check to ensure that SSL is supported for emails. The encryption protocol must be enabled by default, and email clients accessing your servers must be configured to use it.

Access control

The responsibility for eliminating the risk of unauthorized access to your company’s business communication lies partly on your shoulders. You must implement robust password policies and ensure users take their security seriously.

However, your host must also help. Features like two-factor authentication and brute-force protection can be critical for preventing data leaks.

Reliability and uptime

A reliable email hosting service allows your customers and partners to contact you at any time of day. It also lets you respond quickly, which helps you appear more trustworthy and builds confidence among those who work with you.

When you’re browsing through email hosting providers’ offerings, you’ll see quite a few uptime guarantees and claims. However, don’t take them at face value and do some research to see whether there’s substance behind these promises.

Ease of use

Creating and accessing inboxes should take as little time and effort as possible. To ensure that, choose an email hosting service with an easy-to-use interface.

Email hosting accounts are usually managed through a control panel, so you can expect a point-and-click dashboard. However, take a good look around and see if you can find the one that requires the least training.

Cross-platform support

You must have access to your business emails on all devices. For the most part, users will likely manage them through popular email clients like Outlook, Mozilla Thunderbird, or Apple Mail, so support for the desktop and mobile versions of all these apps is essential.

However, opening inboxes in a browser should also be an option, so make sure your email hosting service includes a webmail feature.

Customer support

Usually, people don’t recognize the importance of a quick and efficient technical support team until they actually need it.

In an ideal world, it will be plain sailing throughout, and you won’t need to contact your host’s support specialists at all. However, we don’t live in an ideal world, and you have to ensure that if something goes wrong, there are people you can rely on.

Scalability

Your company may be small right now, but it will grow over time. Its needs will change, so you must ensure your email hosting service won’t hamper this progress in any way. 

The hosting plan you choose now must offer enough inboxes and cover your current storage requirements. However, check out the upgrade options and consider whether they’ll give you enough flexibility to grow your business without migrating all your emails to another server or provider.

Backups and data recovery

If something goes wrong with your email hosting server, a working backup could be your company’s only hope.

You could argue that the chances of a terminal malfunction within a modern machine are slim, and indeed, such catastrophic failures are not that common nowadays. However, given the value of the information at stake, ignoring the worst-case scenario is unwise.

The email hosting service you use must have an automatic backup system in place that generates backups regularly and stores them on a remote server. This is the only way to ensure quick, successful data recovery.

Business Email Hosting From ScalaHosting

Over the years, we’ve worked with hundreds of businesses, and we know the challenges they face when communicating with partners and customers. To help them out, we’ve created a lineup of business email hosting solutions designed to make communication as smooth as possible.

The plans are designed for companies of all sizes and include both services based on a shared platform and fully functional cloud VPS servers.

Our cloud-based email services are built on SPanel – our proprietary server management platform – and include all the required tools and features to ensure reliable and secure email communication. Here are some of the service’s benefits:

• A dedicated IP: If you opt for a cloud-based VPS for your business email hosting, you’ll get a virtual server with a unique IP address reserved for your outgoing messages. No one else will be using your IP, so you don’t need to worry about anyone sending spam through it and blacklisting the entire server.
• A free domain: All cloud VPS-based services come with a free domain registration for the first year.
• Unlimited email accounts: Your business may be small now, but you need to ensure your hosting platform provides enough room for growth. If you choose a cloud-based VPS from ScalaHosting, you won’t have any restrictions on the number of email accounts you can create.
• Email aliases: SPanel lets you create multiple alternative addresses that forward all incoming mail to your primary inbox.
• Email spoofing protection: SPanel automatically sets SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records for every domain you add to your account, meaning you’re better protected from phishing and malware attacks.
• Full control over your inboxes: With a few simple clicks, you can manage all email accounts created on your SPanel server. Options for adjusting the inbox’s size, changing the number of emails the user can send per hour, and deleting old messages are at your fingertips.
• IP reputation monitoring: SPanel offers a unique utility that periodically checks whether your IP address has been added to five of the world’s most widely used spam blacklists. If it ends up in one of them, you can quickly take the appropriate steps to have it removed and ensure your emails are delivered correctly.
• Advanced protection: All business email hosting plans include robust spam filters that block incoming email-based threats and keep your inbox clean. If you choose a cloud VPS-based solution, you get SShield – a unique AI-driven security system that detects and alerts you to all known attacks.
• Daily offsite backups: Every day, copies of all your inboxes are created and stored at an offsite location. This means that even if the server hosting your emails experiences a catastrophic failure, you can still restore your vital business messages.

Finding a solid business email hosting service is one of the first steps toward building a successful company, and at ScalaHosting, we’ve used all our expertise and knowledge to ensure you have a solid launchpad to build your business on. To learn more, do not hesitate to contact our sales specialists.

Conclusion

Running a small business can be overwhelming sometimes. Every day, you face a variety of problems and need to make vital decisions that can mean the difference between success and failure for the entire business.

In light of all this, the choice of email hosting can seem somewhat inconsequential. However, once you take a look at it a bit more closely, you’ll see that the service is a critical part of your everyday work life, and any compromises in its quality could lead to a world of headaches.

Be sure you don’t underestimate its importance.

FAQ

Q: What is the best email hosting service for small businesses?

A: The best email hosting solution for your business depends on several factors, including your requirements, budget, and team size. Some companies could just about do with the email service integrated into their web hosting plan. Others will be better off using public cloud platforms like Google Workspace, while a third group should use a separate email hosting solution.

Q: Is dedicated email hosting better than the standard web hosting email service?

A: Yes, most dedicated email hosting solutions provide improved email deliverability, stronger security, more reliability thanks to lower server load, and dedicated storage for emails only. In addition, many hosts include unique email-specific features in their email plans.

Q: What features should I look for when choosing an email hosting solution?

A: Your email hosting solution should offer excellent uptime and performance while also giving you an intuitive interface for managing all the inboxes hosted on it. Robust spam and malware protection is a must, and regular backups are essential for keeping your data safe.