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A beginner-friendly guide to MX records, how they route domain email and what to check when setting up email hosting.
An MX record tells the internet where email for your domain should be delivered.
If your domain is yourbusiness.co.uk, MX records decide which mail server receives messages sent to addresses such as hello@yourbusiness.co.uk.
An MX record, short for Mail Exchange record, is a DNS record that controls email delivery for a domain. It tells other mail servers where to send email addressed to your domain.
If MX records are missing, wrong or pointing to the wrong provider, your website may still load, but email may stop arriving.
A message is sent to hello@yourbusiness.co.uk.
The sender’s mail server looks up your MX records.
The message is sent to the mail server listed in MX.
The email arrives in your hosted mailbox.
An MX record tells mail servers where to deliver email for a domain. It does not usually control your website, website files, SSL certificate or page redirects. Its main job is email routing.
For example, if someone sends an email to sales@yourbusiness.co.uk, their mail server checks the MX records for yourbusiness.co.uk. Those records tell it which mail server should receive the message.
This is why MX records are essential for business email. If your MX records point to the wrong place, customers may send emails that never reach your inbox.
MX stands for Mail Exchange. It is the DNS record type used for receiving email. A domain can have one MX record or several MX records depending on the email provider.
Multiple MX records are often used for redundancy. If the primary mail server is unavailable, another mail server can sometimes be tried next, depending on the priority values.
The exact MX records you need should come from your email hosting provider. If you use Business Email Hosting, your domain must have the correct MX records for that mail service.
An MX record normally has a host or name, a mail server target and a priority number. The host is usually the root domain, shown as @ in many DNS panels. The target is the mail server. The priority tells mail servers which record should be tried first.
| Host / Name | Type | Priority | Target / Mail server | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
@ |
MX | 10 |
mail.yourbusiness.co.uk |
Email for the root domain is sent to this mail server. |
@ |
MX | 20 |
backupmail.example.com |
A secondary mail server may be used if the first one is unavailable. |
MX record values should usually be mail server hostnames, not IP addresses. If your email provider gives you MX records, copy them exactly.
MX priority tells sending mail servers which mail server to try first. Lower numbers usually have higher priority. For example, a priority of 10 is normally tried before a priority of 20.
Some email providers give you only one MX record. Others give you several. If several records are provided, add all of them with the correct priority values.
Do not guess MX priorities. Use the values supplied by your email hosting provider. Incorrect priority values can cause mail to route unpredictably or fail if the wrong server is tried first.
Usually higher priority and tried first.
The hostname that receives email for your domain.
Often used for backup, redundancy or provider routing.
MX records and A records do different jobs. An A record points a domain or hostname to an IPv4 address, usually for website hosting. An MX record tells mail servers where to deliver email for a domain.
This means changing your website A record should not usually change where your email is delivered. Likewise, changing MX records should not usually change where your website loads.
Problems happen when people move hosting or nameservers and forget to copy the email records. The website may work, but email can stop receiving messages.
Points a hostname to an IPv4 address.
Commonly used for websites and subdomains.
Points email delivery to a mail server hostname.
Used for receiving email on your domain.
A CNAME record points one hostname to another hostname. An MX record tells sending mail servers which mail server should receive email for a domain.
Although MX records use hostnames as targets, they are not the same as CNAME records. Do not replace MX records with CNAME records unless your provider gives very specific instructions for a related hostname.
If an email provider gives you MX records, add them as MX records. If they give you CNAME records for verification or DKIM, add those separately as CNAME records.
MX records must be added wherever your active nameservers point. If your domain is using your registrar’s nameservers, edit MX records at the registrar. If it is using your hosting provider’s nameservers, edit MX records in the hosting DNS panel.
This is one of the most common email setup mistakes. A business may add MX records in one place, but the live domain is using nameservers somewhere else, so the change has no effect.
Before changing MX records, check the active nameservers. Then update the DNS zone controlled by those nameservers.
If your MX record change is not working, you may have edited DNS in the wrong place. Check the active nameservers first, then update the correct DNS zone.
You usually change MX records when moving email to a new provider, setting up business email for the first time, reconnecting a domain to email hosting, or fixing email delivery problems.
MX changes should be handled carefully because they affect incoming email. If the records are wrong, customers may receive bounce messages or their emails may not arrive.
Before changing MX records, copy your existing records and make sure the new mailboxes are ready. After changing records, test sending and receiving from multiple external accounts.
Website hosting and email hosting can be with the same provider or different providers. MX records make it possible to keep email with one provider while your website is hosted somewhere else.
For example, your website might use an A record pointing to your web hosting server, while your MX records point to a separate email hosting provider. This is normal and can work well.
If you are setting up a website, compare our UK Web Hosting, WordPress Hosting and Small Business Hosting options. If you need professional mailboxes, use Business Email Hosting.
| Service | Common DNS record | Example purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Website | A or CNAME | Loads your website from your hosting provider. |
| Email receiving | MX | Delivers incoming mail to your email provider. |
| Email authentication | TXT or CNAME | Supports SPF, DKIM, DMARC and verification. |
| SSL verification | TXT or CNAME, depending on provider | May help verify domain ownership for certificates. |
MX records control where incoming mail is delivered. SPF, DKIM and DMARC help receiving mail systems trust outgoing mail from your domain. They are related to email, but they do different jobs.
