E-mail

Maab S.

28 Oct 2024

7min Read

Can You Host Your Email and Website Separately?

If you’re managing a website, you’ve probably wondered at some point whether you can host your email and website separately. It could be because you’re looking for better email security, more storage, or simply trying to keep things organized. The good news? The short answer is yes, you can absolutely separate your email and website hosting. But as with most things, the devil is in the details. Find out why your business needs a custom email address.

To help you out, we’ve put together this comprehensive guide that discusses the benefits, drawbacks, and implementation steps. Stick around to find all the answers you need.

What does it mean to host email and website separately?

Typically, when you purchase a domain, your hosting provider offers both website hosting and email hosting as part of a package. However, you may decide to split these services, and choose specialized hosting providers for each.

For example, you may host your website on a server optimized for speed and performance, while your emails are managed by a provider that specializes in reliable email services. There are several genuine reasons to be considering this, for example:

Your current host doesn’t prioritize email security, and you want to switch to one that does.
Your business sends and receives a large volume of emails, and the current setup is affecting your website’s performance.
Your website is growing, and you need more resources dedicated solely to it.
You are enticed by the features present in a dedicated email system, such as better spam filters, automated backups, or advanced archiving options.

What are the benefits of separate website and email hosting?

Here are some benefits you can expect from independent website and email setups:

Better performance

By dedicating resources to each service, you can optimize performance for both your website and email. The website host can focus on delivering fast loading times, while the email host can prioritize reliable email delivery.

Scalability

As your business grows, your needs evolve. With separate hosting, you can scale your website and email services independently. For example, you can get more storage for your emails without having to upgrade your website hosting plan.

More customization possibilities

Different providers specialize in different areas. By separating your website and email hosting, you can mix and match to get exactly what you need, such as advanced spam filters for email, or faster SSD hosting for your website.

Increased security

Email is a common target for cyberattacks. The stringent security controls implemented by dedicated email providers can significantly reduce your risk of compromise.

No single point of failure

Even if one service goes down, the other remains unaffected. For example, if your email provider experiences downtime, your website will still be up and running, and vice versa.

Less vendor lock-in

You also get more control over each service. If you’re unhappy with one provider, you can easily switch to another without affecting the other service.

Are there any drawbacks?

Next, let’s consider some potential drawbacks of this approach.

The overall expenses of managing two accounts can be higher compared to a bundled package.
It can be complicated to manage separate hosting services, as you have to handle multiple accounts, DNS settings, and billing cycles.
Any mistakes or misconfigurations made during the transition can lead to the unavailability of your website and/or email services.
Keeping track of updates, security patches, and backups for two different systems can add to your workload.
With separate providers, troubleshooting issues can be more challenging since you would need to contact different support teams.

Technical considerations

Before we turn our attention to the how-to part of this guide, here are some technical considerations to make:

DNS records

DNS records are used to direct traffic to the correct services. When you host your website and email separately, you’ll need to configure your DNS settings carefully to ensure that both services work properly.

A records: These point your domain to the IP address of your website server. If these aren’t set correctly, your website will not be accessible.
MX records: These records tell email systems where to deliver your emails. MX records have priority levels, indicated by numbers. If you have multiple MX records, the one with the lowest number will be tried first. If you are switching your email provider, make sure to update your MX records accordingly.

DKIM and DMARC

DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) adds a digital signature to your emails, which helps to verify that they haven’t been tampered with. DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) provides a framework on how to handle messages that fail authentication checks. It’s recommended to configure both DKIM and DMARC for your new email setup.

Backups and redundancy

Given the continued rise in the number of cyberattacks, it’s crucial to set up backups for both your website and email services. Some providers offer automated backups, but make sure to verify how often these occur and how easy it is to restore from them.

Steps to separate your email and website hosting

Now that you have understood the process, considered the technical aspects, and weighed the pros against potential challenges, you are ready to implement. Here are the steps you need to take:

Choose your provider

When choosing a website hosting provider, consider factors like performance, storage, features, pricing, and customer support.

For email hosting services, consider email storage, security, spam filtering, features, and pricing.

Create backups

Before making any changes, create backups of both your website and email data. This will help you quickly restore services if anything goes wrong during the transition.

Access your DNS settings

Log in to your domain registrar’s control panel where you manage your DNS settings. Here, you will configure the DNS records to point to the respective hosting services.

Set up your website

Note: If you are only switching your email host, you can skip this step.

Update the A records to point to your new website hosting provider’s IP address. If your website uses subdomains, you may additionally need to set up CNAME records to point these to the correct server.

Set up your email

Note: If you are only switching your website host, you can skip this step.

Obtain the MX records from your email provider and update these in your DNS settings. If you have multiple MX records, make sure to set the priorities correctly.
Add or update the SPF record to include your new email provider’s mail servers. This helps prevent email spoofing.
Follow the platform-specific instructions to generate a DKIM key and add it as a TXT record in your DNS setting.
Configure a DMARC policy to define how your domain handles suspicious emails. This can be set up as a TXT record in your DNS settings.

Test the new setup

Once the DNS propagation finishes, check that your website is loading properly and that emails are being sent and received without issues. For the website, you can visit your domain in a web browser and see if it’s pointing to the correct server. For the email, you can send test emails to and from your domain’s email addresses to verify that everything is working as expected.

Implementation challenges and how to overcome them

It’s possible that you may encounter some challenges during the implementation. Here’s a rundown of common issues and what to do about them:

Challenge: Incorrect DNS settings can lead to website downtime or email delivery issues.
Solutions:

Double-check all DNS records before making changes.
Use DNS tools like dig or online configuration checkers to verify that your A records, MX records, and other DNS settings are correctly configured.

Challenge: DNS changes propagation may take time and lead to temporary disruptions.
Solutions:

Plan your changes during low-traffic periods to minimize impact.
Inform your users of potential temporary disruptions and monitor the propagation process closely.
If delays are a common problem, consider moving to a DNS provider with a track record of faster propagation times.

For more tips, have a look at our handy blog post for some DNS change tips and tricks to avoid problems.

Challenge: Misconfigurations or technical glitches can lead to email downtime.
Solutions:

Set up a temporary email forwarding service or use a secondary email address during the transition.
If necessary, contact your email provider for assistance.

Challenge: Services that rely on email or website integration may experience disruptions.
Solutions:

Before the switch, review and test any integrations or dependencies that may be affected by the change.
Ensure that all related systems are updated with the new settings. Conduct thorough testing to verify that everything is in order.

Independent hosting vs. all-in-one hosting

Finally, let’s compare the two approaches to hosting: managing your email and website independently versus using an all-in-one solution. To make the comparison clearer, we have highlighted the key differences in a tabular form:

Feature	Independent hosting	All-in-one hosting
Performance	Potentially better due to dedicated resources	Performance may vary depending on plan
Security	More control over security measures	Security depends on the provider’s overall capabilities
Cost	Often higher due to separate service providers	Generally lower with bundled services
Flexibility	More flexibility to choose specialized providers for each service	Less flexibility; you’re tied to the provider’s offerings
Complexity	Requires more technical knowledge to manage	Easier to set up and manage
Support	Multiple support teams are involved	Single support team for all services
Independent scalability	Each service can be scaled independently	Generally, less chances of independent scaling

Conclusion

Separating your email and website hosting can lead to significant advantages in terms of performance, security, and flexibility. However, it also comes with added complexities and costs. Carefully evaluate your specific needs, technical expertise, and budget before making a decision.