Choosing a Domain and Email Setup That Will Not Embarrass Your Business

I regularly receive enquiry emails from businesses using addresses like This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The services on offer are often perfectly good. The email address is doing quiet, persistent damage to how professional they appear before the conversation has even started.

Getting your domain and email right is a one-time job that takes a few hours and costs very little. Here is how to do it properly.

Choosing your domain name

What makes a good business domain

• .co.uk is the right choice for a UK-based business serving UK clients. It is recognisable, trusted, and signals that you are a genuine UK business. .com works if you plan to operate internationally. Other extensions (.biz, .services, .london) are generally worth avoiding for a primary business domain.
• Keep it short. Anything over 25 characters is annoying to type and easy to misspell. If your business name is long, consider abbreviating rather than using the full name.
• Avoid hyphens and numbers. They cause confusion when you say the address aloud and they look less professional.
• Buy the .com if you have .co.uk and vice versa. Even if you only use one, owning both prevents a competitor or bad actor from registering the other one.

Where to register

Register with an established UK registrar: Namecheap, Krystal, or 123-reg are all reliable. Avoid registering through your web host if you can: separating the registrar from the host means that if you ever change hosting, domain management is a separate, simpler process. Renewal is typically £10-£20 per year for a .co.uk.

Setting up professional email

Use your domain for email

The first rule: your business email must use your own domain. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., not This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. This is non-negotiable for a business that wants to be taken seriously. It is also free if you use Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, which you should be using anyway.

Setting up the right email addresses

You need at minimum: one address per person (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), and a general contact address (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). Avoid the trap of everything going to one inbox shared by multiple people: use shared mailboxes or distribution groups in Microsoft 365 so the right person gets the right email.

The technical setup: DNS records that matter

Once you have a domain and a Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace account, there are three DNS records that must be configured for email to work properly:

• MX record: tells other mail servers where to deliver email for your domain.
• SPF record: tells other mail servers which servers are allowed to send email on behalf of your domain. Without it, your emails are more likely to land in spam filters.
• DMARC record: sets a policy for what to do with email that fails SPF or DKIM checks. Without DMARC, you have no protection against someone sending fraudulent emails that appear to come from your domain.

Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace will walk you through these during setup. It takes about 20 minutes if you know what you are doing; get IT support involved if you are not comfortable with DNS.

What not to do

• Do not use a free email account (Gmail, Outlook.com, Yahoo) for business. Ever.
• Do not use the email hosting bundled with cheap web hosting unless it is Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace via the host. Bundled email hosting is typically slow, unreliable, and lacks the admin tools you need.
• Do not let your domain expire. Set it to auto-renew, and make sure the renewal card does not expire before the domain does. A lapsed domain can be bought by anyone.

If you are setting up a new business and need help getting the domain, email, and Microsoft 365 configured properly from the start, get in touch. It is a couple of hours of work and worth doing right the first time.

Microsoft 365 setup and email support

ClearPath IT Services helps new and growing businesses in Kent, Medway and South East London get their IT foundations right from day one.