How do I geta businessemail address?

You need two things: a domain, which is your web address like yourbusiness.ca, and an email service that runs mail on it. Zoho Mail has a free plan for up to five people, and Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 cost about $9 to $12 a month per person in Canada. Setup takes an afternoon.

The short version: If you already have a website, you already have the domain, so you only need the email service. For a business of one to three people, here's what we'd tell a client. Pick Google Workspace if you live in Gmail and Google Calendar, or Microsoft 365 if you live in Outlook and Word. Pick Zoho's free plan if you only need email and every dollar counts.

Why not just use Gmail?

Because an address like sparklecleaning87@gmail.com looks like a side project, and anyone can make one. An address like hello@sparklecleaning.ca can only come from the person who owns that web address.

Customers notice. In a 2016 GoDaddy survey of 1,000 American adults, 75% said an email address matching the website was very or extremely important for trusting an online small business. A third doubted sellers who used a personal address. It's an old survey from a company that sells email, so take the exact numbers lightly. The direction still matches what we'd tell any client.

It's also what we do ourselves. Our own contact address is hello@loudlaunchdigital.com, on the same domain as this site.

Do I need a domain first?

Yes. Your email address borrows the part after the @ from your domain, so the domain comes first. A domain is the name people type to find your website, and you rent it by the year from a company called a registrar.

If you have a website, check what address it's on and who looks after it. When Loud Launch builds a site, your domain is registered for you, and we move it into your name whenever you ask. Either way, write down who controls it. If the domain lapses, your email stops working too.

Picking a name? Short, easy to spell out loud, and ending in .ca if your customers are in Canada.

Which email service should I pick?

For most small businesses it's one of these three. Prices are per person, per month, as listed on each company's site today.

Zoho's free plan has limits: no file storage, and you read mail in Zoho's own app or website rather than in your phone's built-in mail app. Zoho also says the free plan is only offered in some regions, so check at sign-up. Google and Microsoft both offer a free trial, so you can try before you pay.

How do I set it up?

Every service follows the same pattern. You sign up, then prove you own the domain. That second step stops strangers from setting up email on your name.

1. Sign up for the service and type in your domain.
2. The service gives you a short code. Paste it into your domain's settings at your registrar, as its help page shows. Google says this takes about 10 minutes, and up to an hour to confirm.
3. Add the mail settings the service gives you in the same place, so mail starts arriving.
4. Create your address and sign in on your phone with the service's app.
5. Turn on two-step login, so a stolen password isn't enough to get in.

If the words "DNS" or "TXT record" appear, they just mean your domain's settings page and a line of text you paste into it. If your website person manages the domain, send them the code and they can paste it in for you.

What do most beginners get wrong?

They make one address per job instead of one they'll keep. If you work alone, start with hello@ or your first name, and add more later. A plumber with info@, sales@, billing@ and support@ just has four inboxes to check.

They also forget to switch everywhere. A new address only helps if customers see it: on your website, your Google Business Profile, your invoices, your Instagram bio and your phone's email signature. Keep the old Gmail open for a few months and reply from the new address, so regulars pick it up.

And they skip two-step login. Your business email is the key to every other account you own, so lock it properly on day one.

What should I do this week?

1. Find out what domain you have, or pick one, and who controls it.
2. Choose a service from the table above, based on the apps you already use.
3. Start the free plan or trial, verify the domain and create one address.
4. Turn on two-step login and set up the app on your phone.
5. Update your website, Google profile, invoices and Instagram bio with the new address.

If you don't have a website yet, our post on whether you need a website if you have Instagram walks through what one adds. When we build a custom website for you, the domain your email needs comes with it. Book a free call and we'll help you choose the web address and talk through which email service fits how you work.

Drafted with AI help from our notes and checked against the sources above.

This post is general information and our own take, not legal, financial or professional advice for your situation. Prices, features and availability change, so check the linked sources before you act. Accurate as of November 12, 2026. See our terms.