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How to Set Up and Configure Email with GoDaddy Domains

Prerequisites

Before setting up your email, make sure you have:

  • A domain name registered with GoDaddy
  • GoDaddy account access to manage DNS settings
  • Decided on an email hosting provider (options below)

Select Your Email Hosting

GoDaddy provides three options for hosting the email for your domain:

  • GoDaddy Email – This is GoDaddy’s own email service. It comes included free with most domain purchases. Easy to set up but limited features compared to paid plans.
  • Microsoft 365 – For a monthly fee, get full featured email with lots of storage, online Office apps, etc. Integrates directly with your GoDaddy domain.
  • Third Party Email – You can host email with any provider and connect it to your GoDaddy domain. Common ones include Zoho, Google Workspace, Rackspace, and more.

For most small businesses and users, GoDaddy Email or Microsoft 365 will be the easiest options. The rest of this guide focuses on setup with these two providers.

Configure DNS Settings at GoDaddy

For your email to work correctly with your domain, you need to configure some DNS records at GoDaddy. Log in to your GoDaddy account and follow these steps:

  1. Click My Products at the top and select Manage on your domain
  2. Go to DNS > Add > Add MX Record
  3. Enter the MX record details from your email provider (see table below)
  4. Click TXT Record and add TXT records required by your email provider
  5. Click SRV Record and add SRV records if required
  6. Click Save – may take up to 24 hours to fully propagate

MX Records for Email Providers

| Provider | Host | Points To | Priority |
|-|-|-|-|
| GoDaddy Email | @ | mailstore1.secureserver.net | 10 |
| Microsoft 365 | @ | *yourdomain-com.mail.protection.outlook.com | 0 |

Connect Email to Your Domain

With the DNS records set up, you now need to activate and connect email services to your domain.

For GoDaddy Email

If you opted for GoDaddy’s own email service, follow these steps to activate it:

  1. Click Setup next to the Email option for your domain
  2. Select desired username options and number of accounts
  3. Confirm setup options and click Next
  4. Your account details will be shown – make note of the temporary password
  5. Click Setup Email Client to add these accounts to an email program

You can now log into your new email via webmail at mail.yourdomain.com or in an email client.

For Microsoft 365

To connect Microsoft 365 email to your GoDaddy domain:

  1. Sign up for a Microsoft 365 account if you don’t have one
  2. Verify ownership of your domain at the admin center
  3. Follow steps to add users and assign licenses
  4. Install Outlook desktop app and log in with new credentials

Microsoft provides detailed instructions for connecting Microsoft 365 with GoDaddy domains.

Set Up Email Clients

To access your email you can use webmail through your provider’s interface or configure email clients like Outlook or Thunderbird.

If you opted for GoDaddy email, follow their guide for setting up clients available here.

For Microsoft 365, get client configuration details from the admin center or see Microsoft’s help documentation here.

Popular email clients include:

  • Windows – Outlook Desktop App and Mail App
  • Mac – Apple Mail
  • iOS – Default iOS Mail
  • Android – Default Mail App

Configure both SMTP and IMAP protocols in your email client for full compatibility.

Set Up Additional Email Features

Beyond basic email, most providers offer additional capabilities you may wish to enable:

  • Email Forwarding – Automatically forward emails to another address
  • Auto-responders – Set vacation replies and out-of-office messages
  • Accounts – Add more email addresses and mailboxes
  • Aliases – Set up alternate emails that route to your main inbox
  • Mailbox Size – Increase storage capacity if needed
  • Security – Enable multi-factor authentication

Refer to your email provider’s help site for instructions on setting up any additional capabilities you need.

Migrate Existing Email to New Accounts

If you have an existing email address, you will probably want to migrate that content over to your new branded email address set up on your domain.

To migrate emails and contacts:

  • In your email client export all mailbox content to a file
  • Import this file into your newly configured email client
  • Upload your contacts to the new email provider
  • Update email address change notices to senders

This will transition your old email history and contacts over to your new domain email.

Troubleshoot Issues

Some common issues when setting up email with GoDaddy domains include:

  • Emails going to spam for recipients
  • Login failures in email clients
  • Delays in receiving emails
  • Attachments getting stripped from messages

Most problems can be fixed by reviewing the troubleshooting guides from your email provider.

You may also need to verify the DNS records have updated from GoDaddy, which can take up to 48 hours.

Check GoDaddy’s help site for additional troubleshooting tips.

Summary

Following this guide will get your professional email working fully with your GoDaddy domain. The key steps include:

  • Choosing an email hosting provider
  • Configuring DNS settings at GoDaddy
  • Connecting and activating email services
  • Setting up email clients
  • Migrating old emails over
  • Troubleshooting issues

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