How to Set Up a Business Email Address

What you need

You need a registered domain, an email hosting plan or compatible email service, and access to your domain's DNS settings.

Create the address

1. Choose a clear address, such as [email protected] for general enquiries or [email protected] for personal correspondence.
2. Create the mailbox in your email control panel and set a strong, unique password.
3. Add the MX records supplied by your email provider. SPF, DKIM and DMARC records may also be needed to authenticate messages.
4. Send a test message to an external address and reply to it. Check the inbox, spam folder and any error messages.
5. Use webmail or configure an email app with your provider's IMAP and SMTP settings.

Organise and secure your email

Create separate mailboxes when users need independent inboxes. If several people need the same address, a shared mailbox or forwarding may be more suitable, depending on your plan. Enable multi-factor authentication if available, keep recovery details current and use the provider's exact DNS values.

Troubleshooting

If messages do not arrive, check the MX records and confirm the mailbox exists. If outgoing messages are rejected or marked as spam, review SPF, DKIM and DMARC and check the delivery error. DNS changes can take time to propagate.