How to Set Up Google Workspace in 2025

Google Workspace, formerly known as G Suite, is one of the most widely used cloud-based productivity suites in the world. It combines professional email with Gmail, cloud storage through Drive, collaborative documents in Docs and Sheets, and video conferencing via Meet, among other tools. Businesses choose Google Workspace to streamline communication, improve collaboration, and enhance productivity across teams of any size.

Google Workspace offers a free trial to explore its features, but continued use requires a paid subscription. This guide walks you through the entire setup process, including tips for businesses, domain configuration, user creation, Gmail setup, and best practices for protecting your data.

What You Need Before Setup

Before you begin, it’s important to gather a few essentials:

• Credit card: Needed for trial continuation and eventual billing.
• Domain name: Can be purchased through Google or a third-party registrar.
• Admin email: For account recovery and full administrative access.
• Optional user list: If you’re setting up multiple team members, prepare a spreadsheet with names and emails.

Having these ready ensures a smooth setup and prevents delays when activating your Google Workspace account.

How to Create a Google Workspace Account

Creating a Google Workspace account is straightforward and can be done in a few steps:

1. Go to workspace.google.com and click Start Free Trial.
2. Enter your business information, including company name, size, and country.
3. Choose or purchase a domain to link with your Workspace account.
4. Create an admin account with full access to manage users and apps.
5. Select a plan: Starter, Standard, Plus, or Enterprise, depending on your team’s needs.

Once these steps are complete, you’ll have access to the Admin Console, which is the central hub for managing users, apps, and security settings.

How to Create a Google Workspace Account (Step-by-Step)

Here’s a more detailed, step-by-step breakdown for setting up your Workspace account:

1. Start Free Trial: Visit workspace.google.com and click Start Free Trial to begin.
2. Enter Business Details: Provide your company name, number of employees, and country of operation. This information helps Google configure the account correctly.
3. Choose a Domain: You can either use an existing domain or purchase a new one through Google. Your domain is the foundation for professional email addresses (e.g., yourname@yourcompany.com).
4. Create Admin Account: Set up your primary admin email, which will have full control over user accounts, apps, and security settings.
5. Pick a Plan: Decide between Starter, Standard, Plus, or Enterprise, based on storage, security features, and business size.

Verifying Your Domain Name

Before emails and other Workspace tools work, you must verify ownership of your domain:

• Log in to your domain registrar (e.g., GoDaddy, Namecheap, Google Domains).
• Add the TXT record provided by Google to your DNS settings.
• Verification typically completes within minutes but can take up to 24 hours.

Important: Verification must be completed within 9 days of starting your trial to fully activate Workspace features.

Adding Users and Creating Groups

Once your domain is verified, it’s time to add team members and configure groups:

• Navigate to Admin Console → Users to add individual users or import multiple accounts via CSV.
• Aliases allow a single user to receive email at multiple addresses without creating separate accounts.
• Groups like sales@, support@, or info@ centralise communication, allowing multiple users to access emails sent to a single address.

Groups are essential for department-specific communication and maintaining an organised workflow.

Setting Up Gmail with Your Domain

To connect Gmail with your professional domain:

• Google provides MX records to add to your domain’s DNS.
• Once configured, Gmail will send and receive emails using your custom domain.
• Post-2023, the setup is simplified and often requires just one MX record for full functionality.

Be aware that email propagation can take 24–48 hours, so some delays may occur before messages are delivered consistently.

Why Backups Still Matter with Google Workspace

Google Workspace offers native retention and sync, but it does not provide full backups. Businesses remain at risk of data loss due to:

• Accidental deletion
• Ransomware attacks
• Employee exits or account compromises

Using a dedicated backup solution like BackupVault for Google Workspace provides:

• Secure, UK-based data storage
• Full backup of Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets, and more
• Quick recovery options in case of data loss

For comprehensive protection, explore BackupVault’s cloud backup solutions to safeguard your critical business data and ensure compliance with UK regulations.

Setting up Google Workspace correctly ensures your business has a professional, collaborative, and secure environment for email, files, and communication. Coupled with BackupVault, you can protect your data from accidental or malicious loss while benefiting from the full productivity suite.