Change your business email provider
Move your business mailboxes to a new provider, such as from a web host's email to Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 or Fastmail, without losing mail or breaking DNS.
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Your plan so far
19things this change touches
- critical7
- high8
- moderate3
- low1
Updates as you answer. Every item will explain why it’s there.
What could break
In a typical business email provider plan, these are the most serious things to get right.
Keep the old mailboxes working until the new ones are tested
Critical · Business operations
Cancelling, downgrading or deleting accounts early can cut the migration short and delete data you haven't copied yet.
Verify your domain at the new provider without changing MX
Critical · Website & DNS
Changing MX records during setup sends all new mail to empty mailboxes before the migration is ready.
Turn on multi-factor sign-in for the new mailboxes
Critical · Sign-in & recovery
An account taken over during the move gives an attacker your company's mail and files.
Copy mail with Google Workspace's data import
Critical · Data & files
People start with empty mailboxes and can't find past conversations, or the copy fails partway through.
DNS hosted by the provider you're leaving
Critical · Website & DNS
Your website and email could go offline together when the old account closes.
Point MX records to the new provider
Critical · Email delivery
A wrong or partial change can bounce mail or split it between two systems.
Test incoming and outgoing mail from outside your organization
Critical · Email delivery
Customer emails bounce or your replies land in spam, and nobody notices for days.
Cancel the old email service last
Critical · Subscriptions & billing
Anything you forgot to move or export is lost.
List every mailbox, alias and shared address
High · Business operations
An address or shared inbox that nobody listed can stop receiving mail after cutover, or a set of files can be left behind.
Create mailboxes at the new provider with the same addresses
High · Core accounts
A missing or mismatched account means that person's mail can't be copied, and their address bounces after cutover.
Before and after the change
Before you change it
- Keep the old mailboxes working until the new ones are tested
- List every mailbox, alias and shared address
- Tell everyone the switch date and how to set up the new mailbox
- Verify your domain at the new provider without changing MX
- Create mailboxes at the new provider with the same addresses
- Turn on multi-factor sign-in for the new mailboxes
- Re-create aliases (extra addresses on user accounts)
- Copy mail with Google Workspace's data import
- Move calendars and contacts separately
- DNS hosted by the provider you're leaving
- Save your current DNS records and confirm you can edit them
- Lower the TTL on your MX records ahead of cutover
After the change
- Point MX records to the new provider
- Update SPF so the new platform is allowed to send
- Turn on DKIM signing on the new platform
- Check DMARC still passes after the switch
- Services that send email as your domain
- Printers, scanners and website forms that send through the old mailbox
- Set up the new mailboxes on phones and computers
- Email signatures and auto-replies
- Test incoming and outgoing mail from outside your organization
- Run a final copy and confirm nothing was missed
- Cancel the old email service last
- Remove the old provider's mail records from DNS
Your own plan adds or removes items based on your answers, and explains why each one is there.
The safe order
Doing things in the right sequence is what keeps you from getting locked out halfway through.
Before the change
Step 1: List your addresses and keep the old service running
Know every address and don't cancel anything yet.
- Keep the old mailboxes working until the new ones are tested (critical risk)
- List every mailbox, alias and shared address (high risk)
- Tell everyone the switch date and how to set up the new mailbox (moderate risk)
Step 2: Set up the new mailboxes
Mailboxes, domain verification, security and every alias, without touching MX.
- Verify your domain at the new provider without changing MX (critical risk)
- Create mailboxes at the new provider with the same addresses (high risk)
- Turn on multi-factor sign-in for the new mailboxes (critical risk)
- Re-create aliases (extra addresses on user accounts) (high risk)
Step 3: Copy existing mail, calendars and contacts
Changing MX only affects new mail.
- Copy mail with Google Workspace's data import (critical risk)
- Move calendars and contacts separately (moderate risk)
Step 4: Prepare DNS
Confirm who controls DNS, save your records and lower TTLs a day ahead.
- DNS hosted by the provider you're leaving (critical risk)
- Save your current DNS records and confirm you can edit them (high risk)
- Lower the TTL on your MX records ahead of cutover (moderate risk)
During the change
Step 5: Switch MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC
The moment new mail starts arriving at the new provider.
- Point MX records to the new provider (critical risk)
- Update SPF so the new platform is allowed to send (high risk)
- Turn on DKIM signing on the new platform (high risk)
- Check DMARC still passes after the switch (high risk)
- and 1 more
Immediately after
Step 6: Update devices, apps and signatures
Phones, computers, printers, forms and signatures.
- Printers, scanners and website forms that send through the old mailbox (high risk)
- Set up the new mailboxes on phones and computers (high risk)
- Email signatures and auto-replies (low risk)
Verify
Step 7: Test from outside and run a final copy
Every address, both directions.
- Test incoming and outgoing mail from outside your organization (critical risk)
- Run a final copy and confirm nothing was missed (high risk)
Clean up
Step 8: Cancel the old service and clean up DNS
Only after everything is tested.
- Cancel the old email service last (critical risk)
- Remove the old provider's mail records from DNS (moderate risk)
Why this change needs a plan
Changing email provider is mostly about order. Your MX records decide where new mail goes, so the new mailboxes and every alias need to exist before you switch them, and existing mail has to be copied separately.
IMAP-based imports copy mail but usually not calendars or contacts, and printers, scanners and website forms that send through the old mailbox need new settings. If your email came bundled with web hosting, the same account may also run your DNS or website.
Keep the old service running until the new one is tested from outside your organization, then clean up old DNS records and cancel.
Why it matters
Email is how customers, suppliers and banks reach you. A badly ordered switch can bounce mail for hours or days, lose old conversations, or take your website offline with the old hosting account.
What makes it risky
Risk is highest when MX records change before mailboxes and aliases exist, when DNS is hosted with the provider you're leaving, and when SPF and DKIM aren't updated for the new provider. Devices that send through the old mailbox fail quietly.
Common mistakes
- Changing MX records before mailboxes and aliases exist at the new provider.
- Cancelling a hosting plan that also ran the domain's DNS, taking the website offline with the email.
- Adding a second SPF record instead of editing the existing one.
- Forgetting calendars and contacts, which IMAP imports don't move.
- Leaving printers, scanners and website forms sending through the old mailbox's password.
Frequently asked questions
Will I lose email when I switch providers?
Not if you keep the old service running, copy existing mail before the switch, and run a final copy after MX records change to catch messages that arrived late.
Does an IMAP migration move calendars and contacts?
Usually not. Microsoft's IMAP migration documentation, for example, says it doesn't migrate contacts, calendar items or tasks. Export them separately and import them into the new accounts.
How long does the switch take?
The DNS change usually takes effect within your MX record's TTL, which is why you lower it a day ahead. Copying old mail depends on mailbox sizes and can take hours or days, so start it early.
My email came with my web hosting. Can I cancel the hosting?
Only once email has moved, and only after checking whether the same account runs your DNS, website or domain registration. If it does, move those first or keep that part of the plan.
Do I need to change SPF, DKIM and DMARC?
Yes. Edit your one SPF record to include the new provider, set up DKIM signing with the new provider, and check that mail still passes DMARC. Remove the old provider's entries once it stops sending.