Practical hosting guide
Set Up Business Email and Authentication
Create a mailbox, configure a secure mail client and check SPF, DKIM and DMARC without losing existing senders.
Create and test the mailbox
- Confirm the mailbox count and storage allowed by your plan.
- Create the address in the hosting control panel with a strong, unique password.
- Copy the IMAP and SMTP server names, ports and TLS settings shown for your account into the mail client.
- Use authenticated SMTP for sending and test delivery in both directions.
Use the settings displayed in your account rather than assuming server names from a different provider. Keep a local or independent copy of important mail where required.
Point incoming mail to the correct provider
Set the MX records specified by the email provider at the authoritative DNS host. If you use an external email service, preserve its MX records while moving website hosting.
Do not delete old mailboxes until historical messages have been copied and the new setup has been verified. A DNS change redirects new delivery; it does not copy existing messages.
Authenticate every legitimate sender
Maintain one SPF policy for the domain that includes all authorised services, including mailbox SMTP, transactional mail and marketing systems. Do not add several separate SPF records or copy an example that omits a genuine sender.
Enable DKIM for the actual sending service and publish the generated selector and public key. If DNS is hosted elsewhere, copy the exact record to that DNS provider.
Introduce DMARC with a monitoring policy and review legitimate sender alignment before moving to quarantine or reject. DNS authentication helps receivers assess messages; it does not guarantee inbox delivery.
Check the resulting records
Use MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC checks after changes. For the underlying platform, see the current DKIM and DMARC Wizard guidance.
