Setting Up A Home Office Domain

Setting up a domain for your home office is a straightforward process. It involves registering your company's domain name with a service like Microsoft 365, allowing you to create login identities that use your company domain name, such as [email protected]. This helps establish a personalised brand for your organisation and is essential if you plan to synchronise your local Active Directory and migrate email. You can also set up a custom email domain with Outlook.com, but this requires purchasing a domain from GoDaddy. Additionally, you may need to configure DNS records for various services like Microsoft Teams, Skype for Business, and email.

Connect your domain to Office 365

To connect your domain to Office 365, you must first verify your domain name. This involves adding a TXT record to your domain name's DNS records. This can be done via your domain name provider's control panel.

Once the TXT record is added, you can verify your DNS records. Then, sign in to your Office 365 Control Panel and select the Office 365 Admin Center from the left menu. From here, you can choose to set up your domain.

On the Connect your domain page, select "I'll manage my own DNS records". If you don't have a website or other DNS records that you want to keep, you can choose "Set up my online services for me" instead.

On the Choose your online services page, select the checkboxes for the online services you want to activate, such as 'Exchange', 'Skype for Business', and 'Mobile Device Management for Office 365'.

Next, you will be directed to the Add DNS Records page, where you can see your DNS hosting provider and all the DNS records you need to update. Follow the step-by-step instructions to update your records.

After updating all the necessary DNS records, return to the Office 365 Admin Center and choose "Verify". If all your records are entered correctly, you will reach the end of the setup wizard, and your domain will be connected to Office 365.

Get a personalised email address

Setting up a personalised email address for your home office is a great way to establish a professional image and market your brand. Here are some detailed steps to help you get started:

Choose a Suitable Email Host

First, select a platform that will host your custom email domain. Some popular options include Google Workspace, IONOS, Bluehost, and Zoho Mail. These platforms offer various features such as productivity suites, security enhancements, and free email hosting. Consider your specific needs and budget when making your choice.

Finalise Your Email Format

Next, decide on a consistent email format for your organisation. This could be [email protected], [email protected], or other variations. Ensure your format is scalable, aligns with your brand image, and is easy to remember. Avoid lengthy or complex email addresses that may be prone to misspellings.

Set Up Your Custom Email Address

Now, it's time to set up your custom email address on your chosen platform. Here's a general outline of the process:

• Sign up for an account with your chosen email host.
• Verify your domain to prove that you own it.
• Follow the platform's instructions to set up your email. This may involve inputting your email address, creating accounts for your team, and updating your email records with the host's servers.
• Save your progress.

Create an Email Signature (Optional)

To further enhance your brand's credibility, consider creating a professional email signature. You can use an email signature generator to input your name, email address, contact information, and social media links. This will automatically generate a signature that you can add to your email platform.

Tips for Using Your Custom Email Address

• Create email aliases or shared inboxes for departmental or role-based inquiries. This helps protect your team's individual accounts from spam and phishing attempts.
• Use unique addresses for specific marketing campaigns to effectively track their performance.
• Obtain a custom domain name for cold email campaigns to keep your primary email address off spam lists.
• Create a dedicated email address for subscriptions and sign-ups to keep your main inbox clutter-free.

Verify you own the domain

Verifying that you own your domain is a crucial step in setting up a domain for your home office. This process ensures that no one else can use your domain to sign up for domain-verified services, such as Google Workspace or Cloud Identity, or Microsoft 365. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to verify domain ownership:

Step 1: Obtain a Verification Code

Sign in to your domain registrar, which is typically the company where you purchased your domain or the company that hosts your website. Once you're signed in, open the setup tool provided by the service you're trying to verify your domain for, such as Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. Copy the verification code provided by the setup tool.

Step 2: Add the Verification Code to Your DNS Records

DNS (Domain Name System) records are publicly viewable and tell computers how to find your website and deliver email messages to your domain. You'll need to add the verification code to your domain's DNS records to prove you own the domain.

Sign in to your domain registrar and navigate to the section where you can manage your DNS records. This section may be labelled as "DNS Settings," "DNS Management," or "Name Server Management."

Create a new TXT record by locating the "Name," "Host," or "Alias" field. Enter "@" in this field, unless it causes an error, in which case you should leave it blank.

Paste the verification code you copied into the field labelled "Value," "Answer," "Destination," or "Server." You may also need to specify a TTL (Time to Live) value, such as one hour, or you can leave the default value.

Step 3: Tell the Service to Verify Your Code

Return to the setup tool and scroll to the bottom of the page where you copied the verification code. Click the button to verify your domain, such as "Verify My Domain" or "Protect Domain."

Some domain registrars may require additional time to publish your verification code. If the setup tool cannot find your new TXT record, wait for at least an hour before trying again.

