In a world where technology is always evolving, email remains to be a primary source of communication for businesses, large and small.
Choosing an email hosting provider can sometimes be a tough call – especially when bought separately. The vast majority of Web Hosting plans come with free email hosting options or discounted email add-on packages, while others offer dedicated hosting.
But first, what does email hosting mean?
In short
Email hosting is an internet hosting service in which hosting providers rent out and operate email servers for their users.
Let’s explain more…
Email hosting is a service in which hosting companies provide server space that is used exclusively for email data – it works independently from web hosting.
Email hosting services offer dedicated custom email platforms where users can send and receive emails using their custom domain-based email accounts ([email protected])
In email hosting, hosting servers are designed to a) manage the user’s email service requirements, and b) store the user’s necessary files and email messages.
The server hosting an email can be the same as the Web Hosting server, a server managed by a third party, or two different servers managed by the same hosting provider.
This is how it works
What happens when you receive an email?
After the email is routed across the internet, it is stored on the recipient server. Here, the server takes responsibility for the next chain of events, whether to receive, distribute or relay the email. This is where the server administrators come in. They decide which action should be taken – deliver the email to your inbox, mark it as spam, etc. – considering email authentication schemes such as rerouting, replication, and filtering.
This is exactly how the server will host every ongoing and incoming email for a client.
Options to host your email
- Bundled – Email + Web hosting
Bundled email hosting refers to when you have an email hosting service included in your web hosting plan.
Advantages:
- Cheap
- Easy to set up
- Multiple (small) email accounts can be hosted at the same price rate
Disadvantages:
- Limited storage space
- Limited features
- Doesn’t fit big enterprises
- Dedicated Email Hosting
Dedicated hosting allows you to host multiple email accounts with enhanced email-related features.
Note: This doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll have an entire server for your own use. However, it means that the account will only handle emails.
Advantages:
- Advance features
- Easy to set up
- Multiple (small) email accounts can be hosted at the same price rate
Disadvantages:
- The cost is higher – compared to bundled hosting
- Enterprise Solutions
This refers to dedicated email services which are easy-to-use, user friendly ,and powerful, yet they need to be managed separately from hosting.
Advantages:
- Advance and powerful features
- Easy to set up and use
- Multiple (small) email accounts can be hosted at the same price rate
Disadvantages:
- Higher costs – requires additional fees for additional email accounts
- Requires extra administrative work on your side
The power of a professional email
1. Secures sensitive business information
Business users typically exchange sensitive data and information, such as contracts, invoices, and more via email. Thus, the importance of having a state-of-the-art email security system cannot be understated.
This is why organizations like these must explore more secure ways of data transfer to keep company-owned resources safe at all times. Using a professional email hosting service ensures that all data in transit or at rest is always encrypted.
This means that data sent to the server or from the server remains encoded and protected against any unauthorized intrusions – from the moment you sign in to the moment you log out.
2. Build Trust
Using Gmail, Hotmail or any other generic email affects your business credibility – (Small Business Trends)
If you received a sales email from link datacenter, which one would you trust more?
Yes this was a rhetorical question, Did you know that :
In a survey conducted by GoDaddy, 75% of the respondents think having a domain-based email – that matches a business’s website – is key to building trust.
Professional emails or a business email will increase your perceived authority and trustworthiness – which is one of the very first steps to leading a successful business.
3. Convey Professionalism
It is said that the first impression is the last.
This also holds true in business.
Therefore, the moment a potential customer or business partner opens an email from your company, you need to give them the impression that you have set up a dedicated and trusted communication channel to serve them.
Email hosting services will allow you to reflect a professional image of your company in the eyes of your prospects. They will know who exactly they are dealing with.
That said, this will prevent any confusion for potential clients as it will make it hard for someone to misrepresent themselves for belonging to your company.
4. Support
Today, businesses rely heavily on emails as a communication tool.
81% of small businesses rely on email as their primary customer acquisition channel and 80% for retention – (emarketer)
Most of these emails include valuable information such as billing, invoices, contracts, and more. Therefore, by opting for professional email hosting services, you will be well-equipped to deal with scenarios that might arise with sudden email issues or corruption. This includes a forgotten or stolen password, an email account getting hacked, and the like.
Since lost or corrupted emails can cause significant damage to your business, the support provided by email hosting services can prove invaluable.
5. It’s a marketing opportunity
Email hosting services provide users with a system to effectively manage emails. There are tools used to segment the mailing list, which, for instance, can bring an opportunity for a successful email marketing campaign.
How to set up your email account?
Generally, there are two main types of control panels that hosting providers offer, cPanel and Plesk. cPanel is offered by Linux, while Plesk is Windows-based.
Firstly, let’s see how you can set up an email account in Plesk.
1- Setting up an email account in Plesk
1. Login to your email host
- Click on Mail on the left navigation bar
- Then, Click on Create Email Address and the configuration process begins.
2. Enter the new email account details
- You’ll need to enter a unique email address here. The email system doesn’t allow duplicate emails.
- This represents the domain that your email address will be hosted in.
Remember: Enter a strong password here. This includes upper and lower case characters and also digital and special characters.
- After filling in all the necessary fields, click ‘Done’, and your email address will be ready!
2- Setting up an email account in cPanel
1. First, log in to cPanel.
2. Find the Email section, then click ‘Email accounts’
3. Click the +Create Button
4. On the following page, enter all the details required to create a new email account.
- It is important to type in a unique name for the new email address.
- Enter your email username and password, and select the domain that you want to host the email address on.
5. Optional settings
- Click Edit settings. This is where you can set the storage space that is to be allocated to your email account.
6. Click +Create, and you are done!
The same steps apply to creating email accounts for primary domains, addon domains, and subdomains.
In Conclusion
According to Statista, global email users amounted to 3.9 billion users in 2019. In 2025, this figure is set to grow to 4.6 billion users.
Email remains the king of business communication.
Therefore, businesses need to carefully consider their requirements and choose email hosting services that will help increase operational proficiency, ensure data security, and take business growth to new heights.
Learn more about LDC’s email hosting solutions and get an email hosting service tailored to your needs.