There are an enormous amount of options out there when it comes to an email provider that you can use with your domain name. You can often order email directly from your domain registrar. You can use a robust email service like Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace.
We highly recommend Microsoft 365 - we use it ourselves! In light of that, we wanted to put together this info packet to help you get started, should you decide to use Microsoft 365 as well. You may be able to use some of the general information here with other providers, like Google Workspace, as well.
General Info:
If you're a for-profit business, you can find all the info you need about Microsoft 365 here.
If you're a non-profit organization or church, you can find all the info you need about Microsoft 365 here:
Canada: https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/microsoft-365/nonprofit
US: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/nonprofit
Microsoft 365 is also available through TechSoup in both Canada and the US if you already have an account setup there. Note that TechSoup may charge a monthly admin-fee per user - order directly from Microsoft to avoid this.
A bird's eye view of the steps you'll take:
Sign up for the account you require through Microsoft's website using the appropriate link above.
Begin the setup process with their setup wizard once your account is setup.
One of the first steps will likely involve adding a DNS record to your domain to verify your ownership. If we host your DNS, choose the "TXT" option to verify and send us that TXT Record in a support chat.
Once your domain is verified, choose the option to "Add your own DNS records." If we host your DNS, the only DNS record we need from you is the MX Record that's unique to you. It will look something like your-domain-com.mail.protection.outlook.com. We have the rest of the records on file here already.
At the same time, you'll now be able to add new users to your account. Before switching your DNS to Microsoft 365, you'll want to make sure you have inboxes or aliases created for every inbox you currently have and use with us. If you don't, email sent to that address after we switch your DNS will just bounce back to the sender.
Once you have your new email user accounts set up, you're technically ready to go. We can switch your DNS for you anytime and your new email addresses (accessible via Microsoft's Outlook Webmail or a variety of mail software on your computer, like Outlook) will start receiving mail shortly after.
The last thing you may want to consider is migrating all your mail from your account with us into the new account with Microsoft. There are a number of ways to achieve this, so the info we can provide here will be limited. One option would be to add both your account with us and your new account with Microsoft 365 to the same mail software, like Outlook, on your computer. Outlook lets you export and import your email using a PST file, so you could export everything from one account and import it into the other.
Some final notes:
The transition process can take 24-48 hours from the moment we add your new DNS records. Typically, you'll see the majority of your mail routing to your new 365 account within an hour or two of going "live," but it can take 24-48 hours to propagate globally. And until that happens, you may notice a few emails still being routed to your email with us. We recommend waiting to migrate your mail, if you're choosing to do that, until this period is over, so you only have to migrate once.
Any mail sent by our platform (contact forms on your website, etc.) will be delivered to your inbox with us as long as the inbox exists on our mail server. Once your email with us is deleted, email from us will route to the new email.
There's room in the steps above to pause and breathe if it's feeling stressful or daunting. Try to tackle one thing at a time. You can sign up for a Microsoft 365 account without needing to do the next steps immediately, for example. We can verify your domain name with the TXT record without immediately needing to jump into adding the remaining mail records. Once we've transitioned your mail routing to your new account, you don't need to immediately migrate your old mail. Some may even find benefit to starting fresh, if you don't have any sensitive or important mail that you need to keep.
Need hands-on help?
If you would prefer to have some one-on-one support as you move through this process, and you don't have an IT department or tech person on staff to help, we can help with your migration every step of the way.
This dedicated support is available for a one-time fee of $300. Just send us a note through the support chat in your Dashboard and we'd be happy to help! 👍🏻
Note that this support is limited to the transition process here; we're unable to provide support for the new mail provider itself - you would obtain that directly from them.