How to Set Up Business Email on Your Domain [With MX SPF DKIM DMARC]

Still using a @gmail.com or @yahoo.com address for your business?

A custom domain email, like [email protected], instantly boosts trust and makes your brand look credible and professional. It’s also free advertising as every email you send reinforces your website.

The only catch is that setting it up means dealing with a few confusing DNS terms: MX, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.

This guide breaks them down in plain English and shows how to configure everything correctly using tools like RunCloud and Cloudflare.

Let’s get started!

Why Proper Email Configuration is Necessary

Even if your email already works, proper configuration is critical for three reasons:

1. Building Credibility & Brand Trust

A custom domain email is your digital business card. It instantly builds credibility and brand trust. An address like [email protected] shows you are an established, legitimate business, whereas a generic @gmail.com address can appear unprofessional and temporary to potential clients.

2. It Helps Avoid the Spam Folder

The single most important technical reason for proper setup is to prevent emails from landing in the spam folder. Major providers like Google and Yahoo now require email authentication (SPF & DKIM) to verify that you are who you say you are. Without these records, your invoices and client proposals will likely be rejected or land in spam.

3. Protecting Your Brand from Spoofing & Phishing

Proper email configuration is an important security measure that protects your brand’s reputation from fraud. These records make it nearly impossible for malicious actors to “spoof” your domain and send phishing emails pretending to be you. This safeguards your customers from scams and prevents the irreversible damage to your brand trust that occurs when your name is tied to fraudulent activity.

What Do You Need for Your Business Email Setup

Before we get into the technical settings, let’s break down the three simple things you need to get started. We’ll also cover what you can expect to spend, so there are no surprises.

A Custom Domain Name

A domain name is your unique digital address on the internet (e.g., example.com). The great news is that if you already have a website, you do not need to buy a new domain. You can use the same one for your email at no additional cost.

If you are buying a domain name for the first time, then you should try to pick something that is short and memorable but also represents your brand. Some companies go a little overboard with this and end up spending millions of dollars on a domain name. However, there is no need for that, and if you don’t have a domain yet, you can purchase one from a domain registrar like Namecheap, GoDaddy, or Cloudflare. A standard .com domain typically costs around $10 to $20 per year.

An Email Hosting Provider

This is the service that will actually handle sending, receiving, and storing your emails. While some basic web hosting plans include free email, a dedicated provider offers far better reliability, security, and features.

Professional email hosting is very affordable and is usually priced per user (or per mailbox). Depending on the provider and features you need, you can expect to spend between $3 and $12 per user per month. There are far too many good email providers available out there to cover in one post, so we recommend reading the following posts if you want to learn more:

• 10 Best Self-Hosted Email Server Platforms to Use in 2025 
• 15 Best Email Hosting For Small Business (2025)
• The 19 Best, Reliable Transactional Email Services 2025

Access to Your Domain’s DNS Records

This sounds technical, but it’s simply the control panel where you tell the internet where to send your email. It’s like a switchboard for your domain, and you just need to know where to find it. You can typically access your DNS settings through the same company where you bought your domain (your registrar) or with your website hosting provider.

Access to managing your DNS records is free. This essential feature is included with your domain registration or hosting plan.

A Step-by-Step Guide to DNS Records for Business Email

Let’s dive into the technical details. This part can seem intimidating, but it’s just a matter of copying and pasting the right information into the right boxes. We’ll walk through setting up each of the four records one by one.

For this guide, we’ll demonstrate how to add these records using Cloudflare, a very popular and free DNS provider known for its speed and user-friendly interface. The steps will be very similar, no matter which DNS provider you use.

First, log in to your Cloudflare account, select your domain, and navigate to the DNS > Records section. This is where we’ll be working.

How to Set up MX Records

If your domain is a building, then the MX (Mail Exchange) record is the mailing address on the front door. It tells the internet exactly which server to use to deliver your emails.

Your email provider (like Google Workspace or Zoho Mail) will give you a list of their mail servers and a “priority” number for each. Your job is to enter these into your DNS settings.

1. In your Cloudflare DNS panel, click Add record.
2. Select MX from the “Type” dropdown menu.
3. In the Name field, type @. This symbol simply means it applies to your main domain, and your emails will look like [email protected]. If you want to use a subdomain for a separate email server, then you can type the subdomain here. For example, if you type txns here, then the resulting email address will look like [email protected]
4. In the Mail server field, enter the first server address your email provider gave you (e.g., test.google.com).
5. In the Priority field, enter the corresponding priority number (e.g., 10).
6. Click Save.

