How to Setup your Domain & Business Emails for your Shopify Store

panmatech
Blog
May 25, 2025

Setting up your domain and business emails for your Shopify store is crucial for branding, building trust with customers, and streamlining communication. Here’s a comprehensive guide covering the different options and steps involved for 2025:

Understanding Your Options

There are generally two main approaches to setting up business emails with your Shopify store:

  1. Email Forwarding (Free with Shopify-Managed Domains):
    • This allows you to create custom email addresses (e.g., info@yourdomain.com) that automatically forward to an existing personal email account (like Gmail, Outlook, etc.).
    • Pros: Free and easy to set up if you bought your domain through Shopify.
    • Cons: When you reply to customers, your personal email address will be displayed, which doesn’t reinforce your brand.
  2. Third-Party Email Hosting (Paid):
    • This involves using a dedicated email hosting provider (like Google Workspace, Zoho Mail, Titan Email (Shopify’s native option), or others) to create and manage professional email inboxes with your domain name.
    • Pros: Professional branding, full email functionality (sending and receiving from your domain), often includes features like shared inboxes, calendars, and more storage.
    • Cons: Involves an additional cost.

Step-by-Step Guide

Here’s how to set up both options:

Option 1: Setting Up Email Forwarding (for Shopify-Managed Domains)

  1. Access Your Shopify Admin: Log in to your Shopify store.
  2. Go to Settings: Click on “Settings” in the bottom left corner.
  3. Select “Domains”: Click on “Domains”.
  4. Manage Your Shopify Domain: If your domain is listed under “Shopify-managed domains,” click on it.
  5. Go to “Email forwarding”: Scroll down to the “Email forwarding” section.
  6. Add a Forwarding Email Address: Click “Add forwarding email”.
  7. Enter the Custom Email Address: In the “Forwarding email address” field, enter the desired prefix for your business email (e.g., info, sales, support). Don’t include @yourdomain.com.
  8. Enter the Receiving Email Address: In the “Receiving email address” field, enter the full email address where you want the forwarded emails to go (e.g., yourpersonalemail@gmail.com).
  9. Click “Save”.
  10. Repeat: You can add multiple forwarding email addresses that all forward to the same or different receiving email addresses.
  11. Add SPF Record (Recommended): To improve email deliverability, add an SPF (Sender Policy Framework) record to your domain:
    • Go back to “Settings” > “Domains”.
    • Click on your Shopify-managed domain.
    • Click “Domain settings” > “Edit DNS settings”.
    • Click “Add custom record” and choose “TXT record”.
    • In the “Name” field, enter @.
    • In the “TXT value” field, enter: v=spf1 include:_spf.hostedemail.com ~all
    • Click “Confirm”.
  12. Test Your Email Forwarding: Send a test email from a different email account to your new custom domain email address (e.g., info@yourdomain.com) and ensure it arrives in your receiving email inbox.

Option 2: Setting Up Third-Party Email Hosting (Recommended for Professional Branding)

This process generally involves these steps, but the exact details will vary depending on your chosen email hosting provider:

  1. Choose an Email Hosting Provider:
    • Google Workspace: Robust features, integrates well with Google apps (Gmail, Drive, etc.).
    • Zoho Mail: Offers free and paid plans, good for businesses on a budget.
    • Titan Email (via Shopify): Integrated directly within Shopify, easy to manage.
    • Microsoft 365: Another popular option with a suite of business tools.
    • Other providers like Namecheap, Bluehost, etc.
  2. Sign Up and Verify Your Domain:
    • Create an account with your chosen email hosting provider.
    • You’ll likely need to verify your domain name to prove ownership. This usually involves adding a TXT or CNAME record to your domain’s DNS settings.
  3. Connect Your Domain to the Email Host:
    • Access your Domain’s DNS Settings: Go back to your Shopify admin > “Settings” > “Domains”.
    • If you bought your domain through Shopify, click on it and then “Domain settings” > “Edit DNS settings”.
    • If you connected a third-party domain, you’ll need to log in to your domain registrar’s (e.g., GoDaddy, Namecheap) website and manage the DNS settings there.
    • Add MX Records: Your email hosting provider will provide you with specific MX (Mail Exchanger) records. You need to add these records to your domain’s DNS settings. These records tell email systems where to deliver emails sent to your domain.
    • Add Other Records (SPF, DKIM, DMARC): For better email deliverability and security, your provider will likely also give you SPF (Sender Policy Framework), DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), and DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) 1 records to add as TXT or CNAME records in your DNS settings. Follow your provider’s instructions carefully.   1. www.prolateral.com www.prolateral.com
  4. Set Up Your Business Email Addresses:
    • Once your domain is connected and verified with your email hosting provider, you can create your custom business email addresses (e.g., info@yourdomain.com, sales@yourdomain.com). This is usually done within your email hosting provider’s control panel.
  5. Connect Email Hosting in Shopify (for Shopify-Managed Domains – Optional but Recommended for Titan/Google Workspace/Zoho):
    • Go to your Shopify admin > “Settings” > “Domains”.
    • Click on your Shopify-managed domain.
    • In the “Email forwarding” section, click “Switch to email hosting”.
    • Select your provider (Google Workspace or Zoho Mail). If using Titan or another provider, you might not see a direct option here and will rely solely on the correct DNS records.
    • Follow the on-screen instructions, which may involve entering a TXT code or meta tag provided by your email host.
    • Click “Save”.
  6. Access Your Business Emails:
    • You can typically access your business emails through a webmail interface provided by your hosting provider or by setting up your email accounts in desktop or mobile email clients (like Outlook, Apple Mail, Gmail app, etc.).
  7. Update Your Shopify Store Settings:
    • Go to “Settings” > “General” in your Shopify admin.
    • In the “Store details” section, update the “Store email” and “Customer email” fields to your new professional business email address.
    • Go to “Settings” > “Notifications” and in the “Sender email” section, ensure your business email address is set as the “Sender email”. You may need to authenticate your domain here (Shopify will guide you).

Important Considerations:

  • DNS Propagation: After making changes to your DNS records, it can take up to 24-48 hours for these changes to fully propagate across the internet. Be patient during this time.
  • Email Authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC): Setting up these records is crucial for improving email deliverability and preventing your emails from being marked as spam. Follow your email hosting provider’s instructions carefully.
  • Consistency: Use your professional business email address consistently for all customer communications to build brand recognition and trust.
  • Support: If you encounter any issues, don’t hesitate to contact the support teams of your domain registrar, Shopify, or your chosen email hosting provider.

By following these steps, you can successfully set up your domain and professional business emails for your Shopify store, enhancing your brand image and communication with your customers in 2025. Choose the option that best suits your budget and technical comfort level. Investing in third-party email hosting is generally recommended for a more professional and reliable setup as your business grows.

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