I often get asked if I can provide email alongside my website care plans. The honest answer is no – and it’s not because I can’t, it’s because I don’t think you should want me to. I’ll explain why further down, but first, here’s where I actually send clients when they ask: Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Zoho Mail, Proton Mail, and Fastmail – and what each one’s actually good for.
1. Google Workspace (Best overall)
Overview
Google Workspace is Google’s business suite, built around Gmail. If you or your team already live in Gmail, Docs, and Google Calendar day to day, this is probably your easiest option – it just works, and most people already know how to use it.
Key Features
- Professional Email Address: your own address on your domain, not a @gmail.com.
- Collaboration Tools: Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Calendar all tie together properly.
- Storage: 30GB up to unlimited depending on plan.
- Security: two-step verification and spam filtering that’s genuinely good.
Pros
- Plays nicely with everything else Google.
- Quick to set up, easy for non-technical staff to pick up.
- Big ecosystem of add-ons if you need them.
Cons
- Costs add up once you start adding extras.
- Not great offline.
2. Microsoft 365 (Best for Microsoft users)
Overview
If your business already runs on Word, Excel, and Outlook, Microsoft 365 keeps everything in one place. It’s the natural choice for teams that grew up on Microsoft software rather than Google’s.
Key Features
- Custom Domain: professional email on your own domain.
- Office Apps: Word, Excel, PowerPoint included.
- OneDrive: file storage and sharing built in.
- Security: solid protocols and compliance features for regulated businesses.
Pros
- Works across desktop and mobile without fuss.
- Good at keeping email and tasks organised.
- Teams makes collaboration straightforward.
Cons
- Can feel like a lot if you’re new to Microsoft’s ecosystem.
- Premium features push the price up quickly.
3. Zoho Mail (Best budget option)
Overview
Zoho Mail does email properly without trying to sell you a dozen other things. It’s a solid, no-nonsense option if you want something cheaper than Google or Microsoft but still professional.
Key Features
- Ad-Free: no ads, ever.
- Custom Domains: professional email on your own domain.
- Collaboration Tools: built-in calendar, tasks, and notes.
- Data Security: decent spam and malware protection.
Pros
- Genuinely affordable, especially for small teams.
- Clean, uncluttered interface.
- Good support if you need it.
Cons
- Fewer integrations than Google or Microsoft.
- Some features are locked behind pricier plans.
4. Proton Mail (Best for privacy & security)
Overview
If you handle sensitive information and privacy actually matters to your clients, Proton Mail is worth a serious look. It’s end-to-end encrypted, so nobody but you and the recipient can read what’s sent.
Key Features
- End-to-End Encryption: as standard, not an add-on.
- Custom Domains: tailor it to your business branding.
- Secure Calendar: for scheduling and event management.
- No-Logs Policy: a genuine focus on user privacy.
Pros
- Security is built in, not bolted on.
- Interface is easy to use despite the encryption under the hood.
- Free tier available for smaller teams.
Cons
- Free plan storage is tight.
- Fewer of the organisational extras other providers offer.
5. Fastmail (Best for email & calendar without the extras)
Overview
Fastmail sticks to the basics – email, calendar, and contacts – and does them properly, without trying to be an office suite. No video calls, no spreadsheets, no cloud drive cluttering things up. This is what I recommend to clients who just want proper email on their own domain and nothing else to pay for or learn.
Key Features
- Custom Domain: professional email on your own domain, quick to set up.
- Calendar & Contacts: sync to any device via standard protocols.
- Masked Email: disposable aliases to protect your real address when signing up elsewhere.
- Easy Migration: straightforward tools for moving over from Gmail, Outlook, or wherever you’re coming from.
Pros
- Fast, lightweight, no bloat.
- Strong on privacy – no ads, no data mining.
- Good value if email and calendar are genuinely all you need.
Cons
- No office apps bundled in, so not for you if you need Docs or Excel included.
- Less well known than Google or Microsoft, so occasionally clients ask “who?”
Why I Don’t Bundle Email Hosting With My Website Care Plans
Like I said at the top, this comes up a lot. Here’s the actual reasoning, not just “because I said so”.
Sender IP reputation. Your email’s deliverability depends heavily on the reputation of the IP address it’s sent from. If your email goes out from the same server as your website, that IP’s reputation is tied to everything else happening on that box – including things completely outside your control, like another site on shared infrastructure getting compromised and used to send spam. Dedicated providers manage a small number of carefully monitored sending IPs at scale specifically to avoid this. A web hosting server was never built to compete with that.
Reliability. Getting a mail server right means properly setting up and maintaining SPF, DKIM, DMARC, reverse DNS, and spam filtering, then keeping on top of it as Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo change their rules. That’s a full-time job for a specialist provider – it’s not something a web hosting setup, mine included, is built to do well alongside everything else.
Single point of failure. If your website and email live on the same server, one bad update, a full disk, or an attack on your site takes your email down with it. Keep them apart, and a website problem doesn’t mean you’re locked out of your inbox too – which matters most exactly when you need to email me to say something’s wrong.
Security surface. A mail server is a bigger target than a web server – login attempts, spam abuse, the lot. Keeping my hosting focused purely on your website, and pointing you to a dedicated provider for email, means there’s less that can go wrong on the box your site depends on.
So my care plans cover hosting, security, and maintenance for your WordPress site – and for email, I’ll always point you to one of the providers above, matched to what you actually need.
I recommend signing up with the provider directly and paying them yourself – it keeps billing simple and means the account is yours outright, not tied to me. If I’m already hosting your website and managing your domain, I’m happy to handle the DNS side of things and get the email service properly linked up to your domain.
Conclusion
So, which one’s right for you? If you’re already using Google or Microsoft’s other tools, stick with the one you know – Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. Want something cheaper without cutting corners? Zoho Mail. Handling sensitive client data and want encryption as standard? Proton Mail. And if you just want reliable email and a calendar without paying for a suite of apps you’ll never open, that’s Fastmail – my go-to recommendation.
Whichever you pick, keep it separate from your website hosting. It’s better for reliability, better for deliverability, and it means your business can still run if something ever goes wrong with your site.