Important: Your email provider will probably give you multiple MX records. You must repeat this process for every single one they provide, each with its own unique server and priority number.

How to Set up SPF Record

An SPF (Sender Policy Framework) record tells all other mail servers which email systems are officially allowed to send email on behalf of your domain.

An SPF record is created as a TXT record. You can only have one SPF record per domain, so if you already have one, you’ll need to edit it rather than add a new one.

1. In Cloudflare, click Add record.
2. Select TXT for the “Type.”
3. In the Name field, type @.
4. In the Content field, paste the SPF value your email provider gave you. For Google Workspace, it looks like this: v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all
5. Click Save.

What does SPF Records mean:

1. v=spf1: This just identifies it as an SPF record.
2. include:_spf.google.com: This is the list of servers that can send emails on your behalf. It tells everyone on the internet to check and approve anything Google sends on your behalf.
3. ~all (Soft Fail): This tells servers that if an email comes from a sender not on the list, they should accept it but mark it as suspicious. It’s safer to start with this. –all (Hard Fail) tells them to reject the email completely.

How to Set up a DKIM Record

DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) is like a unique, unbreakable wax seal on a letter. It uses a cryptographic signature to prove that the email genuinely came from you and its content hasn’t been altered in transit.

First, you’ll need to generate a DKIM key inside your email provider’s admin panel. This process will give you two pieces of information: a selector (the name for the record) and a public key (the long text value).

1. In Cloudflare, click Add record.
2. Select TXT for the “Type.”
3. In the Name field, paste the selector your provider gave you. It will look something like google._domainkey.
4. In the Content field, paste the entire long public key text. Be careful to copy the whole thing, as it can be very long.
5. Click Save.

To learn more about this, check out our full-length article on DKIM – What Is It & Why Your Emails Need It.

How to set up a DMARC Record

DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) checks both the SPF records and the DKIM records. Based on what it finds, it follows your instructions on what to do with unverified mail and sends you reports on email activity.

If you have an existing domain that is sending out emails, we strongly recommend starting with a “monitor only” policy to avoid accidentally blocking legitimate emails.

1. In Cloudflare, click Add record.
2. Select TXT for the “Type.”
3. In the Name field, type _dmarc.
4. In the Content field, paste the following starter policy: v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:[email protected] (You are supposed to replace this email with your actual email, but read the next section to find what we recommend).
5. Click Save.

Understanding the DMARC policy:

1. v=DMARC1: Identifies the record.
2. p=none: This is your instruction. Here, none means “monitor only” and don’t take any action. Later, you can change this to p=quarantine (send to spam) or p=reject (block entirely).
3. rua=mailto:…: This tells servers where to send daily reports about your email activity, which is incredibly useful for spotting issues. These reports are sent in XML format and are best viewed using specialized software. We recommend using the Postmark DMARC report tool instead of publishing your personal email on the internet.

Suggested read: How to Flush DNS Cache on Windows, Mac, and Linux

Using RunCloud and Cloudflare for Effortless DNS Management

If the steps above seemed tedious and prone to error, you’re not alone. Managing DNS records directly at your domain registrar or a basic hosting panel often comes with frustrating challenges:

• Clunky Interfaces: The control panels are frequently outdated and confusing to navigate.
• Disconnected Workflow: You have to jump between your server management panel, your email provider’s instructions, and your DNS provider’s website, increasing the chances of making a copy-paste error.
• Slow Updates: After you make a change, you can be left waiting for hours due to slow DNS propagation and left wondering if you did it correctly. If you make a mistake, correcting it can be just as slow and stressful.

RunCloud simplifies DNS management by integrating directly with Cloudflare.

Instead of jumping between multiple dashboards, you can add or edit DNS records straight from your RunCloud panel.

This reduces the risk of typos, speeds up propagation, and keeps your workflow consistent across sites and domains.

Final Thoughts

Setting up MX, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC isn’t just a technical detail as it’s what ensures your emails reach inboxes, not spam folders.

Taking a few minutes to configure these records protects your brand, improves deliverability, and builds long-term trust with your clients.

With RunCloud and Cloudflare, you can handle these configurations from one clean dashboard. No more switching between panels or waiting for updates.

Manage DNS and hosting the smart way. 

Get started with RunCloud and set up a professional email the right way.

FAQs & Common Troubleshooting