Member Avatar for stonybony

Hi,

I am in a situation that needs some explanation so that I can understand. I have a domain name, say "xyz.com". The website is being hosted at some host that provides web hosting services. I want to sign up for email services at another linux host with the same domain name "xyz.com". How do I go about doing that and what I should enter in the domain registration record at "enom.com" where xyz.com is registered. The website cannot be transferred to the new host due to it being written using ASP. Until it can be completely rewritten in php so that it can be hosted on linux, I cannot transfer the website. So, I would sign up with the linux hosting service with the same domain name "xyz.com". How do I do it and what elements should be changed at "enom.com" who is the registrar? Thanks for the help.

stony

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by lasitha2005d

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Short answer: yes — a single registered domain can use one provider for web hosting and a different provider for mail. The domain registration itself only records ownership; DNS records in the domain’s zone tell the internet where each service lives. This is the pattern discussed by and echoed by , and , and it’s the normal way to split web and email between different vendors.

Practical steps (what to change and where)

  • Confirm which nameservers are authoritative for the domain (registrar panel vs the current web host). Make DNS changes in the place that is currently serving the zone — do not flip nameservers unless intending to move full DNS control.
  • At the DNS authoritive panel, add the mail provider’s records: the MX record(s) that point mail to the mail host, and any required A records (mail.example.com) used by those MX entries. Also publish SPF (TXT), and later DKIM/DMARC records the mail provider requires.
  • Lower DNS TTL (e.g. to 300s) a day before the change to reduce propagation delay, then raise it back after everything is stable.

Examples and quick tests

example.com.    3600 IN MX 10 mail.mailhost.example.
mail            3600 IN A  203.0.113.10
example.com.    3600 IN TXT "v=spf1 mx include:mailhost.example -all"

Verify with dig mx example.com and test SMTP with telnet mail.mailhost.example 25 (or use the provider’s test tools). Use an IMAP sync tool (or provider migration instructions) to copy existing mailboxes before flipping MX.

Notes and cautions

  • Keep the old mail host active for a few days to catch stragglers.
  • Ensure outbound sending has proper PTR (reverse DNS) and DKIM to avoid deliverability issues.
  • Consolidating both services at one vendor (as suggested) simplifies management; using a dedicated mail service (as noted) can improve reliability and deliverability.

Recommended Answers

All 6 Replies

Member Avatar for jingda

Do you mean you want to host a website with two different hosting domains. Let's said Company A host your website, Company B also host your website. Is that what you want?

Member Avatar for stonybony

I want Company A to host my website and Company B to handle my email. How do I sign up with Company B to provide my email services with the same domain name? Lets say my domain name is xyz.com, is this scenario possible?


hostgator - I sign up for website hosting using xyz.com - does only site hosting

godaddy - I sign up for only email services using xyz.com - does only email

Can I use the same domain name, xyz.com, to sign up with both companies for the above services?

If that is possible, what would I change at "enom.com" who handles the site registration? Meaning, what would I point where?

Thanks for your help.

stony

Do you mean you want to host a website with two different hosting domains. Let's said Company A host your website, Company B also host your website. Is that what you want?

Member Avatar for Kraai

First off, why do you want to host email with go-daddy if you do already have a hosting account with hostgator? As far as I know, hostgator can also have linux hosting, actually, linux hosting is their biggest platform.

You will have to change your mx records on the email server

Member Avatar for stonybony

First off, why do you want to host email with go-daddy if you do already have a hosting account with hostgator? As far as I know, hostgator can also have linux hosting, actually, linux hosting is their biggest platform.

You will have to change your mx records on the email server

Thanks for your reply. Actually, the whole account will be moved to the new hosting company. I am just waiting to finish rewriting their website from ASP to PHP so that it can be hosted at hostgator. Actually, they are all on godaddy right now, but I want it to be moved to some linux hosting provider. Godaddy's email is really slow and shows up after 2 hours sometimes. First I move the email hosting to hostgator and when the site is done being rewritten, I move the site as well. You say MX records at the email server should be changed. Their domain is registered at "enom.com". Should I changed that their end to point the email to the new account at hostgator?

Thanks

stony

Member Avatar for Kraai

OK, it makes a lot more sense if you are actually changing to hostgator. Not that I want to promote anyone here, but hey, it makes so much more sense.... And no, I do not work for them, and no, I do not have any affiliate links to them to gain anything myself from this post.

But, did you know that hostgator can actually give you shared windows hosting right now (it just came out now)at a very good price. Why not just shift your site to one of their windows packages and save yourself rebuilding the site in php and strugling with mx records at enom?

Member Avatar for lasitha2005d

I agree with Kraai. They offer both platforms. But you can still host your email account with another mail host. Like Yahoo Business, if you want secure and reliable mail. I m not happy with web hosting companies to do mail hosting since they have issues. But selecting hostgator for email and go daddy for the site doesn't make things work well. You have to change MX records and DNS records etc. After publishing, you can get an email from the same hosting provider as well.

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