How to create hello@
You bought a domain. Now you want a simple business email address like hello@yourdomain.com. This guide explains each piece and the quickest way to set it up in Shipmail.
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What you are setting up
Email on your own domain needs two things. DNS records tell the internet that Shipmail handles email for your domain. A mailbox gives you an inbox for the address.
Domain
Your domain is the name you bought, like yourdomain.com. It can point your website, email, and other services to different places. You keep it at Namecheap, Cloudflare, GoDaddy, or wherever you bought it.
MX
MX means Mail Exchange. It tells the internet where to deliver email for your domain. If someone sends email to hello@yourdomain.com, the MX record tells their mail server to send it to Shipmail.
SPF
SPF is a TXT record that lists the services allowed to send email for your domain. It lets receiving servers check that email from hello@yourdomain.com came through Shipmail.
DKIM
DKIM signs outgoing email. Shipmail signs the message, and your DNS record publishes the public key other mail servers use to check that nobody changed it on the way.
DMARC
DMARC tells receiving mail servers what to do with a message that claims to be from your domain but fails SPF and DKIM.
Mailbox, alias, or forwarding?
These words get mixed up, but they do different things. A mailbox is a real inbox you send and receive from. An alias is another address that lands in an existing mailbox. Forwarding copies mail somewhere else.
For hello@yourdomain.com, start with a mailbox. You can add aliases or forwarding later if you need them. For the differences, see mailbox vs alias vs forwarding vs catch-all.
The simple Shipmail path
- Add your domain in Shipmail.
- Copy the DNS records Shipmail shows you.
- Open DNS settings at your domain provider and paste the records there.
- Come back to Shipmail and click Verify.
- Create a mailbox named hello on that domain.
- Use hello@yourdomain.com in the Shipmail inbox or connect it to Apple Mail, Outlook, Thunderbird, or any IMAP email app.
You do not need to run a server. Shipmail gives you the exact records and checks them. Once the domain passes, you can create the mailbox.
What to paste into DNS
Copy the values from your Shipmail dashboard. This matters most for DKIM, because its key is unique to your domain. The MX record lets you receive mail: host @, value mx1.shipmail.to, priority 10. The SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records let other servers trust the mail you send.
For the exact DNS table and registrar-specific tips, follow the custom domain email guide.
FAQ for domain owners
I bought my domain at Namecheap. Where do I go?
Open Namecheap, choose your domain, then go to Advanced DNS. Add the MX and TXT records from Shipmail there. Remove old MX records if they point to parking email, Namecheap Private Email, Google Workspace, or another provider you no longer use.
I use Cloudflare. Should the records be proxied?
No. Email records should not use Cloudflare proxy mode. MX and TXT records are DNS-only. If you see an orange cloud on a related record, turn it off so it becomes DNS-only.
I bought my domain at GoDaddy. Why is verification failing?
GoDaddy sometimes keeps default MX records or adds the domain name for you. Check that there is only one mail provider in your MX records, and enter hosts like @, _dmarc, and shipmail._domainkey exactly as Shipmail shows them.
Do I need to move my website to Shipmail?
No. Your website can stay where it is. You are only changing email DNS records, so your A, CNAME, and website records do not need to change.
Can I start with hello@ and add more later?
Yes. Start with hello@yourdomain.com, then add support@, billing@, team member mailboxes, aliases, or a catch-all address later.