How to Migrate Your Business Email to a New Hosting Provider

If you’re running a business, your email is more than just a communication tool — it’s a lifeline. It facilitates customer support, billing, proposals, and internal collaboration. That’s why learning how to migrate business email properly is critical when switching to a new hosting provider.

Gbefunwa understands the importance of email continuity. Whether you’re switching providers for better performance, lower costs, or more control, this guide will help you migrate your business email seamlessly, without losing data or missing a message.

Why Migrate Your Business Email?

Before we get into the how, let’s quickly explore the why.

• Downtime or reliability issues: Frequent outages reduce productivity and credibility.
  
• Limited features: Some hosts do not provide advanced spam filters, storage, or integrations.
  
• Cost savings: A better provider may offer more value at a lower price.
  
• Vendor lock-in: Proprietary systems can restrict your ability to grow or customize.
  
• Better support: A new host may provide 24/7 support and faster resolution times.
  

If you’re experiencing any of these, it might be time to migrate your business email.

Pre-Migration Checklist

Before you begin the migration process, make sure you have the following in place:

1. Access to both your old and new hosting accounts
   
2. Login details for all email accounts involved
   
3. A full backup of your existing emails
   
4. MX, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records from the current host
   
5. Time to schedule the migration (ideally during low-traffic hours)
   

Pro tip: Communicate the migration timeline to your team so they can prepare.

How to Migrate Business Email: Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Choose the Right Hosting Provider

Make sure your new host supports email migration and provides robust features like spam filtering, secure IMAP access, webmail access, and generous storage.

With Gbefunwa, you get reliable business email hosting with active support, DNS management, and seamless integrations with your website.

Step 2: Backup Your Existing Emails

Always back up your email data before making any changes.

• Use your email client (e.g., Outlook, Thunderbird) to export mailboxes
  
• Or use third-party backup tools
  
• You can also request your current provider to supply mailbox exports in .PST or .MBOX format.
  

Step 3: Create Mailboxes on the New Host

Set up each user account on the new hosting platform. Match the email addresses exactly to avoid issues.

For example:

• sales@yourcompany.com
  
• support@yourcompany.com
  
• info@yourcompany.com
  

Gbefunwa’s dashboard makes it easy to create and manage email accounts.

Step 4: Configure DNS Records

Now it’s time to tell the internet where your email should go. You do this by updating DNS records — think of them as instructions that guide where your emails get delivered.

Here’s what you need to do and where to do it:

1. Log in to your domain registrar or DNS provider (e.g., Gbefunwa, GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare — wherever you manage your domain name).
2. Go to the DNS management section. This is usually labeled “DNS Settings,” “DNS Zone File,” or “Advanced DNS.”

Now update or add the following records:

1. MX (Mail Exchange) Records: These tell email services where to deliver incoming emails. Find the existing MX records and delete them. Then, add the MX records provided by Gbefunwa or your new host.
2. SPF (Sender Policy Framework) Record: This helps protect your domain from being used for spam. Look for a TXT record that starts with v=spf1 and update it with the new value from your host. If it doesn’t exist, create a new TXT record.
3. DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): Your new host (like Gbefunwa) will give you a long key. You’ll add this as another TXT record with a specific name (selector). This helps prove your emails haven’t been tampered with.
4. DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance): Create a new TXT record with a name like _dmarc.yourdomain.com and paste the value from your provider. This tells email servers how to handle messages that fail SPF or DKIM checks.

If you don’t know how to edit DNS records or can’t find these settings, Gbefunwa can do this for you; just ask our support team.

Important: DNS updates may take up to 24 hours to fully propagate around the world. This means some emails might still go to the old server during that period.

Step 5: Migrate Existing Emails

Now that new accounts and DNS are in place, you can move existing email data.

Option 1: Use an Email Client (Manual Method)

• Set up both old and new accounts in a mail client (e.g., Thunderbird)
  
• Drag and drop folders from old to new
  

Option 2: Use IMAP Migration Tools

• Use third-party tools like imapsync or paid services
  
• Some hosts (including Gbefunwa) offer automated migration support
  

Step 6: Test Email Delivery

Once the migration is complete:

• Send test emails to and from all accounts
  
• Check for missing folders or data
  
• Monitor spam/junk folders
  

Step 7: Decommission the Old Host

When you’re confident everything has migrated successfully:

• Keep the old host active for a few extra days as a safety net
  
• Then, cancel your old email hosting service
  

Post-Migration Best Practices

• Educate your team: Share new login URLs and credentials
  
• Update mail clients: Reconfigure desktop and mobile clients with new settings
  
• Monitor delivery and bounce logs: Watch for any issues
  
• Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) for extra security
  

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• Not backing up emails before migration
  
• Setting up DNS records incorrectly
  
• Migrating during business hours
  
• Forgetting to test each account
  
• Skipping SPF/DKIM/DMARC setup
  

Avoiding these mistakes will save time, money, and customer frustration.

Why Gbefunwa Is the Right Choice for Your Email Hosting

At Gbefunwa, we understand the email needs of Nigerian businesses, agencies, and developers. Our platform offers:

• Fast, secure email hosting
  
• Simple webmail and IMAP access
  
• Built-in spam protection
  
• Full DNS management
  
• Human support that speaks your language
  

Whether you’re a startup or a growing enterprise, we make email migration easy.

Ready to Move?

Migrating your business email doesn’t have to be scary. With a plan and a reliable host like Gbefunwa, you can migrate business email confidently and without hassle.

Need help with migration? Contact our support team, and we’ll walk you through every step.