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Setting up email hosting for a Shopify-managed domain or a third-party domain

Email hosting isn't provided on Shopify. You need to use a third-party email hosting service.

If you have a Shopify-managed domain, and you need to send an email message from your custom domain email address, then you need to use a third-party email hosting service. The Shopify admin supports the following third-party email hosting services to send email from your forwarding email address:

  • Zoho Mail provides email accounts for your custom domain.
  • Google Workspace connects to the Gmail platform for emails on your custom domain.

You can use other third-party email hosting services with your Shopify-managed domain by editing your DNS settings based on the instructions from the email hosting service.

You can connect email hosting to your third-party domain. The process varies based on the third-party email hosting service and your domain settings.

The process of domain propagation can take up to 48 hours to complete after you connect email hosting to your domain, so your email hosting might not function as expected during this time. If your email hosting is still not working as expected after 48 hours, then you need to verify that you correctly followed your email hosting service's instructions.

Please note: Email forwarding configured within the domain itself on Shopify will be impacted once MX records are added to domain DNS settings.

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Connect Zoho Mail or Google Workspace email hosting to your Shopify domain

The process for connecting an email hosting service varies by provider, but generally consists of the following steps:

  1. Verifying your domain with your email hosting service.
  2. Copying the unique TXT code or meta tag.
  3. Adding the TXT code or meta tag to your Shopify admin.
  4. Verifying, activating, or authenticating your email in your email hosting service account.

For more information about connecting email hosting to your Shopify-managed domain, refer to the help documentation for your third-party email hosting service:

Before you begin

Before you can set up and connect your email service to Shopify, you need to verify your domain and create your custom email address in your email hosting service, such as Zoho Mail or Google Workspace.

To complete this procedure, you need to have the following information:

  • your login information for your third-party email hosting service account
  • the TXT code, meta tag, or Zoho code provided by your email hosting service

Steps:

  1. On your email hosting service's website, log in to your account.
  2. Follow your email hosting service's instructions to verify your domain:
  3. Depending on your email hosting service, copy the TXT code, meta tag, or Zoho code:
    • For Google Workspace: Copy the TXT code or meta tag.
    • For Zoho Mail: Copy the Zoho code from your Zoho Mail admin panel by going to Domains, and then selecting your domain. In the General tab, locate the Unique Code in the settings (example: zb12345678).
  4. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Domains.
  5. Click the name of the domain that you want to connect your email service to.
  6. In the Email forwarding section, click Switch to email hosting.
  7. Select your provider, and then enter the information that was provided to you when you verified your domain by doing one of the following:
    • If you use Google Workspace, then enter the TXT code or meta tag.
    • If you use Zoho Mail, then enter the Zoho code (example: zb12345678).
  8. Click Save.
  9. Return to your email hosting service's website, and then follow their instructions to complete the setup process.

Connecting another email hosting service to your Shopify domain

To connect an email hosting service other than Zoho Mail or Google Workspace to your Shopify-managed domain, you need to add custom DNS records to your domain.

Follow your third-party email hosting service's instructions for which types of DNS records you need to add to your domain. If you have any problems with the setup process, then contact your third-party email host's support.

Deactivate email hosting

If you need to deactivate or change your email hosting provider, then the process depends on which email hosting service you're using.

Zoho Mail or Google Workspace (direct integrations)

If you're using Zoho Mail or Google Workspace through Shopify's direct integration:

Steps:

  1. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Domains.

  2. Click the name of the domain that has email hosting activated.

  3. In the Email hosting section, click Deactivate email hosting or Change email hosting provider.

  4. Follow the prompts to complete the deactivation.

For other email hosting providers

If you're using a different email hosting provider that you connected by adding custom DNS records, then follow these steps.

Steps:

  1. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Domains.

  2. Click the name of the domain that has email hosting activated.

  3. Click Manage.

  4. In the DNS records section, remove the DNS records that were added for your email hosting provider (typically MX records, TXT records, and CNAME records).

  5. Click Save.

Connect email hosting to your third-party domain

You can set up and connect email hosting to your third-party domain. You need to add the email hosting service to your third-party domain using the instructions from your third-party email hosting service.

The specific steps vary based on the third-party email hosting service and the third-party domain settings. This guide focuses on general steps for email hosting on third-party domains. You can reach out to your third-party email hosting service for support or review their support documentation.

Steps:

  1. Create your custom email address in your email hosting service, such as Zoho Mail or Google Workspace.
  2. Verify your domain with your email hosting service. This usually involves adding a TXT code or a meta tag to your domain provider's DNS settings.
  3. Verify, activate, or authenticate your email in your email hosting service account.
  4. Connect your third-party domain to Shopify. If you receive the message This domain requires verification, then you need to verify domain ownership with Shopify.
  5. Add CNAME records to your third-party domain to connect to the Shopify SPF and DKIM records to help ensure that your email messages are delivered to your customers.

Troubleshooting email hosting setup

If you're experiencing issues with email hosting setup, then use the following troubleshooting steps to resolve common problems.

Step 1: General troubleshooting

Try the following general troubleshooting steps before addressing specific errors:

  • Verify that your domain is properly connected to Shopify.
  • Verify that you've completed the initial setup steps for your email hosting service.
  • Verify that you've waited at least 48 hours for DNS propagation to complete.
  • Verify that your email hosting service account is active and properly configured.
  • Verify that the TXT code, meta tag, or Zoho code was copied correctly from your email hosting service.
  • Check that you entered the correct information in your Shopify admin settings.
  • Verify that your domain verification is complete in your email hosting service account.

Step 2: Select the email hosting issue

If you're experiencing a specific error, then select the appropriate troubleshooting section:

If your Zoho Mail domain verification is failing, then you might have issues with the Zoho code configuration or domain ownership verification.

Steps:

  1. Verify that you're using the correct Zoho code (example: zb12345678) from your Zoho Mail admin panel, not the TXT record.
  2. To locate your Zoho code from your Zoho Mail admin panel, go to Domains, and then select your domain. In the General tab, locate the Unique Code in the settings (example: zb12345678).
  3. Wait up to 48 hours for DNS propagation to complete.
  4. Verify domain ownership in your Zoho admin panel.
  5. Verify that the domain status displays as verified in Zoho Mail.

If your email isn't routing correctly, then you might have issues with your MX record configuration.

Steps:

  1. Verify that MX records point to the correct mail server address.
  2. Verify that priority values are set correctly according to your email hosting service instructions.
  3. Remove any conflicting DNS records that might interfere with email routing.
  4. Wait up to 48 hours for DNS propagation to complete.

Step 3: Contact Support about email hosting

If you complete the troubleshooting steps and your email hosting is still not working correctly, then contact your email hosting service provider's support team. If you're experiencing issues with your Shopify domain configuration, then contact Shopify Support.