The Santa Barbara Web Design and Marketing Blog

When it comes to building and maintaining a website, most businesses and individuals focus on design, content, and user experience first. However, your website’s communication backbone—its email services—is equally crucial. As your Santa Barbara Web Guy, I’ve seen countless clients struggle with choosing the right email system, balancing cost, complexity, and deliverability. Let’s delve deep into why email setup matters, explore your options, and help you understand the optimal path for your specific needs.

Why Website Email Matters More than You Think

For any website, reliable email communication is essential. Whether you’re receiving contact form submissions, resetting your password, or getting transactional notifications—email is at the heart of it all. If your website can’t reliably send and receive messages, you risk missing out on opportunities, frustrating users, or even losing sales.

But here's an often-overlooked aspect: not all email solutions are created equal, and the configuration choices you make affect not only your budget but your professional credibility and contact with your audience.

The "Go-To" Options and Their Hidden Costs

When most people think about setting up personalized email addresses (like info@yoursite.com or sales@yoursite.com), their first thought often runs straight to giants like Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) and Microsoft 365.

Let's break these down:

- Google Workspace: The industry standard for business-grade email, with integrated calendar, Drive, and Docs functionality. Pricing starts at around $6 per month for basic business email and can easily climb to $12, $14, or more monthly per user as you scale storage or add features.

- Microsoft 365: Similarly robust, Microsoft 365 is a suite designed to cater to businesses with Office applications (Word, Excel, Outlook, etc.) plus advanced security controls. It’s priced comparably to Google Workspace, with different plans meeting various business needs.

While these platforms offer world-class security, spam filtering, and reliability, they come at a recurring cost—especially if your business requires multiple email addresses for different departments or team members.

Suppose you’re a small business, a solopreneur, or a nonprofit organization monitoring your every expense. Those costs add up quickly. If you need five email addresses, you might be looking at $60 or more each month—money that could be directed elsewhere.

There’s Often a Better, More Affordable Option

Here's a lesser-known secret: most web hosting companies include email services as part of their hosting packages. If you work closely with a web designer or developer (especially one who acts as a consultant and cares about aligning technology with your business needs), they’ll likely recommend or manage a hosting platform that offers built-in, no-additional-cost email accounts.

Typical Hosting Companies and Their Email Features

- cPanel Hosting (common with Bluehost, SiteGround, HostGator, A2 Hosting, etc.): Offers an interface for creating and managing unlimited email addresses. The performance depends on your hosting plan, but for most small businesses, it's more than enough.

- Managed WordPress Hosts (WP Engine, Kinsta): These often don’t include standard email services, though some have simple tools or recommend third-party services. If you’re using one of these, double-check with your provider.

- Specialized Providers: Some independent web designers manage servers or resell services with custom setups. Often, these packages include both web and email hosting without extra fees.

Benefits of Using Web Hosting-Provided Email

- Cost Savings: Avoid the per-user fees of premium services.

- Simplicity: Centralized setup—your domain, website, and emails are all managed in one place.

- Flexibility: Easily add or remove email addresses as your team evolves.

- Seamless Web Integration: Ensures that messages sent from your website (like contact form submissions, password resets, order confirmations) originate from a domain-matched account, reducing the likelihood of your messages being flagged as spam.

Limitations to Consider

- Storage and Attachments: Host-provided email storage may be more limited than Google or Microsoft. Heavy email users (many years of email, large attachments) might run into quotas.

- Interface and Features: Webmail interfaces (like Roundcube, Horde, SquirrelMail) are often less modern than Gmail or Outlook web apps. However, you can usually connect these accounts to desktop and mobile email clients (like Outlook, Apple Mail, or Thunderbird).

- Security and Spam Blocking: Not all hosts offer advanced filtering. If your business is a major spam target, you will want to verify your host’s capabilities or consider third-party SMTP filtering.

The Crucial Behind-the-Scenes Factor: Deliverability

Having an email address that matches your domain is great, but that doesn't guarantee your messages will reach the inbox instead of spam. That’s where deliverability comes in—and this is an area where your web designer (or technical consultant) can make a significant difference.

When you send messages from your website (for example, when someone submits a form and the website emails you the results), email servers and spam filters scrutinize where that email is coming from and whether it’s authorized. The technical setup that governs this includes several key DNS records:

- SPF (Sender Policy Framework): This record tells the world which mail servers are authorized to send email on behalf of your domain. Without this, your emails are more likely to be marked as suspicious.

- DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): Adds a digital signature to outgoing emails, verifying that the message hasn’t been tampered with and comes from your domain.

- DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance): A policy framework that instructs receiving mail servers how to deal with emails that fail SPF or DKIM, plus (optionally) generates reports to help you spot abuse.

When your web designer sets up your website, they should also configure these email authentication records. Failing to do this correctly is one of the most common causes of lost or undelivered contact form messages.

Example: The Pitfalls of Ignoring Deliverability

Imagine a customer fills out your website’s contact form, but you never receive the message. Later, you find it buried in your spam folder or discover it never arrived at all. What happened?

- Your website sent the message “from” your domain, but the hosting company wasn’t listed in your SPF record. The receiving server saw a mismatch and decided to reject or quarantine the email.

- Email sent from your website was relayed via a generic server address, not matching your domain or lacking DKIM, and the server marked the message as fraudulent or suspicious.

- No DMARC policy was set, so misaligned messages were handled silently, without notification.

Properly configured SPF, DKIM, and DMARC ensure that the path from your website to your inbox is as direct and trustworthy as possible.

Working WITH Your Web Designer: What to Ask

Given the nuances of email deliverability and cost, partnering with a knowledgeable web designer isn’t just about aesthetics—it's about creating a reliable communication infrastructure. Here are questions you should ask your web designer:

1. Does my hosting package include email accounts?

- If yes, how many? What are the storage limits?

2. Can you help me set up domain-matching email addresses?

- For example: yourname@yourdomain.com, info@yourdomain.com

3. Will my website’s contact forms send from a domain-based address?

- This prevents the “via” or “on behalf of” spam flags when it reaches your inbox.

4. Have the SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records been properly configured?

- Get confirmation that these have been set up and, ideally, tested.

5. Can I access my email using my preferred app (Outlook, Apple Mail, etc.)?

- Ask for setup instructions for your computers and mobile devices.

When to Consider Premium Email Platforms

There are scenarios where using an included, host-based email system isn’t the right choice:

- Compliance and Security: Some businesses (legal, medical, finance) need message encryption, audit trails, or region-specific data residency.

- Scalability: If you expect heavy email use, need massive storage, or require advanced collaboration tools (calendars, file sharing, chat), Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 are worth the investment.

- Support: When downtime is not an option, and 24/7 phone support is critical, premium providers deliver.

- Mobility and Integration: If your team works across devices and needs a seamless experience with cloud-based tools, these platforms excel.

Hybrid Approaches

Some businesses choose a hybrid approach: using a premium platform (like Google Workspace) for their main email addresses (info@, sales@, etc.), while letting less frequently used addresses run through the hosting provider. This balances budget and features.

Action Steps for Your Business or Website

1. Review your current situation: How many addresses do you really need? What are you currently paying, and is it necessary?

2. Talk to your web designer/IT consultant: They can explain what’s included with your hosting, including limitations and integration concerns.

3. Audit your DNS records: If you’re experiencing deliverability problems, this is likely the culprit.

4. Test your website’s contact forms: Submit a test message and see if it arrives instantly, safely, and unflagged by spam filters.

5. Document your configuration: Keep a record of login credentials, server settings, and DNS details for future troubleshooting or upgrades.

Conclusion: Smart Choices Save Time, Money, and Headaches

It’s easy to get locked into expensive, overbuilt solutions when it comes to business email, especially with so many platforms competing for your monthly spend. But as we’ve seen, many website owners can get robust, professional domain-matching email at zero extra cost—simply by leveraging their hosting package and working with a skilled web professional to configure it right.

Equally important is email deliverability. It’s not just about having a working address, but making sure your website’s messages reach you and your clients securely and reliably, every single time.

And remember: the world of online business is always changing. Tech giants update policies, spam filters tighten controls, and hosting companies evolve features. Make it a habit to periodically review your configuration, and don’t hesitate to reach out to a trusted web consultant when the situation gets tricky.

If you have questions about your email setup, hosting, or website deliverability—or if you want to make sure your web presence is working for you, not against you—leave a comment below or contact me. As your Santa Barbara Web Guy, I’m here to help you clear up confusion, save money, and build a communications setup as strong as your brand!

Thank you for reading. Stay tuned for more insights on mastering your web presence!