How to Set Up Business Email on Your Domain

1. Find out who manages your domain

Your domain is the name used for your website, such as yourbusiness.co.uk. Look for a registration or renewal email, a hosting invoice, or ask whoever built your website which account holds it and where its DNS settings are managed.

Make sure your business controls the account and can sign in. Check the renewal and recovery details. Your domain registrar, website host and email provider can be different companies.

2. Check what you already pay for

Look in your website or hosting package for email or mailbox features. Check whether it includes an actual mailbox that can send and receive, rather than forwarding alone.

Check storage, renewal costs, support and whether it works on your usual phone and computer. An included mailbox may be enough for your needs.

3. Choose what you actually need

Decide whether you need one mailbox or several, how much storage you use, and whether shared calendars, documents or office apps matter. Compare the ongoing cost and device support before signing up.

Create the provider account in your business’s name, with billing and recovery details you control. If you do not own a domain yet, you will need to register one separately before connecting it to email.

Business email hosts to compare

Start with your current website or hosting package: it may already include a suitable mailbox. You can also choose a separate email host while keeping your website and domain where they are. These are starting points to compare, rather than a ranking or a single best choice for every business.

Follow the provider links for current plans. Compare the total cost including applicable VAT, the amount paid upfront, renewal prices and contract length. A low advertised monthly price may require a longer commitment. Provider subscriptions are separate from Muchly Digital’s £120 setup, including VAT.

Business email providers, when to consider them and what to check before choosing a plan
Provider and plans	When to consider it	What to check
Google Workspace	Business Gmail on your domain, alongside Google Calendar, Drive and document tools. Worth comparing if you want the wider Google workspace.	Choose a plan with custom-domain email. Compare the per-user cost and storage; you may not need a whole suite just for a mailbox.
Microsoft 365 / Exchange Online	Business email and calendars in Microsoft’s ecosystem, often searched for as Office 365. Standalone Exchange Online is an option if you mainly need email.	Compare Exchange Online with Microsoft 365 Business plans. Web and mobile apps are different from a licence for installed desktop Office apps.
Zoho Mail	Custom-domain email with mail-focused plans, plus broader Zoho Workplace options if you need collaboration tools.	Check regional availability and device support. The free plan is offered only in selected data centres and does not include IMAP, POP or ActiveSync access.
Hostinger Mail	A business mailbox option to compare, especially if you already manage your website or domain with Hostinger.	Check what your existing package includes and for how long. Compare the full upfront payment, billing term, renewal price and mailbox storage.
Migadu	Email hosting with pricing based on account usage rather than charging separately for every address. Useful to compare when you need several addresses or domains.	Storage and sending/receiving allowances are shared across the account. Check daily limits, support levels and mailbox sign-in protections against your needs.
Fastmail	An email-focused alternative with custom-domain addresses, calendars and contacts, without buying a full office-software suite.	Compare the business plans for storage, your preferred email apps and team administration. Check which extra addresses are aliases rather than separate inboxes.
Proton Mail for Business	An option to explore if privacy and Proton’s email and calendar tools are priorities for your business.	Check the custom-domain plan and device workflow. Using supported desktop clients such as Outlook or Apple Mail involves Proton Mail Bridge; check compatibility first.

An alias is an extra address delivering to an existing inbox; it is not another person’s independent mailbox. Check shared inboxes and calendars separately if more than one person needs access.

Ask your AI agent to help you choose

It asks about your business first, then compares suitable plans using current provider information. Review the sources and final costs before signing up.

Copy the prompt, open your preferred assistant below, then paste it into a new chat and send it. The links open in a new tab.

Open ChatGPT Open Gemini

Business email host research prompt

Help me find a suitable business email host for my small business. I want an address on a domain I control, with the provider account and billing in my name.

Before recommending anything, ask me about:
- My country, billing currency and whether I can reclaim VAT or other taxes.
- Whether I own a domain, who manages it, and whether my website or hosting package already includes a mailbox.
- How many people need separate mailboxes, any shared inboxes, and extra addresses that could simply be aliases. Explain the difference if needed.
- My current email provider, storage needs, and whether I need old messages or contacts moved.
- My phone, computer and preferred email apps, including the version of Outlook if relevant.
- Whether I need shared calendars, documents or office apps, or just email.
- My ongoing budget, preferred billing term, support needs, and any security, recovery or data-location requirements.
- Whether this is everyday business correspondence or also newsletters and automated messages.

Then research current official provider pages. Consider Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, standalone Exchange Online, Zoho Mail, Hostinger, Migadu, Fastmail, Proton Mail and my existing host where relevant. Shortlist the three most suitable options rather than assuming the biggest package is best.

For each option, name the exact plan and confirm it supports a real mailbox on my domain, not just forwarding. Compare storage, aliases versus paid mailboxes, device/app compatibility, calendars, two-factor authentication and recovery, sending limits, support and ways to export my email later.

Show the total first-year and renewal costs for my required mailboxes, including applicable VAT/taxes, upfront payments, minimum terms, introductory offers and any domain costs. Flag foreign-currency charges and any estimate you cannot verify. Do not assume a free plan is available in my region or supports my email app.

Link to official sources and state when you checked them. Explain the trade-offs in plain English, recommend an option based on my answers, and list anything still needing confirmation. Outline a setup and changeover plan that preserves my website and access to my old inbox. Ask for my approval before purchasing anything, changing domain settings or moving email.

