Create and set up a business email address

With our web hosting, you create a business email address on your own domain, such as [email protected], in DirectAdmin. You then set it up in Outlook, Apple Mail or on your phone, and use SPF and DKIM to make sure your mail arrives.

How many email addresses can you create?

The number of email accounts (mailboxes) depends on your web hosting plan:

• Lite and Starter: 10 email accounts
• Advanced: 20 email accounts
• Ultra: 30 email accounts
• Elite: 50 email accounts
• Reseller Hosting: unlimited

Forwarding addresses and automatic replies are unlimited and don't count towards that number. Web hosting starts at €5.00 per month, and your mail is stored on our servers in the Netherlands. No domain name yet? Register one with us.

Creating a business email address in DirectAdmin

1. Log in to the web panel (DirectAdmin) at web1.elitestarhosting.com:2222.
2. Have more than one domain? First pick the domain the address belongs to.
3. Go to E-mail Manager > E-mail Accounts and click Create Mail Account.
4. Enter the part before the @, for example info, choose a strong password and save the account.

The mailbox password is separate from your DirectAdmin password.

Reading your mail in webmail

In DirectAdmin, click Extra Features > Webmail: Roundcube, or go straight to web1.elitestarhosting.com/roundcube.

Log in with your full email address and the mailbox password. DirectAdmin doesn't log you in automatically.

IMAP and SMTP settings

Use these details to set up any mail app:

Username:        your full email address, for example [email protected]
Password:        the mailbox password

Incoming mail (IMAP)
Server:          web1.elitestarhosting.com
Port:            993
Security:        SSL/TLS

Outgoing mail (SMTP)
Server:          web1.elitestarhosting.com
Port:            465 with SSL/TLS, or 587 with STARTTLS
Authentication:  on, with the same username and password

Choose IMAP: your mail stays on the server, and you see the same folders on all your devices and in webmail. Prefer POP3? Use the same server with port 995 and SSL/TLS.

Always use web1.elitestarhosting.com as the server, the name in the address of your DirectAdmin panel. It always matches the mail server's certificate. With mail.yourdomain.com you get a certificate warning, unless your domain's SSL certificate also covers that name.

Setting up email in Outlook

Set up your account in Outlook manually, so you know it uses the right server and ports. In classic Outlook for Windows:

1. Select File > Add Account.
2. Enter your email address, select Advanced options, tick Let me set up my account manually and select Connect.
3. Choose IMAP.
4. Enter the servers, ports and security from the overview above and select Next.
5. Enter the mailbox password and select Connect.

In new Outlook, go to View > View settings > Accounts > Your accounts and select Add Account. If Outlook asks for the account type, choose IMAP and enter the same details.

Apple Mail, iPhone and Android

• Mac: open Mail, choose Mail > Add Account, enter your email address and click Continue. If Mail asks for server details, use the overview above.
• iPhone and iPad: go to Settings > Apps > Mail > Mail Accounts > Add Account. Enter your email address, tap Next and choose Add Other Account > Mail Account. Enter your name, email address, password and a description, and tap Next. Choose IMAP, and under both Incoming Mail Server and Outgoing Mail Server fill in the server, your email address and the mailbox password.
• Android: in the Gmail app, tap your profile picture at the top right > Add another account > Other, enter your email address and choose Personal (IMAP). In another mail app, choose manual setup and IMAP.

SPF, DKIM and DMARC: making sure your mail arrives

Receiving mail servers use three DNS records to check whether your mail really comes from your domain:

• SPF says which servers may send mail on behalf of your domain. DirectAdmin creates this record automatically: a TXT record starting with v=spf1. Do you also send mail through another service, such as a newsletter tool? Add it to the same record, because a domain may only have one SPF record.
• DKIM puts a digital signature on every message. It is off by default: on the E-mail Accounts page, click Enable DKIM. DirectAdmin then creates a key and adds the x._domainkey record to your DNS.
• DMARC tells receivers what to do with mail that fails the SPF and DKIM checks. There is no DMARC record by default. Want one? In DNS Management, use Add Record to add a TXT record named _dmarc with the value v=DMARC1; p=none. With p=none, delivery doesn't change yet.

Is your domain's DNS managed somewhere else, for example at Cloudflare? Then copy the mail records from DNS Management to that provider: the MX record, the A record for mail, the SPF record and, after Enable DKIM, the DKIM record. At Cloudflare, set the A record for mail to DNS only (grey cloud).

Forwarding, automatic replies and catch-all

• Forwarders (under E-mail Manager): forward mail to another address, for example from [email protected] to your accountant.
• Autoresponders (under E-mail Manager): send an automatic reply, such as "We reply within one working day".
• Vacation Messages (under E-mail Manager): turn on an out-of-office message, for example while you're on holiday.
• Catch-All E-mail (under Advanced Features): decide what happens to mail sent to addresses that don't exist. Only turn it on if you need it: a catch-all often collects a lot of spam.

Not working?

• Certificate warning: use web1.elitestarhosting.com as the server.
• Can't log in: use your full email address and the mailbox password, not your DirectAdmin password. You set a new password under E-mail Accounts. After a very large number of failed attempts, for example from a phone with an old password, you are blocked for an hour.
• Can't send: check the port (465 with SSL/TLS or 587 with STARTTLS) and that authentication is on for the outgoing server.
• Your mail lands in recipients' spam: turn on DKIM and check your SPF record. A test message to mail-tester.com shows what can still be improved.
• Sending limit: by default a mailbox can send up to 200 emails per day, and all your mailboxes and scripts together up to 1000. For newsletters to a large list, use a newsletter service.

Still stuck? Get in touch or ask your question on Discord.

Read also: Connect your domain to web hosting: nameservers and DNS.