How to set up business email on your own domain

Why a domain email is worth having

An address like ali@yourshop.pk tells a customer you are a real business. A free Gmail or Yahoo address does not. It also stays with you. If you change provider, the address stays the same because you own the domain.

Before you can have mail, you need a domain. Register it in your own name, not in a developer's or an agency's. See /guides/ for more on this and /domain-name-rules/ for naming rules. If you still need a name, search at /domains/ or get ideas at /ideas/.

Choose a mail provider

You do not run mail yourself. You rent mailboxes from a provider, and your domain simply points to them. Two common choices are Google Workspace and Zoho Mail.

Google Workspace is a paid service. Zoho Mail lists a Forever Free plan on its pricing page. When we checked, it allowed up to five users, 5 GB of mail storage per user and one custom domain. From the sixth user, all users move to a paid plan. The page also said it is only available in select data centres, and that IMAP, POP and ActiveSync are not included, so you cannot connect Outlook or similar mail apps. Plans and prices change, so check the provider's page before you decide.

• Freelancer or one-person shop: a free plan may be enough.
• Team that needs Outlook or other mail apps: look at a paid plan.
• Check the current price in rupees or dollars on the provider's own page.

Add the MX record so mail arrives

An MX record tells the internet which service receives mail for your domain. You add it in your domain's DNS settings, the panel where your domain's records are managed.

For Google Workspace, Google's help pages give the value smtp.google.com with priority 1. Accounts set up before 2023 may still use older values, which Google says remain supported. Zoho gives its own values inside its setup screen. Copy them exactly. Some DNS panels want a full stop at the end of the value, and some want the host field left blank or set to @.

Order matters. Create all your mailboxes first. Then delete any old MX records and add the new one. Google says new MX records can take up to 72 hours to be recognised, so do this when you are not waiting on an important email.

SPF, DKIM and DMARC in plain English

These three records help prove your email is really yours. Without them, Gmail and others may send your messages to spam or reject them.

SPF is a list of the services allowed to send mail for your domain. Include every one, such as your mail provider and any invoicing tool. DKIM adds a hidden signature to each message. Your provider generates the key and you paste it into DNS. DMARC tells receivers what to do when SPF or DKIM checks fail. Start with the policy set to none, which only monitors, then tighten it once everything passes.

• SPF: who may send.
• DKIM: a signature that shows the message was not altered.
• DMARC: the rule for mail that fails, plus reports to you.

Keep your mail out of spam

Google's sender rules say every sender needs SPF or DKIM. Senders of more than 5,000 messages a day to Gmail accounts need SPF, DKIM and DMARC. Most small businesses send far less, but setting up all three is still good practice. Google also asks for a DKIM key of at least 1024 bits and recommends 2048 bits where your provider supports it.

After setup, send a test to your own Gmail and open the message's original headers. Look for SPF, DKIM and DMARC all showing pass. If you send newsletters or offers to many people, use a dedicated mailing tool instead of your normal mailbox, and include a clear unsubscribe link.

Where SastiDomains fits

We are a small Pakistani company. We do not provide mailboxes, but we help with the domain they depend on. If you want a new name, our registration service checks availability live and registers it in your own name through PKNIC or a registrar. See /register-pk-domain/ and /pricing/, then place an order at /order/.

If you would rather buy an existing name, the marketplace at /#browse holds payment in escrow. We take payment in rupees by bank transfer, Raast, JazzCash or Easypaisa, and we aim to file on the working day the payment arrives.

Common questions