How to Make a Free Business Email Address (2 Easy Methods)

Do you need to create a free business email address? A professional email address is important when you’re trying to win new clients.

In this article, we’ll show you how to create a free business email address at your own domain. This will make your business look professional and trustworthy.

First, let’s clear up a few questions about email addresses and domains.

What Is a Business Email Address?

A business email address is an email address that uses your own business domain name. So you’ll need to create the domain first, then create the mailbox to match.

For example, [email protected] is an email address linked to the domain  namewpforms.com.

There are a few reasons why using your own domain is important:

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• It looks more professional than a Gmail or Hotmail address
• Business domain names are easy to remember
• Having a branded email address builds trust
• Each email you send helps to promote your brand.

So when you create an email address, try to make the domain part unique to your business and easy to spell. Read these tips on how to choose a domain name if you need ideas.

One last tip. When you register your domain for your email, you’ll also need to choose a domain name extension. We recommend that you choose .com. This article on choosing a domain extension explains why.

You’ll need to create a domain name and a hosting account to create your own email address. Let’s move on and find out how to do that.

Are Business Emails Free (Honestly)?

Just to clarify—it’s not possible to get a free business email address with a website domain on the end of it, like [email protected]. You could get a free email that ends in @gmail.com from your Gmail account, or a @yahoo.com address, but that could look pretty unprofessional.

If you’re already paying for Google Workspace (formerly G Suite), then you can use gmail aliases to make it look like your emails are coming from an email address at your domain. Microsoft 365 offers similar options if you prefer that platform.

Another option is to use a business email service like Zoho mail. However, it will likely cost you hundreds or even thousands of dollars per year, depending on how many users you need to add.

Instead, you can pay for website hosting to get a free email address that ends in your own custom domain name, and many hosts like Bluehost offer a free business email address with their hosting plans.

Because these web hosting plans offer so much with them, including the free email address, they are ‘nearly free’ solutions to get you a business email address.

How to Create a Free Business Email Address

We’ve already done all of the research for you, and we’ve got 2 different web hosting providers you can use to create your own domain and email address. We’ll walk you through the process step by step.

Method 1: Create a Business Email Address With Bluehost

Bluehost is one of the best hosting services for WordPress websites. It’s also a domain registrar and offers free custom email addresses at your own domain with any hosting package. And its packages are also super affordable.

Even better, Bluehost includes a free domain name with all new signups, so you only need to pay for the hosting.

You can use the free domain for your email address right now, even if you don’t have a website yet.

Step 1: Choose a Bluehost Plan

The first thing we need to do is choose a hosting plan for your new domain.

Head to Bluehost and click on the green Get Started Now button.

Bluehost has 4 hosting plans to choose from.

Here’s a quick summary:

Basic
Plus
Choice Plus

Monthly price
$7.99
$10.99
$14.99

Our discounted price
$2.75
$4.95
$5.45

Free domain
Yes
Yes
Yes

Websites
1
Unlimited
Unlimited

Website storage space
50 GB
Unlimited
Unlimited

Email accounts
5
Unlimited
Unlimited

Email storage
100MB/ account
Unlimited
Unlimited

You can see that the Basic plan is perfect for a starter website or if you just need a few free business email accounts for your small business.

If you need unlimited email accounts, the Plus plan will suit you better. Here’s a little more detail:

Of course, this is just a quick summary of the plans at Bluehost. Be sure to check the fine print before you choose a plan.

Ready to continue? Click Select under the plan you want.

Now for the fun part: register your free domain.

Step 2: Choose Your Free Domain

Now we’re going to choose the domain name that will appear on your free business email address.

The domain comes free with your hosting.

Just type your business name into the box to search for the domain name. You can also use letters, numbers, and hyphens.

Once you’ve chosen your domain, it’s time to move on and create your account. Just provide your billing information here and submit the form.

Bluehost might ask you if you want to add extras to your hosting plan. We recommend that you untick everything and don’t add extra services now. You can always add extras later when you need them.

Congratulations! You’ve successfully created your hosting account. You’ll now receive a welcome email from Bluehost with your login details.

Now we’re ready to create our first free business email address.

Step 3: Create Your Free Business Email Address at Bluehost

Creating a professional business email address with Bluehost is super easy. We already have our domain set up, so the next step is quick.

Log in to your brand new Bluehost account cPanel and click on Email and Office. Click the domain, and then click Manage.

Now, click on the Create button to make your first business email account.

Bluehost will ask you to choose a username and password. The username will appear before the @ sign in your email address.

Further down, click Generate to create a unique, strong password for your email account. It’s really important to have a password that will protect your email from spammers.

You can set a Storage Space limit for your email account, or set it to Unlimited.

Scroll down and save.

That’s it! You’ve created your first professional email address for your business. If you need to make more accounts, just repeat these steps.

Now you just need to log in and send your first email.

Step 4: Access Your Email Account at Bluehost

The next important thing is to access the brand new email account so we can check and send emails.

To do that, click on Check Email.

If you don’t have a default webmail application set up, Bluehost will ask you to choose. It doesn’t matter which 1 you pick.

Then click Open to open your webmail.

