How to create a professional email address for your UK business (free)

A plumber in Leeds, a limited company in Manchester and an Etsy seller in Bristol all hit the same moment: the Gmail or BT address on the invoice looks wrong next to the company name. You can have name@yourbusiness.co.uk running today, and the email hosting itself does not need to cost anything.

Quick answer

Register a .co.uk or .uk domain with any Nominet-accredited registrar, create a free OquMail workspace, add the domain, paste four DNS records, create your mailboxes. OquMail's free plan covers up to 15 mailboxes with no card, so a sole trader or a small limited company pays only for the domain.

Domain choice: .co.uk, .uk or .com

UK domains are run by Nominet. Both .co.uk and the shorter .uk are open to anyone, with no residency check, and every major registrar sells them: GoDaddy, 123 Reg, Namecheap, Fasthosts, IONOS and dozens more. The .co.uk ending is still what most British customers expect from a business; .uk is shorter and fine for newer brands. A .com is common for UK companies selling internationally.

• .co.uk: the default British business ending; open to anyone; instant registration
• .uk: shorter, newer; if you register one, register the other too so nobody else can
• .org.uk: charities and community groups; .ltd.uk and .plc.uk exist but are rarely used
• .com: sensible for exporters and SaaS companies; British customers trust it equally

Why UK customers and suppliers notice the address

Tradespeople on Checkatrade, consultants invoicing limited companies, letting agents and small e-commerce shops all deal with people who have been trained by HMRC and their bank to spot phishing. An invoice from accounts@yourbusiness.co.uk gets paid; one from a Gmail gets a phone call, or worse, gets ignored. Companies House, your accountant, insurers and trade suppliers all expect a company address, and it stays with the business when a member of staff leaves.

Step by step

1. Register yourbusiness.co.uk (and ideally yourbusiness.uk) with a Nominet-accredited registrar.
2. Create a free OquMail workspace at oqumail.com. No card is required.
3. Add the domain in the dashboard and copy the four DNS records.
4. In the registrar’s DNS panel (123 Reg: Manage DNS; GoDaddy: DNS; Namecheap: Advanced DNS) add the MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC records.
5. Click Verify. The live check highlights anything missing or mistyped.
6. Create mailboxes: info@, accounts@, and one per person, up to 15 on the free plan.
7. Send a test from webmail, then add the account to Outlook, Apple Mail or the phone mail app using the settings below.

The four DNS records OquMail needs

If the domain came with a web hosting package, the host usually pre-set an MX records (the settings that tell the internet where to deliver email for your domain) for its own email. Remove it before adding OquMail's, otherwise inbound mail will split. If Cloudflare fronts your site, add the MX and TXT records with the proxy off.

• MX — host @, value mail.oqumail.com, priority 10
• SPF (TXT at @) — v=spf1 MX (Mail Exchanger — where incoming email is delivered) a:mail.oqumail.com ~all
• DKIM (TXT at your selector ._domainkey) — v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=… (the exact key is shown in your OquMail dashboard)
• DMARC (TXT at _dmarc) — v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:dmarc@yourdomain.com

OquMail connection settings

• Incoming (IMAP): mail.oqumail.com, port 993, SSL/TLS
• Outgoing (SMTP): mail.oqumail.com, port 587, STARTTLS
• Username: your full email address (you@yourdomain.com)
• Password: the same password you use for OquMail webmail

What it costs

A .co.uk renewal is inexpensive and you can pay by any UK card or PayPal. The email is free: OquMail's free plan needs no card and includes 15 mailboxes, 3 domains, 5 GB per mailbox, webmail, IMAP/SMTP for any mail app, per-message delivery logs and a send API. Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 charge per user per month, which adds up fast once you give addresses to an apprentice, a bookkeeper and a part-time admin.

Pitfalls common in the UK

• Using a BT, Sky, TalkTalk or Virgin address on your van and business cards. Change broadband provider and the address dies with it.
• registrar (the company where you bought your domain, e.g. Namecheap or GoDaddy)-bundled mailboxes with no DKIM. Cheap web hosting email lands in Outlook junk at exactly the corporate clients you want.
• Choosing SSL/TLS on port 587 in Outlook. On 587 it must be STARTTLS; wrong setting, silent failure.
• Home broadband and 4G routinely block outbound port 25. Port 587 is all you need.
• Sending customer data from a personal Gmail after you have a domain address: keep business correspondence on the business mailbox, and retire the personal one for work.

Common questions

Do I need both .co.uk and .uk?

Not strictly, but registering both protects the brand. Add both to the same OquMail workspace and send from one of them.

Will it work with Outlook and my iPhone?

Yes. Outlook, Apple Mail and the Gmail app all add IMAP accounts using the settings above. Use your full address as the username and your webmail password.

Is there a limit on the free plan?

Up to 15 mailboxes, 3 domains and 5 GB per mailbox, with no expiry. A sole trader or a company of a dozen people fits comfortably.