In this article
A quote sent from ahmed.company2020@gmail.com and the same quote sent from ahmed@yourcompany.com say very different things about your business. The second one tells the customer you are established, that the address belongs to the company, and that it will still work next year.
Why email on your own domain matters
- Trust. Customers and suppliers take an email from your company domain more seriously, especially for invoices and quotes.
- Ownership. When an employee leaves, the mailbox stays with the company, along with every conversation with your clients.
- Consistency. Everyone in the team uses the same format, such as name@yourcompany.com, and shared addresses such as sales@ or support@.
- Fewer fake emails. With the right DNS settings, it becomes much harder for someone to send fake emails pretending to be you.
Your three options
1. Email included with your hosting
Most hosting plans include mailboxes on your domain, with webmail and support for phone and Outlook. It is the most affordable option for small teams because there is no extra fee per user.
2. Google Workspace
Gmail with your own domain, plus Google Drive, Meet and Calendar. It is familiar and reliable, but it is billed per user every month in US dollars, which adds up as your team grows.
3. Microsoft 365
Outlook with your domain, plus Word, Excel and Teams. A good choice if your team already works in Microsoft Office, also billed per user per month.
| Hosting email | Google Workspace | Microsoft 365 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Included with hosting | Per user, monthly | Per user, monthly |
| Best for | Small teams, tight budgets | Teams that live in Google tools | Teams that use Office |
| Extras | Webmail, phone and Outlook | Drive, Meet, Calendar | Word, Excel, Teams |
You do not have to pick one for everyone. A common setup is hosting email for most addresses and a few paid accounts for people who need the extra tools.
Keep your emails out of spam: SPF, DKIM and DMARC
Whichever option you choose, three DNS records decide whether your emails reach the inbox. Since 2024, Gmail and Yahoo require these checks from senders of bulk email, and they help every business mailbox.
- SPF lists the servers allowed to send email for your domain.
- DKIM adds a digital signature that proves the email was not changed on the way.
- DMARC tells receiving servers what to do with emails that fail those checks, and sends you reports.
Background: Google email sender guidelines. support.google.com
Setting it up step by step
- Register a domain for your business, or use the one your website already has.
- Choose where your mailboxes will live: your hosting, Google or Microsoft.
- Add the MX records so incoming mail goes to the right place.
- Add SPF, DKIM and DMARC records.
- Create the mailboxes and shared addresses, then connect them on phones and Outlook.
- Send a test email to a Gmail account and check it lands in the inbox.
Business email with Cairo Cloud
Every Cairo Cloud hosting plan includes mailboxes on your own domain, with webmail, phone and Outlook support and spam filtering. We create the mailboxes and DNS records for you, so you do not have to touch the technical settings.
Get email on your own domain
See how many mailboxes each hosting plan includes, or ask us which plan fits your team.
No domain yet? Read .com or .com.eg: how to register an Egyptian domain.
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