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Hostking South Africa — web hosting and domains

Why it matters more than it seems

An address at your own domain is the cheapest credibility available to a small business. It also stops you losing your entire correspondence history if a free provider closes an account.

  • Customers take yourname@yourbusiness.co.za more seriously than a free address
  • You keep control if a staff member leaves
  • Included with every Hostking plan — no per-mailbox charge
  • Works with Outlook, Apple Mail, Gmail and phones
Why it matters more than it seems

Creating your mailboxes

This part takes about five minutes per address in your control panel. Think about structure before you start, because renaming later means reconfiguring every device.

  • Create one mailbox per person — shared logins cause problems later
  • Use role addresses like info@ or accounts@ as forwarders, not mailboxes
  • Set a sensible mailbox size so nobody hits a silent limit
  • Set up a catch-all only if you can handle the spam
Creating your mailboxes

Connecting your devices

Use IMAP rather than POP unless you have a specific reason not to. IMAP keeps every device in sync; POP downloads mail to one machine and can leave the others empty.

  • IMAP — mail stays on the server, all devices stay in sync
  • POP — mail downloads to one device, generally avoid
  • Use the secure ports your control panel shows, not the unencrypted ones
  • Test send and receive on each device before you rely on it
Connecting your devices

The DNS records that stop spam problems

This is the step most people skip, and it is why their mail lands in junk. Three records tell the world that mail claiming to be from your domain is genuinely yours.

  • SPF — lists which servers may send mail as your domain
  • DKIM — cryptographically signs your outgoing mail
  • DMARC — tells receivers what to do when a message fails the first two
  • Add all three. Two out of three still leaves you filtered.
  • Ask us if you are unsure — we set these up on request
The DNS records that stop spam problems

Keeping it working

Email is the service people notice fastest when it breaks. A few habits prevent almost all of the common failures.

  • Keep mailboxes under their size limit
  • Use strong, unique passwords — compromised mailboxes get used to send spam
  • Turn on two-factor authentication where available
  • Do not change DNS records without noting what they were
  • Recreate mailboxes on the new server before migrating hosts
Keeping it working

Get Online with Hostking

Hosting from R34.50/month billed annually, with a free domain, free SSL, business email and daily backups included. Choose Starter or above and we design your website free — no agency fee, no contract.

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Setting Up Business Email — Common Questions