All serious businesses have an email address. Whether a one-person shop or a giant global enterprise, you'll need an email so that customers and suppliers can reach you. Next to your phone number, it's the most essential contact detail on your signage.

But not all email is the same. Many businesses depend on free email services or an email address they receive from their internet provider. Using those choices is fine, but they might not be the best option for your business.

Choosing an email service for your business

There are a few things worth knowing about email. But if you don't have time, just read the following section (and catch up on the rest later). Here is how we rate different email services:

Free email: if you're happy with using the free service's domain—for example,  a1plumbing@gmail.com or a1plumbing@yahoo.com— then a free service will work for you. Make sure the email address you want is available, and select something easy for people to remember. Though such services have some security, keeping your account details safe is your responsibility. Free email is OK if you only need one email address. But if your business needs more email addresses, consider the other options below.

Internet Service Provider email: many internet service providers (ISPs) and website hosts offer commercial email services (you might also get a free email address - check with your provider). Unless stated otherwise, email backups and security for these services are your responsibility. It is becoming more common for ISPs to resell business email services from Microsoft Office365 and Google Workspace, which are good choices since you get business-grade email and your ISP's support for any technical matters.

Private email server: unless you have a good reason for a private server, this option isn't for your business.

Email's primary features

Let's break down the key features of an email service. Knowing these will help you make the best selection:

• Domain support: an email domain is an address after the '@'. The specific mailbox is the part before the '@'. info@vodacom.co.za sends an email to the 'info' mailbox of the Vodacom.co.za domain. Most email services will let you use a custom domain if you pay.
• Security: email is a prime target for cybercriminals who send spam, spoof emails (called phishing emails), and harmful software that can infect your machine. They also try to hack your account because it contains valuable information and could be used to reset passwords to your other services. Security features and support vary a lot depending on the service you use.
• Search & archive: emails add up over time, and you can easily collect thousands of them. Managing these emails is tricky and finding an old email is even trickier. Different services vary on how they manage these issues—the best online services have extensive search features that quickly go through all the emails in your account.
• Mail clients: a mail client is a software you install on your PC or phone that accesses your email. Most of today's services let you access email through your browser, so you don't need a client. You can install apps that also access the email while keeping them on the server, so you never lose an email. Traditional email clients download your email from the server and store them locally.
• Integration: today's email doesn't sit in a vacuum. Some services integrate email with your calendar, online storage and other features.

 The types of email services

There are four different types of email servers:

• Free email such as Gmail and Yahoo.
• Internet service provider (ISP) email such as Mweb, Afrihost or Vox.
• A private email server.
• Business email such as Microsoft Office365 and Google Workspace.

Each email service has advantages and disadvantages, which depend considerably on your business size and type.

Free email services: free services such as Gmail and Yahoo work through a website, so you never have to install an email client on your PC. You have to use the free service's domain though some offer a paid tier for custom domains. These services are generally secure, but hackers often target free services, and you will only get limited technical support if something goes wrong. Leading free email services such as Gmail will offer integration with calendars and storage.

ISP email: if you use an internet service provider (such as for fibre or ADSL), your ISP will provide you with a free email address that uses its domain. Some ISPs also offer email services that will host your business domain. How you access the email varies: all ISP services will support old-school email client software, and a few offer rudimentary browser access. They are unlikely to have mobile apps. ISPs care about security, but they also only do so much. Security will primarily be your responsibility, as will creating backups of your emails. Several ISPs resell business email services, such as Office365, which have more advantages (see the last service type).

Private email server: businesses use private servers if they need complete control over their email services, such as security and archiving. This option isn't for you unless you know why you need a private email server.

Business email: you can get business-grade email for less than R100 per month, and you can access them via your browser, an app or a mail client. They have search features to find emails, and since everything is stored online, there is no need for backups. Business email such as Microsoft's Office365 and Google's Workspace integrates with calendars, online storage and other services. They tend to have excellent security and support, and they can host your business domains.

If you need help with how to get the most from such a service, purchase it through a third party such as Vodacom Business.