Switching email hosting providers can seem daunting, but the process can be quite straightforward with proper planning and guidance. Whether you’re looking for better performance, enhanced security, or simply more storage, moving to a new provider is often the best step for your business. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to change your email hosting provider without losing important data and with minimal disruptions to your workflow.
Choose Your New Email Hosting Provider
Before making the switch, it’s essential to choose the right email hosting service that suits your needs. Popular options include Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, and Business Email Hosting. Each offers unique features, so it’s important to consider what matters most to you. Here are a few things to think about when choosing:
- Pricing: Are you getting the right value for the features offered?
- Storage: How much space do you need for emails, contacts, and calendar entries?
- Security: Does the provider offer spam protection, encryption, and other security features?
- Customer Support: Is help available when you need it? Some providers offer 24/7 support, while others might not.
Once you’ve identified the best option for your business, you’re ready to proceed.
How to change email hosting providers
Backup Your Existing Emails
Before making any changes, it’s important to ensure your emails are safely backed up. You don’t want to risk losing valuable information during the switch. If you use email software like Outlook, Thunderbird or Mac Mail, you can follow these guides to take a backup of your email data:
- Exporting emails from Outlook 2013, 2016 and 2019
- Archiving and exporting emails in Thunderbird
- Archiving and exporting emails in Mac Mail
If you’re using a cloud-based email service like Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, you can:
- Use Google Takeout to export your email data
- Use Outlook to export your Microsoft 365 data to a .pst file
If your emails are currently stored on a cPanel hosting service, you can generate a full cPanel backup.
Once you’ve completed your backup, you can safely move your email data to your new provider.
Migrate Your Email Data
Many providers, such as Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, offer migration tools to help with this process. These tools allow you to transfer your emails, contacts, and calendar entries to the new system without losing any data.
If you’re not comfortable handling this yourself, we offer email migration services for email services hosted with us.
Changing Your DNS Settings
When switching email providers, you’ll need to update your domain name’s DNS settings to direct traffic to the new email service. This sounds complicated, but it’s quite simple once you understand it.
Every domain (like “yourbusiness.com”) has MX records, which tell the internet where to send your emails. When you change your email hosting provider, you must update these MX records with the new provider’s information. You can usually find these settings in your domain registrar or hosting service dashboard.
Here are some handy guides on how to update your MX records with VentraIP:
- Adding the MX records required for VentraIP Business Email Hosting
- Setting up Google Workspace MX records
- Editing your DNS records from VIPcontrol using Free DNS Hosting
If you need any assistance changing your MX Records for a domain name or DNS service you have with VentraIP, feel free to contact our support team.
Once you make the changes, it can take anywhere from 2 to 8 hours for the new settings to fully take effect. This process is known as DNS propagation. During this time, your email service might experience slight disruptions.
Configure Email Clients
If you use email software such as Outlook or Mac Mail to access your emails, you’ll need to update the settings on your devices (computers, tablets, and smartphones). The email client (like Outlook, Apple Mail, or Gmail) that you use to read and send emails will need the new server information.
Follow our guides on how to find and update your existing email software settings.
Testing your new email service
Once your emails are up and running with the new provider, testing everything to ensure it works as expected is essential. Send a few test emails to and from your account, check if attachments are working properly, and ensure you receive emails on time.
Also, be on the lookout for any issues, such as emails being marked as spam or delayed delivery. If everything is working as expected, then you’re in good shape to continue using your new email hosting provider.
Need Help With Switching?
Changing email hosting providers doesn’t have to be overwhelming, and with the right steps, you can ensure a smooth transition without any headaches. If you need help during any part of the process — whether it’s choosing a new provider, backing up emails, or updating DNS settings — don’t hesitate to contact our team. We’re here to help make your switch to a new email hosting service with VentraIP seamless.
