The first thing every one of us does when we start work is to check our email, don’t you agree? This communication mode is essential for every business, both when it comes to internal and external communication. Some of us even check our email regularly - every 15 minutes, because you just have to open that notification button.

However, email is so much more than a communication method. It is also storage space and a space for sharing files. It can offer you a variety of amazing tools and features. That is the reason why choosing a mail hosting provider is a decision which you’ll have to thoroughly think through. You should choose a hosting provider which offers the features your business needs, as what might work for others may not be the right option for you. 

The email hosting provider is not only about sending and receiving emails, it’s also about offering features such as shared contacts and calendars for your company.

Whenever you are looking for an email hosting provider, there are three ways to host your email. Those are Self-Hosted Email, Shared Web and Email Hosting, and Third-Party Email Hosting.

This is an option which will be available if you have your own servers. This way you won’t need an email hosting company. If you choose this self-hosted email alternative, you will have more control and the ability to build your own features.

However, this is a costly option because it includes servers and maintenance. Even though you might have your own server and choose to self-host your email, it will take you a lot of time and money to protect your email from being marked as spam. That’s the reason why rather than self-hosting, many server owners choose one of the options for email hosting mentioned below.

When you choose a web hosting for your website, you’ll find that many of the web hosting companies offer email hosting as well. Most of the time, email hosting is part of the initial package given for free by the host. Here you don’t have an option to pick and choose your email hosting features, you’ll just get what the web host you choose offers. An example of this is Domain Name Sanity where they have an option for cheap email hosting.

Choosing a third-party email hosting provider should be your option if you want additional features, other than what your web host offers you. Hosted email providers are also a less expensive choice than self-hosted emails. A hosted email provider will offer you features such as built-in video conferencing, shared contacts and calendars, and team chat. In order to narrow down the list of the many third-party email hosting providers, the features you should always look for are:

● 24/7 tech support

● Custom domains with your company’s website domain address

● Spam and virus filters, while offering extra security

● A minimum of 2 GB mailbox storage per user

● File sharing and FTP tools that lets you send larger files than 25MB in size

Now that you are aware of the features that will be useful when choosing a third-party email host, we’ll offer you some guidelines to follow so you can make the best pick.

Whenever you go for a third-party email hosting provider you should take into consideration what the providers offer. There are two things which should define your choice when you look for the best hosted email service providers. The first thing is the price and the second are the features which that email hosting provider will offer you for the price. While it is recommended to choose an affordable service you should look for quality as well.

In the provider’s well-specified plans there should be a minimum of 25GB worth of data for your mailbox, spam and virus filters while being accessible by Outlook, Webmail, and mobile. Features such as ActiveSync support, applications compatible to Office, instant messaging and a 100% uptime guarantee are usually found in most providers’ extended plans. 

If you are on a tight budget there are many email hosting providers which provide many features for free for up to five users. Along with the hosted email features such as calendars, contacts, Docs and Office Suite for collaboration on documents, files and spreadsheets are essential for team communication. 

Certain email hosting providers enable you to provide email accounts to your clients. This feature basically gives you the opportunity to manage addresses and email accounts for multiple domains. 

If you are a beginner, look for an email hosting provider which will be easy to navigate, without offering any complex features that you might not need at the very start of your business.

To sum up, when choosing an email hosting provider, you will need to define what kind of email hosting service you’ll need: 

● a self-hosted email, 

● shared web and email hosting, 

● third-party email hosting. 

If you need a third-party email hosting there are many options on the market and you should go for the one which offers you a list of worthwhile features. Some of the features your email hosting company should provide are:

● Disk storage

● Online storage

● Spam and virus filter

● 100% uptime

● White lists

● Collaboration and communication tools

In the end, it’s all about choosing an email hosting provider which offers the best features for the lowest price, isn’t it?