Bluehost also lets you connect to your free business email from your phone or computer. Use the instructions on the right-hand side to get that set up.

Now your email is ready, you can think about building a website at Bluehost. This article on how much a website costs will help you get the best possible price.

Now, back to email. Let’s look at Method 2.

Method 2: Create a Business Email Address Using HostGator

HostGator is a super affordable hosting company that can double as an email service provider, as it gives you free business email accounts with any hosting plan.

Just like with Bluehost, you don’t need to have a business website ready. You can sign up for today and start using your free business email with your domain.

Okay—let’s start by choosing a plan.

Step 1: Choose a HostGator Plan

HostGator plans are also very affordable for any business that’s just starting out.

Head to HostGator and click Get Started to see the plans.

All of these plans are shared hosting plans. If you’re not sure what that means, read our article on shared vs managed WordPress hosting.

Here’s a quick look at what you’ll get on these plans:

Hatchling
Baby
Business

Monthly price
$6.95
$9.95
$14.95

Our discounted price
$2.75
$3.95
$5.95

Free domain
Yes
Yes
Yes

Websites
Yes
Unlimited
Unlimited

Website storage
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited

Email accounts
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited

Email storage
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited

You can see that HostGator gives you more storage on its smallest plan compared to Bluehost. The renewal price on the Business plan is a little more expensive than HostGator.

All plans include a free domain for the first year.

Be sure to check the plan comparison on the HostGator website before deciding which plan to buy. Then click the Buy Now button to continue.

All set? Great! Let’s sign up for your domain.

Step 2: Choose Your Free Domain

HostGator gives you a free domain with any hosting plan. You can use the domain for your free business email account right away.

Search for the domain you want in the search box and press Enter. To make sure your site and your email look professional, you domain should include your company name. If your domain is available, HostGator will mark it with a green label.

Remember what we said above about domain name extensions? It’s best to buy a .com domain so that your email domain looks professional.

Now you can scroll down and fill out the rest of the order form. You can safely uncheck the Domain Privacy checkbox here:

In section 2, check that the right hosting plan is selected from the dropdown. Then fill out your personal details in section 3, and your billing info in section 4.

In section 5 of the order form, HostGator will add on some additional services for your account. Again, we recommend that you untick everything for now. You can add these services later if you need them.

All that’s left to do is make payment.

Congratulations! You now have a brand new domain ready to create your first free business email address.

Step 3: Create Your Free Business Email Address at HostGator

It’ll take about 5 minutes for HostGator to set up your account. When the icon turns blue, you’re good to go.

To get started, click Email Accounts on the right-hand side of your control panel.

On this screen, there are 3 things you need to do:

• Type in the email username you want to create under Email
• Click Password Generator to create a strong password
• Change the size of the Mailbox Quota if you want.

HostGator gives you unlimited storage on all plans, so we recommend that you set the size of your mailbox to Unlimited.

Finally, click Create Account.

Now you have a shiny new email address. The last thing we need to do is log in to webmail.

Step 4: Read Your Free Business Email at HostGator

On the left-hand side of the screen you’re on, click Email.

Now click Webmail, then Access Webmail.

You can choose the webmail application you want to use to access your mail account. Any will work fine.

If you want to add your free business email account to your phone or PC, the instructions are further down on the same screen.

Should You Publish Your New Email Address?

Now you have a brand new email address, you’ll likely want to share it. But sometimes, sharing email addresses online isn’t a great idea.

If you share your email address, you could wind up getting spam or phishing emails. You could also be added to email marketing lists that you don’t want to join. The same goes for sharing your phone number online.

Instead, we recommend that you publish a contact form on your website. You can easily send the notification emails to your new email address, so you’ll still get messages without anyone being able to copy your new address to spam you.

For more details, check out our article on the difference between publishing an email address vs publishing a contact form.

And if you’re concerned about receiving spam through your contact forms, check out this guide on how to stop contact form spam.

Frequently Asked Questions on Business Email Address

How Can I Create a Free Business Email Address Without a Domain?

The only way to create a business email address without domain is by using generic mailers like Gmail.

But this is not recommended for a business because email addresses without a branded domain look unprofessional and aren’t seen as trustworthy.

For this reason, we strongly recommend getting your business domain registered so you can create a recognizable email address that customers can trust.

Is [email protected] a Good Business Email?

No, an [email protected] email address is not a good business email address. This is because [email protected] is so widely used that it’s hard to identify a specific email in the inbox.

Instead, using your actual first name is a much better business practice because it feels more personal to customers. Personal interactions are good for keeping your customers engaged and delivering a better overall experience for your audience.

Next, Learn More Ways to Use Your Free Business Email

That’s it! You’ve now created a free business email address at your own business domain.

Do you want to do more with your new email account?

Next, we can show you how to easily get messages from your contact form to your business email address. Check out this article on the best free WordPress contact form plugins to learn more.

You can make many types of WordPress forms with WPForms, like:

Plus, make sure you install the WP Mail SMTP plugin to make sure all your WordPress emails deliver successfully.

Ready to build your website and put your email address to work? Get started today with the easiest WordPress form builder plugin. WPForms Pro lets you send forms to your business email inbox and offers a 14-day money-back guarantee.

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