An address like [email protected] does a quiet job. Nobody compliments it, but people notice when it's missing. A proposal from [email protected] gets a second look. The same proposal from your own domain mostly doesn't.
You don't need a server or a big office suite for this. You need a domain, a service that hosts mailboxes, and about half an hour.
What custom domain email actually means
Your domain is the part after the @. Own yourcompany.com and you decide who gets an address on it: you@, billing@, support@, whatever you like.
Two separate things have to exist:
- A domain name, rented from a registrar such as Namecheap, GoDaddy or Cloudflare.
- A mail service that stores messages, lets you read them and sends mail for you.
They're usually two different companies, and DNS records connect them. That connection is the only part that trips people up.
Step 1: choose where your mail will live
There are three realistic options.
- A suite like Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. Mail, calendar, documents and chat, priced per person.
- A mail host. Mailboxes on your domain, usable in any email app or in the browser, and nothing else. This is what Mailions is.
- Your own server. Cheap on paper, expensive in evenings.
If you only need email, a mail host is plenty. If your team lives in shared documents and calendars, a suite earns its price. We compare the two in business email vs Gmail.
Step 2: add your domain and publish the DNS records
With Mailions you add the domain in the panel. We create a DKIM key for it immediately and give you a checklist of DNS records. Other hosts hand you the same family of records:
| Record | What it does |
|---|---|
| MX | Says which server receives mail for your domain |
| SPF | Lists the servers allowed to send as your domain |
| DKIM | Signs outgoing mail so receivers can tell it wasn't altered |
| DMARC | Says what to do with mail that fails the other checks |
Skipping SPF, DKIM and DMARC is the classic mistake. Mail still goes out, and a good share of it lands in spam. Read what an SPF record is and what DKIM does before you publish, and use DMARC explained for the third.
The exact clicks depend on your registrar. We cover them in adding DNS records at any registrar, and Cloudflare users have a dedicated walkthrough.
Changes usually show up within minutes, occasionally a few hours. After that, run the verification. The panel checks live public DNS and tells you what's still missing.
Step 3: create mailboxes
A mailbox has a password and stores messages. Make one for each person.
Don't create a mailbox for every role address. info@, sales@ and support@ can be aliases that deliver into one or two real inboxes. You read less, and nobody has to remember six passwords.
Step 4: connect your devices
You can read mail two ways:
- In the browser. Mailions has private webmail. Sign in with your address and mailbox password.
- In an email app, over IMAP to receive and SMTP to send. IMAP on port 993 with SSL/TLS, SMTP on port 587 with STARTTLS, and your full address as the username.
The mailbox setup guide has steps for Gmail, Outlook, iPhone, Android and Thunderbird. If the port numbers look like soup, SMTP ports explained sorts them out, and phone setup takes five minutes. Want to keep using Gmail's interface? See using a custom domain email in Gmail.
Step 5: test before you tell anyone
- Send a message to a Gmail address and an Outlook address. Check neither lands in spam.
- In Gmail, open the message, choose Show original, and look for
SPF: PASS,DKIM: PASSandDMARC: PASS. - Reply to yourself from your phone. Sending from the phone is the part people forget.
- Only then put the address on your website, invoices and profiles.
Mistakes worth avoiding
Leaving the old MX records. If the domain already points at another provider, new MX records next to the old ones split your mail between two places. Remove the old ones when you switch.
Two SPF records. A domain can have exactly one. If two services need to send, merge them into a single record.
Everything on the root domain. Fine for a small business. If you'll later send lots of automated mail, give that its own subdomain.
A weak mailbox password. An email account can reset every other password you own. Make it long.
Getting started
Mailions has no self-service checkout. You create an account, tell us your domain and how many mailboxes you need, and we agree a trial or a paid plan together. That keeps mailboxes in the hands of people we've spoken to, which is part of how we keep the service clean.
Ready? Contact us with your domain and we'll take it from there.