Set up email accountsMailboxes under your own domain

Published on October 20, 2026

Why an address under your own domain

An address such as info@yourdomain.com not only looks more professional than a free mail address - it also belongs to you permanently. If you switch mail providers, the address stays. And you can create as many mailboxes for departments or staff as you like, instead of managing accounts with a third-party service.

The prerequisite is that the domain points to your web hosting and the MX records point to our mail server. With a domain registered with us, that is the case automatically. How MX records work is explained in Email on your own domain: MX records.

Create a mailbox in Plesk

1. In Plesk, open the Mail section and click Create Email Address.
2. Enter the part before the @ and select the domain.
3. Set a password. Mail accounts are attacked systematically - use a long, random password, not a variation of the domain name.
4. Optionally set a storage limit for the mailbox so that a single account does not take up the entire mail storage.
5. Save - the account can be used immediately.

How many accounts are possible depends on the plan: 5 in plan S, 20 in plan M, 40 in plan L and 80 in plan XL.

Credentials for mail programs

To connect it in Outlook, Thunderbird, Apple Mail or on your smartphone, you need these details:

• User name: the full email address, not just the part before the @
• Incoming server (IMAP): mail.yourdomain.com, port 993 with SSL/TLS
• Outgoing server (SMTP): mail.yourdomain.com, port 465 with SSL/TLS
• Authentication: must be enabled for outgoing mail - without it, the server refuses to send

Plesk shows the exact server addresses and ports in the settings of each account. When in doubt, use them from there instead of guessing.

IMAP or POP3?

IMAP is the right choice in almost all cases. The mails stay on the server, and all devices see the same state: what you read or move on the laptop is also read and moved on the smartphone.

POP3 downloads the messages to one device and usually deletes them from the server. That saves server storage, but only makes sense if you use exactly one device - and your mails then live exclusively locally, so only as safe as your computer.

Webmail, aliases and forwarding

• Webmail: every account can be used directly in the browser without setup - practical on the go or for quickly checking whether a delivery problem lies with the mail program or the server.
• Aliases: additional addresses that deliver into the same mailbox. That way, you get contact@, hello@ and info@ without managing three accounts - and without it counting against your quota.
• Forwarding: forwards incoming mail to another address. Decide whether a copy should stay in the mailbox - otherwise you no longer have your own record.
• Auto-reply: can be set per account with a period and text.

So that your mails arrive

If outgoing mails land in the recipients' spam folder, it is almost never down to the text, but to missing authentication records in DNS. Three records are decisive:

• SPF defines which servers may send for your domain.
• DKIM signs outgoing mails cryptographically so that recipients can check their authenticity.
• DMARC tells recipients how to handle mails that fail SPF or DKIM.

If DNS management is with us, the basic records are in place. If you also send via an external service - such as a newsletter sender or a contact form gateway - you have to add its servers to the SPF record, otherwise these mails count as unauthorized.

Typical problems

• Receiving works, sending does not: authentication for the outgoing server is not enabled in the mail program.
• Certificate warning when connecting: the domain's SSL certificate does not cover the mail server. When requesting it in Plesk, also select the option for mail - see Set up an SSL certificate.
• The mailbox no longer accepts anything: storage limit reached. Delete old attachments or raise the limit in Plesk.
• Nothing arrives after a move: the MX records still point to the old provider. How to check this is described in the guide Connect a domain to your web hosting.

Frequently asked questions