How to get a business email address with your own domain

Update·3 November 2026·5 min read

To get a business email address, register a domain name for your business, sign up with an email provider such as Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 or Zoho Mail, and add the records the provider gives you to your domain’s DNS settings. Once those records are in place, mail sent to hello@yourbusiness.com.au arrives in your new inbox, and the mail you send is trusted by Gmail, Outlook and everyone else.

It usually takes an hour or two if you know where everything is, and costs from nothing to a few dollars per person per month on top of the domain. Here is the whole process, step by step.

Why it is worth doing

A Gmail or Bigpond address works, but it makes a business look smaller than it is, and it is easy to imitate: anyone can open a lookalike free account. An address on your own domain matches your website, looks established on quotes and invoices, and stays yours. If you change internet providers or a staff member leaves, the address and the history stay with the business.

Step 1: register your domain in the business’s name

If you already have a website, you probably already have a domain. If not, register one through an Australian registrar. A .com.au domain needs an Australian connection, which for most businesses means an ABN, under the rules set by auDA, the .au domain administrator. Keep it short and easy to spell over the phone.

One thing we see go wrong a lot: the domain registered in a former web designer’s or employee’s name, so the business owner cannot renew it or change where it points. Make sure the registrant is your business and the login uses an email address you control.

Step 2: choose an email provider

The three most common choices for Australian small businesses are:

Google Workspace: Gmail with your own domain, plus Google Drive, Calendar and Meet. A good fit if you already use Gmail and want everything in one familiar place. Microsoft 365: Outlook with your own domain, plus Word, Excel and Teams. A good fit if your business lives in Office documents or your accountant works that way. Zoho Mail: a cheaper, email-focused option, and Zoho has offered a free plan for very small teams. We use it for some of our clients.

Some web hosts also include basic email with hosting. It can be fine for one or two addresses, but check the storage limits, the spam filtering and how good the phone app is before relying on it.

Step 3: add the DNS records

Your provider will give you a short list of records to add in your domain’s DNS settings, usually at your registrar or wherever your website is hosted. Each one does a specific job:

MX records tell the internet where to deliver mail for your domain. SPF lists the servers allowed to send email as your domain. DKIM adds a digital signature to each email so receivers can check it came from you and was not changed on the way. DMARC tells receivers what to do with mail that fails those checks, and sends you reports.

Since 2024, Google and Yahoo have required senders to authenticate their email, and bulk senders need SPF, DKIM and DMARC all in place (Google’s email sender guidelines). Even if you only send a few emails a day, setting all three up properly is the single biggest thing you can do to keep your quotes and invoices out of customers’ spam folders.

If your website has a contact form, check how its notification emails are sent too. A form that sends “as you” from a server your SPF record does not list is a common reason enquiries go missing.

Step 4: set up mailboxes and aliases

You do not need a paid mailbox for every address. Most providers let you add aliases: extra addresses that deliver into an existing inbox. A sole trader or small team can run one mailbox, for example yourname@, with info@, quotes@ and accounts@ as aliases, and reply from whichever address the email came to.

Pay for a separate mailbox when someone needs their own login and their own history, so that when they leave you can hand the mailbox over or archive it instead of losing it.

Step 5: connect your phone and your old email

Install the provider’s app on your phone (Gmail, Outlook or Zoho Mail) and sign in with the new address. If you are moving from an old address, most providers can import your existing mail. Set the old account to forward new mail for a few months, and update the address on your Google Business Profile, Facebook page, invoices, email signature and anywhere else it appears.

Mistakes to avoid

The ones we fix most often: the domain in someone else’s name; email set up without SPF, DKIM or DMARC, so everything lands in spam; two sets of MX records left in place after moving providers; one shared password for everyone; and no second admin, so a single lost phone locks the business out. Turn on two-step verification for every mailbox.

Let us set it up with your website

Every website we build includes business email on your domain as part of the build, with the DNS records set up and tested. If you already have a website and just want the email sorted, get in touch. We will check your domain, set the records up properly and make sure your emails arrive. See our pricing for what each build includes. We reply within 1 business day.