If your email is not arriving, check MX records first. If your emails are arriving in spam, check SPF, DKIM and DMARC as well as sender reputation and message content.
A good business email setup usually needs correct MX records plus authentication records. MX helps receive mail. SPF, DKIM and DMARC help with sending trust.
Tells the internet where to deliver email.
Lists servers allowed to send for your domain.
Adds a digital signature to outgoing email.
Tells receivers how to handle failed checks.
MX record changes can take time to update across the internet because DNS records are cached. This delay is known as DNS propagation.
During propagation, some senders may route mail to the old provider while others use the new provider. This is why email migrations should be planned carefully.
You can use our DNS Propagation Checker to monitor DNS changes and our DNS Lookup tool to inspect current MX records.
When moving email providers, keep the old mailbox accessible temporarily. Some messages may continue reaching the old service until MX changes have fully propagated.
You can check MX records using a DNS lookup tool. Enter your domain and look for MX results. The results should match the mail servers supplied by your email hosting provider.
If the results show an old provider, a wrong provider or no MX records at all, incoming email may not work correctly.
Remember to check the root domain, such as yourbusiness.co.uk. MX records normally apply to the domain that appears after the @ symbol in your email address.
If MX records are wrong, incoming email may not reach the correct mailbox. Senders may receive bounce messages, messages may go to an old provider, or email may appear to disappear.
Sometimes the website still works perfectly, which makes the problem confusing. This happens because websites and email are usually controlled by different DNS records.
If customers say emails are bouncing or you are not receiving messages, check MX records early in the troubleshooting process.
Before changing MX records, confirm where your current email is hosted and where it is moving. Create the new mailboxes first, record existing MX values, and make sure you have access to both old and new mailboxes during the transition.
If your business relies on email for enquiries, invoices or bookings, avoid making changes without a plan. Email disruption can cost leads and create confusion with customers.
After changing MX records, test from outside email addresses. Send messages from Gmail, Outlook or another external account to confirm incoming mail reaches the new mailbox.
A small business registers yourbusiness.co.uk and wants to use hello@yourbusiness.co.uk. The domain exists, but email will not work until email hosting is set up and MX records point to the correct mail provider.
Once the MX records are added and the mailbox is created, incoming mail can be delivered to the professional address. The business should also set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC to support outgoing mail trust.
A business moves its website to a new hosting provider but wants to keep email where it is. In this case, the website A record may change, but the MX records should usually stay the same.
If the business changes nameservers during the move, it must copy the existing MX records to the new DNS provider. Otherwise, the website may move successfully but email may stop arriving.
A business moves from one email provider to another. The new provider gives new MX records. The business creates the new mailboxes, copies or migrates old mail if needed, then updates MX records.
During propagation, some messages may still reach the old provider. Keeping both old and new mailboxes accessible temporarily helps prevent lost communication.
One common mistake is deleting old email records before the new mailboxes are ready. This can cause incoming mail to fail during setup.
Another mistake is editing DNS in the wrong place. If your domain uses nameservers from your hosting provider, changes made at your registrar may not affect live DNS.
It is also common to forget that MX records handle receiving mail, while SPF, DKIM and DMARC help with sending trust. A complete business email setup usually needs both.
MX records route email, but the domain extension shapes how your email address looks to customers, members or supporters.
An MX record is a DNS record that tells the internet where to deliver email for your domain.
Not usually. MX records control email delivery. Website loading is usually controlled by A or CNAME records.
Yes. Many email providers use multiple MX records for routing, redundancy or backup mail servers.
Priority tells mail servers which MX record to try first. Lower numbers are usually higher priority.
Edit MX records wherever your active nameservers point. This may be your registrar, hosting provider or DNS provider.
If sending works but receiving does not, check MX records, mailbox status, DNS propagation and whether email is being delivered to an old provider.
Start with Business Email Hosting to create addresses such as hello@yourbusiness.co.uk, sales@yourbusiness.co.uk or support@yourbusiness.co.uk.
Need a domain first? Visit our Domain Services. If you are setting up a website too, compare UK Web Hosting, WordPress Hosting and Small Business Hosting.
Not sure where to begin? Visit Start Here and choose the right setup for your domain, website and email.
Check active nameservers.
Add the correct MX records.
Test incoming email delivery.
An MX record is the DNS record that controls where email for your domain is delivered. It is essential for professional email addresses such as hello@yourbusiness.co.uk.
If your website works but email does not arrive, MX records are one of the first things to check. Make sure they are added in the active DNS zone, copied exactly from your email provider, and tested after propagation.
For a reliable business email setup, MX records should work alongside correct mailboxes, SMTP settings, SPF, DKIM and DMARC records.
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