Basics · 5 November 2026 · 5 min read
Your own domain and email address: how businesses set them up properly
info@yourbusiness.de looks more professional than a Gmail address. What you need, what matters in the setup, and why your emails otherwise land in spam.
Your own domain and a matching email address are your business card online. An enquiry to info@yourbusiness.de feels more trustworthy than one to a free address, and it stays yours even if you switch providers.
Choosing the right domain
- Short, easy to spell, no chains of hyphens.
- For customers in Germany, usually a .de domain.
- Ideally the business name, not just keywords.
- Registered in your or your company's name, not the agency's.
Domain, website and email are three things
The domain is the address. The website can live with one host, the email with another provider. Everything is connected through the domain's DNS settings. That's handy, because you can switch individual parts without moving everything.
So your emails don't land in spam
- 01
SPF
Defines which servers may send on behalf of your domain.
- 02
DKIM
A digital signature proves the email really comes from you.
- 03
DMARC
Tells recipients what to do with forged emails.
- 04
Test
Send a test email to Gmail and Outlook and check it reaches the inbox.
Big mail providers like Gmail now require these records from many senders. Without them, quotes and invoices can easily end up in your customers' spam folder.
Common mistakes
- The domain is registered to a former provider.
- The renewal is forgotten and the domain expires.
- Contact forms send emails without proper sender settings.
- The whole team shares one inbox with one password.
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