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Migrating your business email from, for example Bluehost, to Google Workspace is the best way to improve deliverability, prevent messages from ending up in spam, and enjoy a professional email interface—without losing any old messages.

On Hands-On Tech, host Mikah Sargent showed that this process is easier than many expect, brings instant benefits to client communication, and helps future-proof your business as you grow.

Why Move to Google Workspace?

Many small businesses start with Bluehost for web hosting and use their bundled email. But, as Mikah Sargent pointed out, emails from Bluehost often land in recipients' spam folders—especially if they use Gmail, which owns a large share of email users.

Google Workspace provides business-grade, reliable email hosting, letting you use the Gmail interface with your own custom domain (like [email protected]). Email sent from Google's servers is far less likely to be flagged as spam and comes with robust support options.

Quick Summary: What You'll Need

• A registered domain (already set up on Bluehost)
• Google Workspace account (starts at $6-7/month per user)
• Access to Bluehost DNS (Domain Name System) or Zone Editor
• Your current Bluehost email login details

No special technical expertise is required—just follow the guided steps.

How to Switch Your Email to Google Workspace

1. Sign Up for Google Workspace

Go to the Google Workspace website and choose a plan (most businesses start with the Basic/Starter tier for $6-7/month per user). During sign-up, enter your business domain name (e.g., yourbusiness.com).

2. Verify Domain Ownership

You'll be asked to confirm that you own your domain. Continuing to use Bluehost as an example, Google will provide a text snippet to add to your Bluehost DNS or Zone Editor. This step is key for Google to manage your domain's email.

• Log into Bluehost
• Find the DNS/Zone Editor
• Copy and paste the code Google provides
• Google will check for it automatically

3. Migrate Existing Emails with Google's Migration Tool

Google Workspace has a built-in data migration tool. You'll set up migration using IMAP (the protocol Bluehost uses). Enter your Bluehost email address and password. Google Workspace will copy all your old emails—nothing is lost.

This migration can take some time if you have a large inbox, but you can keep using your Bluehost email while the process runs.

4. Update MX Records to Route Email to Google

This is the most technical step, but Google provides clear instructions. In Bluehost's DNS/Zone Editor:

• Delete existing MX records (which currently point email to Bluehost)
• Add Google's MX records (these are long names ending with "google.com"; typically 5 entries)
• Save your changes

Record changes may take a few hours to propagate.

5. Start Using Gmail with Your Custom Domain

After DNS updates are finished, your business email will be fully powered by Google Workspace. Log into Gmail with your business address—old emails will be present, and new mail will go to Google’s trusted servers.

Key Takeaways

• Improved email deliverability: Google’s servers are far less likely to be flagged as spam.
• Professionalism: Use your custom business domain on Gmail.
• Easy support: Paid Google Workspace users receive priority support.
• No lost messages: Google's migration tool ensures you keep all your historical emails.
• No downtime: You can use your old inbox as normal while migration and setup run.

What This Means for You

By moving your business email to Google Workspace, clients, suppliers, and partners are much more likely to see your messages in their main inbox. This upgrade can have a direct, positive impact on customer relationships and business reputation.

Services like Fastmail (also mentioned as a solid alternative) exist, but if Gmail is your preferred ecosystem, Google Workspace is the best choice for both reliability and scalability.

The Bottom Line

If you’re a business owner struggling with undelivered emails and unreliable hosting, don’t settle for free Gmail forwarding or outdated webmail. Migrating to Google Workspace is a low-cost but highly valuable investment.

Mikah Sargent stressed that the process is straightforward, comes with Google’s support, and dramatically boosts your email reliability. Think of your business email as critical infrastructure—and give it the professional setup it deserves.

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