How to Set up a Custom Email Domain Address for Your Business (A Step-by-Step Guide)

Is your business email address holding you back?

Free email services like Gmail, Outlook, or Yahoo might seem convenient, but they are unprofessional when it comes to building brand recognition and establishing trust.

Imagine the difference between [email protected] and [email protected]. The first projects a sense of legitimacy and inspires confidence, while the second raises questions about your seriousness.

The good news?

Setting up a custom email domain with your business name is easier than you think. This guide will walk you through the entire process, step-by-step, so you can ditch the generic email and improve your brand image in minutes.

Why Your Business Needs a Custom Domain?

More often than not, networking and building online relationships with potential and existing clients begins with emails. Nearly everyone in the US over the age of 15 uses email, which says a lot about the role email can play for your business.

– Email usage among internet users in the US by age. / Source: Statista

Needless to say, you cannot mess up the first stage of your business’ branding. Apart from professionalism and trustworthiness, the following are some benefits of having your own email domain:

🪪 Branding: Using your domain name in your email address helps strengthen your brand identity and increase brand awareness.

🔏 Security: It can also help improve your email security by reducing the risk of spam and phishing attacks.

⛓️ Organization: Custom email addresses can be organized within your domain, making it easier to manage and assign emails to different team members or departments, for example, [email protected] or [email protected].

What to Do If A Custom Email Domain Is Taken?

You might have thought of a great custom email domain name, but it could already be taken. If you’ve tried using your name, initials, or business name, here are some other things you can do:

💡 Tip: Make sure you typed everything correctly in the first place.

Try with other top-level domains: Yes, .com is the most reliable, but you could also try others like “.net” or go with country-specific domains like “.co.uk”.

Add location: Think of alternative names, maybe. If you’re a local business, you can add your location. For example, if your desired address was [email protected], you can now try [email protected].

Add/modify business type/role: You can add your role or other relevant keywords in the

custom domain. For example, if you wanted [email protected], you can now try [email protected] or [email protected], or [email protected].

Explore domain brokers: This is a pricier option, but it is the only one left to explore if your domain name is very important to your brand. A domain broker can negotiate with the person who owns your desired domain and buy it out.

Setting up Your Custom Domain Email Address

Setting up a custom email domain is not as difficult as it may seem. If you already have a website, you can create one from your website builder or through a hosting plan that handles DNS.

If not, first things first: You’ll need to register a domain name. If you already have that, you can jump to step three.

• Step 1: Choose a Domain Registrar
• Step 2: Purchase Your Domain
• Step 3: Choose and Set up Email Hosting
• Step 4: Configure Your DNS Settings
• Step 5: Test Your Email Address

Step 1: Choose a Domain Registrar

You can register a domain name in many different places. When you register, find a company that offers the domain extensions you need. Check their reputation, price, features, support, and how easy they are to use.

Make sure your domain automatically renews. This is very important! If you forget to renew, you could lose your domain, your email, and even access to accounts linked to it. Even big companies like Google have made this mistake.

Popular Domain Registrars

Popular domain registrars include:

• NameCheap
• GoDaddy
• Cloudflare
• Porkbun

Step 2: Purchase Your Domain

Once you’ve chosen your domain registrar, it is time to make the purchase. Search for your domain name. The registrar will show you if your desired domain name is available or taken. In this case, let’s take the example of Namecheap.

– Namecheap shows that Cloudways.com has been taken.

– Namecheap shows hafsatahir.com is available and also shares the starting price.

Once you have confirmed the availability of your domain name, navigate to the pricing plans and pick the one that best suits your business needs and budget.

That’s it. Now enter your card details, and you’re done.

💡 Note: You may need to sign up i.e. make an account on the registrar’s site.

Step 3: Choose and Set up Email Hosting

Email hosting providers store your emails and other data on a remote server. They help you set up email accounts for your employees.

There are many options to choose from. Think about how many employees you have and the hosting service’s storage space, security, discounts, and phone features.

Email Hosting Providers

• Rackspace Email
• Zoho Mail
• Protonmail
• Microsoft365
• Google Workspace

– Rackspace email hosting

Typically, hosting your emails in the same place as your website is not considered a best practice.

Setting up Custom Mailbox

In this tutorial for creating a custom email domain, we will set up a Rackspace mailbox on Cloudways. Other hosting providers likely have more or less the exact steps involved.

Once you access your Cloudways account, go to the Add-ons section.

