Web hosting runs your website. Email hosting stores and delivers your business email. They’re separate services that share one domain name, and they don’t have to live with the same company. Most businesses with more than a couple of staff are better off with dedicated email, such as Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, and web hosting chosen for the website alone.
Key takeaways
- Your domain’s DNS sends website visitors one way and email another, so each can sit with a different provider.
- Email bundled with hosting suits very small teams with simple needs.
- Separate email keeps working if your website is hacked, moved or offline.
- Whatever you choose, set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC so your mail is trusted.
What’s the difference between email hosting and web hosting?
Web hosting is a server that stores your website’s files and database and shows the pages to visitors. Email hosting is a mail server that receives messages for your addresses, stores them and lets you send mail as [email protected].
Both use your domain name, but the domain’s DNS records point them in different directions. One record sends website visitors to your web host. A separate MX record sends email to your mail provider. As Microsoft explains, once you change the MX record, all new email for your domain goes to the new provider. Your domain stays where it’s registered.
Email hosting vs web hosting: how do they compare?
| Email bundled with web hosting | Dedicated email hosting | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Often included in the plan | Usually charged per user, per month |
| Best for | One or two people with simple needs | Teams, shared calendars, phones and laptops |
| Spam filtering and security | Varies widely by host | Strong filtering, two-factor login, admin controls |
| If the website has problems | Email can be affected too | Email keeps working |
| Moving web hosts | Mailboxes must move as well | Only the website moves |
Our guide to getting a business email address compares Microsoft 365, Google Workspace and hosting email in more detail.
Why keep email separate from your website?
Problems stay contained
When a website is hacked, it’s often used to send spam. That can get the whole server’s address blocked by spam filters, and any email sent from the same server suffers too. Our guide to a website sending spam emails explains how that happens. With dedicated email, a website problem stays a website problem.
Changing hosts is simpler
When email lives with your web host, moving the website means moving every mailbox as well. With separate email, you move the site and leave the MX record alone. Our guide to changing hosting without losing email covers the details.
Email is a bigger target
Email compromise was the most common cybercrime businesses reported to the Australian Signals Directorate in 2024–25, at 19% of reports. Business email compromise fraud, where money was lost, followed at 15% (ASD). Dedicated providers put serious effort into filtering, two-factor login and alerts for suspicious sign-ins.
When is email with your hosting good enough?
For a sole trader or a two-person business that mostly sends quotes and replies to enquiries, hosting email can be fine. Check that it supports secure connections, decent mailbox sizes and webmail you’re happy to use. Make sure someone backs it up, because many hosts treat mail differently from website files.
Plan to move it once you add staff, need shared calendars or start relying on email for invoices and payments.
Whichever you choose, set up email authentication
Since February 2024, Google has required everyone sending to Gmail addresses to set up SPF or DKIM, and bulk senders of more than 5,000 messages a day to use SPF, DKIM and DMARC (Google). These DNS records prove your mail is really from you.
One trap catches many businesses: your website’s contact form sends email too. If the form sends from your web server but your SPF record only lists Microsoft 365 or Google, those messages may land in spam. Microsoft’s guidance is to keep a single SPF record that lists every service that sends for your domain.
How do I decide where my email should live?
- Count your people. More than two staff, or shared calendars and inboxes, points to dedicated email.
- Check your current setup. Look up your MX record to see who handles your email today.
- Choose hosting for the website. Our guides on how to choose web hosting and the types of web hosting help with that half.
- List every sender. Email provider, website forms, invoicing software and newsletters all need to be in your SPF record.
If you host with us, our Australian web hosting is built around the website: NEXTDC data centres in Brisbane and Melbourne, free SSL and free migration. Whoever moves your site should check the MX and SPF records before and after. For ongoing help with updates, security and form checks, see our Maintain & Protect website care plans.
Frequently asked questions
Can my website and email be with different companies?
Yes. That’s common and often sensible. Your domain’s DNS records point the website to your web host and email to your mail provider through the MX record. Each service can be changed without affecting the other, as long as the records are updated carefully.
Will I lose my email if I change web hosts?
Not if your email is with a separate provider and the MX record stays the same. If your email is on the old web host, you’ll need to move the mailboxes too, before cancelling the old plan. Check where your MX record points before you start.
Is Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace better for a small business?
Both are reliable. Microsoft 365 suits businesses that already use Outlook, Word and Excel. Google Workspace suits teams that prefer Gmail and Google Docs. Pick the one your team already knows, then set up two-factor login for every user.
Why do my website form emails go to spam?
Usually because the form sends from the web server, which isn’t listed in your domain’s SPF record or signed with DKIM. Add the sending service to your SPF record, or have the form send through your email provider or a mail delivery service instead.
Sources
- Connect your domain by adding DNS records, Microsoft Learn, updated October 2026
- Annual Cyber Threat Report 2024–25, Australian Signals Directorate, October 2025
- Email sender guidelines, Google Workspace Admin Help, accessed November 2026