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How to Move Email to Microsoft 365 While Keeping Your Website Host
Question details
The user needs to migrate their company's email service to Microsoft 365 Business Basic without disrupting the existing website hosted by their current provider.
- Product
- Microsoft 365
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Migrating a business email service to Microsoft's cloud infrastructure while maintaining website hosting at a separate, existing provider.
- Observed behavior
- The user requires the precise order of operations to ensure emails are migrated successfully and website uptime is maintained.
Ensure you have administrator credentials for your new Microsoft 365 account, your current email hosting provider, and your domain registrar's DNS management console.
Migrate Email and Update DNS Records Sequence
Follow this exact sequence to ensure no emails are lost during the transition and your website remains completely unaffected.
It is crucial to verify your domain, set up users, and migrate existing emails before changing your MX (Mail Exchanger) records. Changing the MX record too early will cause incoming emails to be routed to empty mailboxes or get lost.
To keep your website hosted where it is, you will only update the email-related DNS records (MX, TXT for SPF, and CNAME for Exchange) and leave your website's A records and Nameservers completely untouched.
Log in to the Microsoft 365 admin center, navigate to Settings > Domains, and add your custom domain. You will be prompted to add a TXT record in your domain host's DNS settings to prove you own the domain.
Once the domain is verified, go to Users > Active users in the Microsoft 365 admin center. Create the necessary user accounts and assign them Microsoft 365 Business Basic licenses to provision their empty mailboxes.
Use the Microsoft 365 Exchange admin center migration tool (or a supported third-party migration method) to sync existing emails from your old hosting provider's IMAP server into the newly created Microsoft 365 mailboxes.
Return to your domain host's DNS management page. Update the MX record to point to Microsoft 365, and add the required SPF and CNAME records provided by Microsoft. Do not change the Nameservers or the A records that point to your website.
Need a Desktop Office Suite for Your New Email Setup?
Microsoft 365 Business Basic provides excellent cloud email, but it does not include desktop versions of Word, Excel, or PowerPoint. WPS Office is a powerful, lightweight, and completely free desktop suite that pairs perfectly with your cloud email.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I disconnect my old email service before adding the domain to Microsoft 365?
No. You should leave your existing email service connected and active while you add the domain to Microsoft 365, create users, and migrate the data. Only switch the MX record at the very end.
Will changing my email host take my website offline?
As long as you only modify the email-related DNS records (MX, specific TXT, and CNAME records) and leave your website's A record and Nameservers intact, your website will experience zero downtime.
What is an MX record?
An MX (Mail Exchanger) record is a setting in your domain's DNS that directs incoming emails to your email hosting provider's servers. Changing it is what officially routes new mail to Microsoft 365 instead of your old host.
Can I migrate my old emails to Microsoft 365 myself?
Yes, Microsoft 365 provides built-in migration tools within the Exchange admin center that support standard IMAP migrations from most hosting providers.
