06Web hosting & WordPress
Set up email mailboxes and forwarding
Create email mailboxes and forwarding with your own domain at Nexthosting, use webmail, set up Outlook or your phone and keep mail out of the spam folder.
In short
You create mailboxes with your domain (e.g. info@meinverein.de) in the web panel on the left under Email → Add account. You choose between a mailbox that stores emails and a pure forwarder. You can read mail via webmail in the browser or in any email program. For mail to arrive and not land in spam, your domain needs the right DNS records.
How many mailboxes do I have?
Section titled “How many mailboxes do I have?”| Plan | Webspace | WordPress hosting |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | 10 × 2 GB | 10 × 2 GB |
| Basic | 25 × 5 GB | 25 × 5 GB |
| Pro | 100 × 10 GB | 50 × 10 GB |
| Business | 250 × 20 GB | 100 × 20 GB |
In addition there are forwarders (with Webspace 25 in Starter up to 500 in Business). As of October 2026; current details on the shop pages Webspace and WordPress hosting.
Mailbox or forwarder?
Section titled “Mailbox or forwarder?”| Mailbox | Forwarder | |
|---|---|---|
| Stores emails | yes | no |
| Send using this address | yes | no |
| Webmail and email program | yes | no |
| Good for | personal addresses, info@, invoices@ |
board@ to several people, old addresses |
Creating a mailbox
Section titled “Creating a mailbox”- Log in to the web panel and open Email on the left.
- Click Add account.
- Enter the address you want, for example
info, and choose the domain. - Choose the type: Mailbox or Forwarder-only.
- For a mailbox: set a strong password. For a forwarder: enter the target address(es).
- Confirm with Add.
Webmail in the browser
Section titled “Webmail in the browser”Every mailbox has webmail (Roundcube). With it you read and write emails in the browser without installing anything. You reach it at webmail.nexthosting.net. You log in with the full email address and the mailbox password. In webmail you can also change your mailbox password yourself.
Setting up an email program and your phone
Section titled “Setting up an email program and your phone”Most programs (Thunderbird, Outlook, Apple Mail, the Gmail app, iOS, Android) detect the settings when you enter the email address and password. If that does not work, choose manual setup with these values:
| Incoming (IMAP) | Incoming (POP3) | Outgoing (SMTP) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Server | mail.your-domain.com |
mail.your-domain.com |
mail.your-domain.com |
| Port and encryption | 993 (SSL/TLS) or 143 (STARTTLS) | 995 (SSL/TLS) | 465 (SSL/TLS) or 587 (STARTTLS) |
| Username | full email address | full email address | full email address |
| Password | mailbox password | mailbox password | mailbox password |
| Login for outgoing | – | – | yes, required (same details as incoming) |
Replace your-domain.com with your own domain, for example mail.meinverein.de.
If the web panel shows different connection details for the mailbox, those apply.
The emails stay on the server. Phone, laptop and webmail show the same thing, and read mail and folders are the same everywhere. Keep an eye on your mailbox storage (2 to 20 GB depending on the plan) and delete or archive old mail.
The program downloads the emails and usually deletes them on the server. Only makes sense if you read on a single device only. Port: 995 with SSL/TLS.
So that emails arrive: SPF, DKIM, DMARC
Section titled “So that emails arrive: SPF, DKIM, DMARC”Large providers such as Gmail, GMX or Outlook check whether a server is allowed to send mail for your domain. If the records are missing, your mail lands in spam or is rejected.
| Record | Used for | In the web panel |
|---|---|---|
| MX | Where emails for your domain are delivered | automatic for domains in the web panel’s DNS editor |
| SPF | Which servers may send for your domain | created automatically for new DNS zones (v=spf1 include:_spf.nexthosting.net ~all) |
| DKIM | Digital signature of every mail | turn on per domain (see below) |
| DMARC | What happens to mail that fails SPF/DKIM | created with the rule p=none (observe only) |
Turning on DKIM:
- In the web panel, open Websites → your website → Domains and click the domain.
- Scroll to Email authentication and turn on DKIM.
- If your DNS is at Nexthosting, the record is set automatically. If it is at another provider, the web panel shows you the record you have to create there.
If your DNS is at another provider, you have to set MX, SPF and DMARC there yourself. For mailboxes at Nexthosting the SPF record (TXT on the domain itself) is:
v=spf1 include:_spf.nexthosting.net ~allA domain may only have one SPF record. If another service also sends mail with your domain (e.g. a newsletter service), add it to the same record, for example v=spf1 include:_spf.nexthosting.net include:_spf.other-service.com ~all (the other service tells you the exact value). Everything else is explained in Email DNS: SPF, DKIM and DMARC.
Email from WordPress and contact forms
Section titled “Email from WordPress and contact forms”By default, WordPress sends mail (contact form, password links, shop orders) through the PHP function mail() with a sender such as wordpress@your-domain.com. That is prone to ending up in spam. More reliable:
- Create a mailbox, for example
website@your-domain.com. - Install an SMTP plugin (e.g. “WP Mail SMTP” or “FluentSMTP”).
- Enter this mailbox’s SMTP details there (server, port 465 or 587, user, password).
- Send a test email to a Gmail or GMX address and check that it arrives in the inbox.
The sender address in contact forms should always be an address of your domain. The visitor’s address belongs in “Reply-To”.
Frequently asked questions
Section titled “Frequently asked questions”I am not receiving any emails.
Section titled “I am not receiving any emails.”Check whether your domain’s MX record points to Nexthosting (nslookup -type=MX your-domain.com), whether the mailbox is full and whether the mail is in the spam folder. After a DNS switch, emails may still arrive at the old provider for a few hours. More in Solving DNS problems.
My emails land in the recipient’s spam folder.
Section titled “My emails land in the recipient’s spam folder.”Check SPF, DKIM and DMARC (see above) and do not send mail with other people’s sender addresses. Contact forms should send via SMTP through a mailbox of your own.
Can I take over my old emails from another provider?
Section titled “Can I take over my old emails from another provider?”Yes. Set up the old and the new mailbox as IMAP accounts in the same program (e.g. Thunderbird) and drag the folders across. Details for moving: Moving a website.
Are emails backed up?
Section titled “Are emails backed up?”Do not rely on emails being part of the backups: Nexthosting does not promise that. Archive important mail locally as well, for example via IMAP in an email program. See Backups and restoring.