Why do I need a business email address for my small company?

It doesn’t matter if you’re a freelancer just starting out, or a small company with a few employees, all small businesses need a dedicated email address. While to this day, there are businesses that still use a free Gmail or Yahoo email address for their work, this practice makes these firms look unprofessional and not very dedicated to their work. 20 years ago, the internet was still relatively young and having your own domain for your business could really make you stand out – today it’s a necessity to be recognized as a business meaning business. Let’s look at a few reasons why your company needs a business email address!

A business email address can help your company build credibility and user trust as well as increase professionalism and brand awareness. Additionally, it’s a great way to keep business emails organized

Ensure professionalism

No matter the size of your company, using a dedicated email address with a custom domain that uses your company name, for example, sales​greensolutions.com shows professionalism and lets potential customers know the company is genuine. Free email addresses that end with @gmail.com or @hotmail.com are not intended to be used for business use and appear unprofessional in the businesses setting – even for small companies.

Build credibility and trust

As we mentioned above, making use of a business email address is not only more professional but it builds credibility and trust for potential customers. A company that appears professional and legit through one of the most vital forms of communication, email, is more credible and trustworthy.

Increase brand awareness

When you use a custom domain with your company name, you reinforce your brand. Through this, sending emails acts as a form of not only communication but also promotion. Using your business name in your email address is a win-win situation!

For organization and communication

If you’re an independent freelancer or a small company that’s growing, its useful to have dedicated business addresses for different purposes, these can be created through alias email addresses with your own domain. Having dedicated aliases for your business, such as sales@ and support@, keeps your communications better organized and streamlined.

How to create a small business email address that’s secure

Now that you know the importance of using a business email address, you might be wondering which email provider to use!

Popular email providers like Gmail and Outlook offer email accounts for free, but for your company’s brand recognition, professionalism, security, and privacy, we do not recommend taking advantage of the free version. As mentioned, a business address that ends with @gmail.com does not signal professionalism. So if you’re set on using Gmail or Outlook, you can subscribe to a paid business account. Be aware, however, that Gmail and Outlook business accounts come at a relatively high price. Today, there are more and better email providers available that have better prices, focus on the needs of small businesses and offer better support.

Every company has different needs and requirements for their corporate email like storage size, productivity tools, or custom domains. Business plans by Google and Outlook are often too large for small businesses and can’t be adapted to your needs to get a cheaper price. When deciding on a suitable email provider for your SME, there are a few must-have features. So let’s look at what features are needed for your business and which email provider best matches your requirements.

Requirements for your email solution

1. Security:

For the privacy and security of your company communications, you should opt for an email provider that uses end-to-end encryption.

2. Privacy & data protection:

Your business should use a provider that implements data minimization principles, and – if in the EU – that is GDPR compliant.

3. Features:

The email provider must offer features such as custom domains, alias email addresses, and a flexible way to create and remove users to best suit your company needs. In addition, shared mailboxes are nice so that multiple people in your company can work on the same mailbox, for instance the entire support or sales team.

4. Support:

Your business mailbox is your main communication tool. Email must be available 24/7, and you as an SME must be able to have a direct support channel to your email provider, one that offers competent and fast support. Setting up your own domain, renewing your subscription, creating employees’ email addresses – all of these tasks can be time-sensitive so that your email communication works flawlessly. Getting support quickly is a necessity – one that must not be undervalued.

What provider to choose?

Big tech providers, offer most of these features – but their focus is on large corporation, not on small businesses. When choosing the business version of Gmail, be warned that your businesses’ support requests might be ignored by Google. On the Sub-Reddit for small businesses, company owners complain about the lack of support by Google saying that:

“It seems that they have made it impossible to contact them about this. No phone number or chat options. I have sent two emails but have gotten the following auto-reply: “Thanks for contacting us about your Business Profile on Google. From the info you shared, we’re not sure of your exact issue, but here are solutions to the most common issues:…This email doesn’t allow replies. For additional help try the following” with no other follow-up.”

“Side note but as a small business, it is frustrating that Google just doesn’t care at all about customer service because they just don’t have to. There’s nothing I can say to damage their business. … I’m a paying customer and give them money monthly.”

Due to the lack of support, many small business owners stick to the free version of Gmail – but this is not an option: As already explained, using a @gmail.com email address makes your company look unprofessional – and also unsuccessful as people might suspect your business uses a free Gmail address because it does not make any money. Plus, when using the free version, keep in mind that Gmail does not keep your communications private but instead profits off your data.

Additionally, big tech email providers like Gmail and Outlook only use TLS encryption to secure your business emails. A much better solution is to apply end-to-end encryption (but if they did they wouldn’t have access to your data). An alternative email solution for all businesses small, medium, or large is Tuta Mail – with a direct support line for all business users, flexible plans that suit every company’s needs, and best security with quantum-safe end-to-end encryption, we are sure that you will be very satisfied with Tuta. But let us explain further what Tuta Mail and Tuta Calendar have to offer!

Companies of any size can start communicating in true privacy with Tuta’s end-to-end encrypted mail by sign up for one of their customizable business plans

Below we explore why using Tuta Mail is perfect for creating a business email address that’s secure.

Related: How EPD Engineering boosts security with Tuta!

Security, privacy, and professionalism with Tuta Mail

Security

Tuta offers the highest security protocols for your small business mailbox. With a “security first” approach as a core value, Tuta does not take shortcuts or skimp on security.