Troubleshooting and Additional Tips:

• If you encounter issues with your DNS settings, contact your domain registrar for assistance. They are experts in managing domains and can provide guidance.
• If you're using Microsoft 365, you'll first need to add a TXT record for verification and then add the MX records to route email.
• Keep your domain registration active with your domain registrar. If it becomes inactive, you may lose ownership of your domain name, and your personalised email addresses may no longer work.

Set up DNS records

Setting up DNS records is a crucial step in ensuring your domain's email address functions correctly. Here is a detailed guide on how to set up DNS records for your home office domain:

Understanding the Different Types of DNS Records:

• A Records (Address Records): These are essential for pointing to a specific IP address. Your short domain name, NS, and FTP should have A-records, and subdomains may also have them.
• CNAME Records (Canonical Name Records): CNAMEs include subdomains and aliases, pointing to a domain name or a file within a domain. They should point to an A-record and are useful for creating aliases for "www" and subdomains.
• MX Records (Mail Exchange Records): MX records point to the name of an email server and hold a priority number. They are necessary for controlling mail delivery for a domain or subdomain.
• TXT Records: These store information and are used for SPF and DKIM.

Accessing Your DNS Host:

Log in to the control panel for your domain DNS host. If you use a service like Rackspace Cloud Office, refer to their specific instructions for editing DNS settings.

Setting Up DNS Records for Email:

If you're using Gmail or Microsoft 365 for your domain's email, you'll need to add specific DNS records to validate your email address with the respective service.

For Gmail:

• Access your Dyn Standard DNS account.
• Go to 'My Zones/Domains'.
• Click on 'Dyn Standard DNS Service' next to the domain you want to manage.
• In the 'Add DNS Record' section, add the following records: 1 ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM, 5 ALT1.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM, 5 ALT2.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM, 10 ALT3.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM, and 10 ALT4.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM.
• Test your email by sending a message to and from the new address.

For Microsoft 365:

• Sign in to your Microsoft 365 account.
• Go to 'Apps' and choose 'Admin'.
• In the admin center, select 'Go to setup'.
• On the 'Connect your domain' page, choose 'I'll manage my own DNS records'.
• On the 'Choose your online services' page, select the services you want to set up and proceed.
• On the 'Add DNS Records' page, follow the step-by-step instructions to update your DNS records.
• Click 'Add an MX record' to route emails.
• Once all DNS records are added, return to Microsoft 365 and choose 'Verify'.
• Additional DNS Record Configurations:

Depending on your specific needs, you may also want to set up an A Record for your server or a CNAME Record if you're using hosting providers like Squarespace or GoDaddy. These steps can be found in the sources provided.

Remember that DNS record changes can take up to 24-48 hours to propagate, so be patient and test your configurations thoroughly.

Add DNS records

To add DNS records, you must first prove that you own the domain you want to add to Microsoft 365. Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin centre and select Show all > Settings > Domains. Then, in a new browser tab or window, sign in to your DNS hosting provider and find where you manage your DNS settings.

Next, add a TXT or MX record to your domain to verify that it belongs to you. For a TXT record, the TXT Value and TTL should be set to the following values:

• TXT Value: MS=ms######## (unique ID from the admin centre)
• TTL: 3600 (or your provider default)

For an MX record, the Priority, Points to address, and TTL should be set to the following values:

• Priority: Set to any large value not used already
• Points to address: Copy the value from the admin centre and paste it here
• TTL: 3600 (or your provider default)

After adding the TXT or MX record, return to the admin centre and select Verify.

Once your domain has been verified, you can start adding DNS records to connect Microsoft services. Sign in to your DNS hosting provider and find where you manage your DNS settings. You will be adding several different types of DNS records depending on the services you want to enable.

To add an MX record for email (Outlook, Exchange Online), the Priority, Points to address, and TTL should be set to the following values:

• Priority: Set to the highest value available, typically 0
• Points to address: Copy the value from the admin centre and paste it here
• TTL: Exchange Online only supports TTL values less than 6 hours (21,600 seconds)

After adding the record, remove any other MX records.

To add CNAME records to connect other services (Teams, Exchange Online, MDM), the Record Type, Host, Points to address, and TTL should be set to the following values:

• Record Type: CNAME (Alias)
• Host: Paste the values you copy from the admin centre here
• Points to address: Copy the value from the admin centre and paste it here
• TTL: 3600 (or your provider default)

To add or edit an SPF TXT record to help prevent email spam (Outlook, Exchange Online), the Record Type, TXT Value, and TTL should be set to the following values:

• Record Type: TXT (Text)
• TXT Value: v=spf1 include:spf.protection.outlook.com -all
• TTL: 3600 (or your provider default)

To add SRV records for communications services (Teams, Skype for Business), the Record Type, Target, Protocol, Service, Port, and TTL should be set to the following values:

• Record Type: SRV (Service)
• Target: Copy the value from the admin centre and paste it here
• Protocol: Copy the value from the admin centre and paste it here
• Service: Copy the value from the admin centre and paste it here
• Port: Copy the value from the admin centre and paste it here
• TTL: 3600 (or your provider default)

Frequently asked questions