An address such as hello@yourbusiness.co.za can make it easier for customers to recognise your business and contact the right person. Email uses the domain you own, but the mailboxes and DNS settings are separate pieces that need to be configured correctly.

Email hosting and forwarding are different

Email hosting gives you mailboxes that can send and receive messages. Forwarding sends incoming mail from one address to another mailbox, and may not provide a full inbox or the same sending setup. Check how many mailboxes you need, how much storage is included, how you will access mail on a phone and whether spam filtering and support are part of the package.

What DNS records do

DNS records tell other services where to deliver mail and which servers are allowed to send on behalf of your domain. MX records point to the receiving mail service. SPF, DKIM and DMARC help receiving systems evaluate whether messages are authorised and how to handle failures. The exact record values depend on your email provider, so copy the values from its setup instructions rather than guessing.

Make changes carefully

Before editing DNS, save or screenshot the existing records and confirm which provider manages your domain’s DNS. A nameserver change can affect the website, email and verification records together. Add or update only the records your provider specifies, then allow time for the change to spread.

Test both directions

Send a message from the new address to an external mailbox, then reply from that mailbox. Check that incoming and outgoing mail work, the reply address is correct and the message does not land in spam. Test every mailbox and alias employees will use. Keep account recovery details current and use unique passwords with multi-factor authentication where available.

Plan for staff changes

Use role addresses such as info@ or accounts@ for shared functions, and individual addresses for named staff. Decide who can access each shared mailbox and remove access when someone leaves. Keep a current list of addresses, owners and renewal dates so important customer messages do not disappear when a person changes roles.

How Mumatec can help

Mumatec lists email hosting services alongside domain and web hosting options. Visit the Mumatec contact page if you want help checking the right mail setup and DNS records for your domain.