After selecting the Rackspace add-on, you must create a new mailbox based on your domain, such as [email protected]. One mailbox costs $1 per month.

The pricing instructions will be reflected on the mailbox creation prompt. Once you add the desired mailbox email address and password, you can proceed with Save Changes.

After the mailbox is created, the details will reflect as shown below. You can easily update your mailbox password from the UI itself.

You can access the mailbox login URL with the mailbox credentials you created by clicking on the Launch Webmail option. That’s it. Your mailbox is all set to be used.

We just need to add the Rackspace DNS records in our DNS manager.

Here’s how your Rackspace webmail will be launched. You can log in and start using your email.

Step 4: Configure Your DNS Settings

Next, you need to change your DNS settings. When you set up DNS records, the mail host checks that you own the domain name. It’s like proving you own the house before you get mail.

You must add MX, TXT, and CNAME records for Rackspace to your DNS manager. Depending on your email host, you might also need to set up some extra records. These help keep others from pretending to be you.

In the case of Cloudways, the DNS Made Easy add-on makes configuration very easy, and you get instant DNS changes.

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Rackspace DNS Records

Type	Hostname	Destination	Priority	TTL
MX	@ or left blank	mx1.emailsrvr.com	10	3600 seconds, or the lowest allowed
MX	@ or left blank	mx2.emailsrvr.com	20	3600 seconds, or the lowest allowed
TXT	@ or left blank	v=spf1 include:emailsrvr.com ~all	N/A	3600 seconds, or the lowest allowed
CNAME	auto-discover	autodiscover.emailsrvr.com	N/A	3600 seconds, or the lowest allowed

 

You can check the pattern of how the Rackspace DNS records are added against the DNS manager.

To add this record, log in to your Domain Name Registrar. You should find it under Settings → Manage Domain Name → Manage DNS Records. In our guide, we have the DNS set up at Namecheap.

MX Records

TXT Record

CNAME Record

That’s it. Your Rackspace mailbox is all set now. You can start your emails with Rackspace on the Cloudways Platform.

Step 5: Test Your New Email Address

Open another email account – Gmail, Outlook, whatever. Write a new email and send it to the new address you created.

If everything worked out fine and your DNS record changes were made successfully, you should see your test email in your inbox. You can also email your new address to your other account to ensure it works both ways.

Get Rackspace Email Add-on for $1/Month

With just one click, Cloudways’ Rackspace add-on offers fully managed email hosting, so you can focus on what matters most – your business. Enjoy top-notch security and guaranteed uptime.

Learn More!

Troubleshooting Common Custom Domain Issues

When setting up a custom email domain, some issues can occur. These problems are usually not serious and can be fixed by checking a few things. Here’s how to fix them:

1. Domain Registration Issues

Make sure your domain registrar’s DNS settings are set up correctly to connect to your email hosting provider.

2. Pending Domains

If your domain is stuck in ‘Pending’ for too long, make sure you’ve typed everything correctly, including the CNAME records, and that there are no other conflicting records. Also, check if your DNS settings are publicly accessible.

3. Missing/Incorrect SPF Record

SPF records are a type of DNS TXT record that helps verify emails. Make sure your SPF is set up right so it includes the correct IP addresses from your email provider.

4. MX Records Configuration

Make sure your domain’s MX records are set up correctly to point to your email provider’s servers, and give it some time (24-48 hours) for the changes to take effect.

5. Links in Emails Flagged Unsafe

Microsoft email clients, like Outlook, may flag links as unsafe if your custom domain lacks a tracking subdomain. To fix this:

1. Go to Settings, select Custom domains, and edit your domain.
2. Enable activity tracking and widget hosting, enter a tracking subdomain, and add the generated CNAME record to your DNS settings to resolve the issue.

6. Unable to Send/Receive Messages

Make sure your email service is working, and check for updates that might be affecting it. Also, double-check that your domain’s DNS settings are set up correctly to point to the right email servers.

7. Email Client Configuration

If your domain is verified and your account is updated, double-check that you’ve got the right email server settings and login information in your email app. Enable any required authentication methods (e.g., IMAP, POP3) .

Summary

Great, you’re all set up!

A custom email domain is more than an address. It can make your business look more professional and trustworthy. When you match your email address to your brand, you show people that you are serious and reliable.

This guide has shown you how to set up a custom email domain. You learned about choosing a domain registrar and configuring DNS settings. You can choose a traditional host or a managed email hosting service. The process is easy to follow.