4. Set up the mailbox and domain records

Create your mailbox with the chosen provider and follow its domain verification instructions. Save a copy of your current DNS records before changing anything. Use the exact record names and values supplied for your account.

MX records route incoming email. Follow your provider’s instructions for SPF, DKIM and DMARC authentication too. Include other legitimate sending services, such as your website contact form or invoicing tool, when checking authentication. Update an existing SPF record rather than adding a second one.

Keep the records used by your website and other services. You usually do not need to change nameservers just to add email. If the domain already receives email, plan the switch before replacing its MX records: new incoming mail will be routed to the new provider as the changes take effect.

Allow time for DNS changes to take effect and check the provider’s verification screen. If you are unsure which records are safe to change, get help before editing them.

5. Secure the account

Use a strong, unique password and enable two-factor authentication where available. Follow your provider’s instructions to register your verification methods.

Check recovery details and store any recovery codes somewhere safe. Keep a recovery option that you can still access if the new mailbox is unavailable. Make sure you can sign in to both your domain account and email account yourself.

6. Test before announcing the new address

Use your provider’s setup instructions to add the mailbox to your usual phone and computer. Send to an external address you can check, reply from it, and send a fresh message back to the new mailbox.

Check both inboxes and spam folders, the displayed sender name and the reply address. Confirm authentication in your provider’s checks or message headers. Test any website forms or other tools that send using your domain too. A successful test is useful, but does not guarantee every future message will reach an inbox.

7. Plan the changeover

Keep access to your old inbox while updating your website, invoices, email signatures, social profiles and customer contact details. Tell regular contacts about the new address and check both inboxes during the transition.

Moving historical messages and contacts is a separate task. Decide what you need to keep before cancelling an old service. Forwarding, if used, should be tested separately rather than assumed to work.

Ask your AI agent for setup and migration instructions

Once you have chosen a provider, use this prompt for a plan based on your domain, devices and current inbox. It asks whether you want to move old email, start fresh or run both inboxes alongside each other. Check the plan and provider instructions before making changes.

Copy the prompt, open your preferred assistant below, then paste it into a new chat and send it. The links open in a new tab.

Open ChatGPT Open Gemini

Business email setup and migration prompt

Help me set up business email on a domain I control. Give me clear instructions for my actual providers and devices, one stage at a time.

First ask me:
- Which email provider and exact plan have I chosen, or do I still need help choosing?
- Do I own the domain, who manages its DNS settings, and is it already used for a website, email or other services?
- What is my current email provider/address, how many mailboxes do I need, and which phone, computer and email apps will I use?
- Do I want to migrate existing email, start fresh, or keep my old inbox alongside the new one? If I want to migrate, ask which messages, folders, sent mail, contacts and calendars I need to keep, roughly how much data there is, and whether anything exists only on a device.
- Do I want new messages to my old address forwarded, if supported, or will I check both inboxes during the transition? Explain that moving messages does not transfer ownership of an old provider's address to my new host.
- Does my website, invoicing software or another service send email using this domain?

Use current official documentation for my exact services, link to it and say when you checked it. Do not invent DNS values, server settings or available migration features. If details are missing, ask me before giving instructions that depend on them. Never ask me to paste passwords, recovery codes or private email contents into this chat; guide me to sign in directly with the provider.

Before making changes, show me a plan that preserves my website, existing email and other sending services. Include saving the current DNS records, creating the new mailbox, domain verification, the required MX/SPF/DKIM/DMARC settings, two-factor authentication where available, and recovery checks. Explain each proposed DNS change and use the provider's exact values. Check existing records rather than replacing unrelated settings or adding a second SPF record. Ask for my approval before purchases, DNS changes or migration.

If I want migration, compare the methods supported by my old and new services, such as the provider's migration tool, IMAP copying, or export/import. Explain costs, access requirements, what each method moves and what needs a separate process. For example, IMAP email copying does not also migrate contacts or calendars. Help me make and verify a backup first, test a small sample where practical, and check folders, dates, attachments and missing or duplicate messages afterwards. Plan any final copy and mail-routing change in the right order. Keep the old inbox and backups until I have checked the result; do not delete messages or cancel the old service for me.

Then walk me through the agreed plan in manageable stages, waiting for me to confirm each result. Include setup on my usual devices, sending and receiving with an external address, replies, authentication checks and any website-form tests. Finish with a changeover checklist for my website, invoices, signatures and customer contacts, plus a way to pause or recover if a test fails.

Want a hand with the setup?

You can use this checklist and the prompts above to work through it yourself. If you get stuck or would rather have someone handle the setup, tell me what you have already and what you need help with.

For £120 including VAT, I’ll help you choose a provider, connect one existing domain and set up one new mailbox. That includes the required domain settings, security and recovery checks, guidance for your usual phone and computer, sending and receiving tests, and a straightforward handover. We’ll agree the scope before work starts.

Provider subscriptions and domain costs are extra and paid directly by you. Your accounts stay under your control.

Need several inboxes or email across multiple domains? I can help with larger setups too. Extra mailboxes, additional domains, historical email migration and more complex changes are scoped and quoted separately before work starts.

30-day money-back guarantee

If you’re not happy with the setup, email hello@muchly.uk within 30 days of handover and I’ll refund your £120 setup fee in full, including VAT.

The guarantee covers Muchly Digital’s business email setup fee only. Provider subscriptions, domain costs and separately quoted work are excluded. This guarantee is in addition to your statutory rights.

Ask for advice or setup help