Tuta’s post-quantum encryption protocol ensures you business communications are protected today, and from future threats.

Tuta started as the first end-to-end encrypted email provider on the market in 2014, and in 2024, was proud to release its post-quantum encryption protocol for email. The encryption is similar to the quantum-safe protocols used by Signal, a chat app that is highly regarded as one of the most secure WhatsApp alternatives. As the email provider that encrypts the most user data, Tuta is the chosen provider for businesses and freelancers around the world who want to ensure their communications are private and secure.

With us, you can have peace of mind knowing all your data, including your emails, calendars, and contacts is store end-to-end encrypted by default. This means that you own your data: only you have the ability to decrypt the end-to-end encrypted data, no one else – not even we at Tuta – can access your data. With this approach, we at Tuta combine the best of both worlds: availability and accessibility of cloud providers and data sovereignty like with locally hosted email.

In this short section on safety, we have only covered the basics! If you would like to know more! If you’d like to know more visit our in-depth page on Tuta’s security.

Privacy

The online landscape today is not private at all. Collecting your data, selling it, and profiting off of it are now considered normal. This includes the data from your mailbox (scary we know), particularly when using free services. When it comes to your business communications you should opt for an email provider that does not track you, does not collect your data, and does not have access to your mailbox.

Tuta Mail is a privacy-focused email that allows you to communicate in true privacy through the use of end-to-end encryption. Tuta is located in Germany and all data is stored on our own servers in ISO-certified data centers in Germany. For a business, the physical location of your data is very important and Germany has some of the best data protection laws that along with the quantum-safe encryption make Tuta a perfect solution. When you choose Tuta, you are guaranteed business email as it should be: secure, confidential, and GDPR compliant.

Domains and aliases

Email professionalism for a business starts with its address. When you choose Tuta Mail, you have the ability to easily set up your custom domain (starting from 3 custom domains or more depending on which business plan you choose) as well as use multiple email alias addresses (starting from 15 aliases or more) to keep communications organized and streamlined.

One of the unique features in Tuta Mail is that you can use an unlimited number of email addresses with your own domain – a feature that is included in ALL business plans.

Calendars and contacts

Tuta is more than email! When you choose Tuta as your business email, you don’t just get a mailbox but also end-to-end encrypted calendars and contacts!

Tuta Calendar allows small businesses to schedule appointments, save dates, and stay in the loop in total privacy and security. You can create calendars for your team that you share will all – or just some – employees so that everybody knows what’s going on in your company and what deadline are coming up next. Tuta Calendar is the only zero-knowledge calendar using post-quantum encryption to make sure your schedule and appointments remain confidential. Additionally, Tuta Contacts allows you to store your business contacts securely encrypted within the Tuta app, sync them to your phone and securely use them on mobile.

GDPR Compliance

If your business operates within the European Union and handles any sensitive data of EU citizens, it’s mandatory to use an email provider that’s GDPR compliant. Even if not legally required in your country, being GDPR compliant definitely helps to build customer trust and boost your brand credibility and Tuta Mail is an easy solution to ensure compliance.

Support

Tuta offers top-level support to all paying customers. Be sure that our dedicated support – consisting of real humans – are here to help you solve all your company’s email issues. And there’s no need to just take our word for it: Check the reviews of our users on Trustpilot to see how Tuta users like our email services.

Checkout Tuta Mail’s reviews on Trustpilot.

Features

Tuta Mail has all the business features that you need:

• Unlimited email addresses with your own domain
• Protection against spam, phishing & tracking
• Smart filtering via inbox rules
• Autoresponder
• Desktop clients for Windows, macOS, and Linux
• Mobile apps for Android and iPhones
• Offline access to your mailbox, calendars and contacts
• Customized notification email for password-protected, encrypted emails
• Email templates to compose answers faster
• Login on your own website
• Custom branding for the Tuta email clients

In addition to this, labels and email import are currently under active development and will be released soon.

Allowing scalability for your business

Tuta Mail is not a big tech email provider, we are the opposite! But this does not mean we are not built for growing companies – we are an email provider that offers full scalability to your growing business.

Tuta has a range of business plans, giving you the freedom to choose the one that suits you best. And if your business plan isn’t suitable, you can simply upgrade or downgrade to a better one.

Got a new member on the team? Simply use shared mailboxes or add them as a user. Need to set up more custom domains or create more aliases? Most likely that’s already included in your plan. Tuta is built and designed with your business needs in mind, giving you the freedom to communicate in true privacy and security.

A green communications solution

Companies are encouraged to use sustainable solutions for their business: this includes green email solution that focuses on stustainability. At Tuta, we want to do our share in protecting the environment: we use only renewable energy to power our offices as well as our servers. By opting for services like Tuta Mail to ensure your communications are green, your company can make a difference, too!

When you choose Tuta as your business mail provider, you are also choosing a sustainable, eco-friendly communication solution.

Still not convinced? Check out this in-depth guide to how your company can benefit from Tuta Mail!

Sometimes an alternative to Big Tech is better

Regardless of the industry, company size, or location, having a business email address that is secure is essential. Without it, even small companies appear unprofessional and untrustworthy.

Whether you need a business email address for one person or a company email addresses for a team of five, fifty or five thousand, Tuta Mail is the perfect email provider to ensure your communications stay private and secure. Plus, with our dedicated and direct support to businesses of all sizes, your SME will be as happy with Tuta as our existing customers.