A customer is choosing between two plumbers. One emails from info@smithplumbing.co.uk. The other from smithplumber2019@gmail.com.
Both might do identical work. The first one looks established. The second looks like a side project.
What a professional email is
A professional email uses your own domain. If your website is smithplumbing.co.uk, your email is info@smithplumbing.co.uk or john@smithplumbing.co.uk.
It tells customers three things. You own a domain. You've invested in your business. You're likely to be around next year.
What it costs
Most domain registrars include basic email forwarding for free. This means emails sent to info@yourbusiness.co.uk arrive in your existing Gmail or Outlook inbox. No extra app needed.
If you want to send emails from your custom address (not just receive), services like Google Workspace start at about £5 per month. Zoho Mail offers a free tier for one user.
The domain itself costs £5 to £15 per year for a .co.uk address.
How to set it up
If you already own a domain, your hosting provider or registrar (GoDaddy, Namecheap, etc.) will have email options in the dashboard. Most offer a one-click setup.
If you don't own a domain, start there. Register yourbusinessname.co.uk. Then set up email on that domain.
If this sounds like more than you want to deal with, we handle it as part of every website project. Domain registration, email setup, and DNS configuration included.
Beyond email
A custom domain also gives you a professional website address, consistent branding on invoices and business cards, and credibility with customers who search for you online.
The business that has yourbusiness.co.uk as a website and info@yourbusiness.co.uk as an email looks like it has its act together. Because it does.