How to get business email on your own domain

An address like [email protected] works, but [email protected] tells customers you are a real business. Setting it up is easier than it sounds. This guide explains the parts and the traps.

What you need

• A domain you own. This is the part after the @, such as yourbusiness.com.
• A mailbox. The storage and login for each address. One person usually has one mailbox.
• Mail records in your domain's DNS. These tell the internet where your mail lives and that you are allowed to send it.
• A way to read it. Webmail in your browser, or an app on your phone or computer.

The four records, in plain words

MX records

These say which computer receives mail for your domain. If they are wrong or missing, people can write to you and nothing arrives.

SPF

A list of the servers allowed to send mail for your domain. It stops others pretending to be you.

DKIM

A digital signature added to each message you send. The receiving side checks it to see the message was not changed.

DMARC

A rule that tells receivers what to do with mail that fails SPF or DKIM. Start gentle, and tighten it once you know your mail passes.

Without these records, your messages are far more likely to land in spam, even when your content is fine.

Setting it up

1. Choose where the mailboxes live. Many hosting plans include them. Huupa hosting includes mailboxes on your own domain, with webmail.
2. Create the mailboxes. For example info@, sales@ and one for each team member.
3. Add the mail records. Your provider gives you the exact values to enter at your domain's DNS.
4. Send yourself a test to a Gmail address and a work address. Check it arrives in the inbox and not in spam.
5. Add the account to your phone so you actually use it.

Mistakes that make mail disappear

• Moving your website and forgetting email. Changing where your domain points can break mail if the MX records go with it. Always check email after any change.
• Using a proxy on the mail address. Some DNS tools hide your server behind a proxy. That works for websites but silently blocks mail. Mail records must point straight at the mail server.
• Skipping the checks. A mailbox that sends but has no SPF or DKIM will get flagged.

Forwarders and shared inboxes

You do not need a mailbox for every address. A forwarder sends mail for info@ to one or more real mailboxes, so a small team can share one public address without sharing a login.

Questions