How to Create a Website Email for Free with Hosting.com / A2 Hosting (WordPress Beginner Tutorial)

Since I launched my own website, I’ve been thinking about future collaborations or freelance work.
In those situations, having a professional email address is important.
That’s when you need to create an email like: [email protected].
Even though I don’t need it right now, I decided to set it up in advance so it’s ready to use whenever I need it.

In this post, I’ll show you how to set up a professional email address for your website, one that can both send and receive emails. I’ll walk through the steps using my own website as an example.
My hosting provider is Hosting.com (A2 Hosting), and my domain settings are managed through Cloudflare.
Just follow along, and you’ll have everything set up in no time.

Step 1: Check if your hosting includes free email service

Before setting up your email, you need to check if your hosting plan includes free email services.

Here’s my setup:

Hosting: Hosting.com (A2 Hosting), Ignite Plan 
Backend: cPanel
DNS: Cloudflare 

Many WordPress hosting providers offer free email services.
If you're not using Hosting.com, check your hosting plan to see if free email is included.

Step 2: Create your first email account

1. Log in to your Hosting.com account and go to the cPanel dashboard.
   Home > Products & Services > Hosting & Servers > Login to Control Panel
2. Navigate to: Tools > Email > Email Accounts
3. Click the Create button.
4. Enter your new email address and set a password. 
5. Then click Create again. 

That’s it. You’ve created your first custom email for your domain.

Step 3: Add DNS records

Even though your email account is created, you still need to add DNS records. Without this step, you won’t be able to send or receive emails properly.

Log in to Cloudflare

Since I use Cloudflare for DNS, I’ll update the records there.

1. Open https://dash.cloudflare.com
2. Select your domain
3. Go to the DNS tab
4. Add the following DNS records:

• A Record (connects your mail subdomain to your server)

Type: A
Name: mail
Value: 123.123.123.123 (replace with your hosting IP)
TTL: Auto
Proxy: DNS Only (gray cloud)

replace 123.123.123.123 with your hosting IP

This connects mail.yourdomain.com to your hosting server.
It must be set to DNS Only. If proxy is on, email might not work correctly.

• MX Record (tells where emails should be delivered)

Type:  MX
Name:  @
Mail Server: mail.yourdomain.com
Priority: 10
TTL: Auto

This tells other servers to deliver mail to mail.yourdomain.com..yourdomain.com。
Replace yourdomain.com with your actual domain.

• SPF Record (verifies who can send emails from your domain)

Type:  TXT
Name:  @
Value: v=spf1 ip4:123.123.123.123 include:spf.a2hosting.com ~all
TTL: Auto

This tells other servers which IP addresses are allowed to send emails for your domain.

If you’re using A2 Hosting on a shared server, just change the IP to your own. Otherwise, update the IP and the include part based on your hosting provider.

• DKIM Record (adds a digital signature to your emails)

DKIM verifies that your emails really come from your domain and haven’t been altered.

To find your DKIM settings: 1. Go back to cPanel
2. Search for Email Deliverability
3. Copy the DKIM record shown there

Then in Cloudflare, add:

Type: TXT
Name: default._domainkey
Value: (paste the value from cPanel)
TTL: Auto

• DMARC Record (optional email policy and reporting)

DMARC helps control what happens if SPF or DKIM checks fail. It also sends you reports about email activity.

Type:  TXT
Name:  _dmarc
Value: v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:[email protected]
TTL: Auto

Step 4: Send and receive email using webmail or 3rd party email app

Use Webmail

You can log in directly in your browser using your Webmail link. Just enter your email address and password.

Set up with an email app (like Outlook)

Step 5: Test your email setup

1. Go to:https://www.mail-tester.com
2. Send an email to the address they give you. 
3. Then go back to the site and check your score.

It will show whether SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are working properly.

Want to know more about SPF, DKIM, and DMARC?

SPF / DKIM / DMARC 

• What is SPF ?

SPF (Sender Policy Framework)

• Lists which IPs or servers are allowed to send mail for your domain
• You add a TXT record to authorize valid senders
• Helps prevent others from faking your email address

If someone tries to send email from an unauthorized server pretending to be you, SPF helps the receiving server detect and block it

•  What is DKIM ?

DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail)

• Adds a digital signature to your emails
• Uses a public key in DNS to check the signature
• Confirms the message is real and unchanged

When you send an email, the system adds the signature automatically. The receiving server checks the signature using the public key in your DNS to make sure it really came from your domain.

• What is DMARC ?

DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance)

• Optional
• Combines SPF and DKIM results
• Lets you decide what to do if an email fails authentication
• Sends reports to help you track what’s happening

Example:

v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:[email protected]

It’s best to start with “p=none” so you can collect reports. Later, you can change it to “quarantine” or “reject” if needed.

Summary

That’s how I set up a custom domain email using Hosting.com (A2 Hosting).
There’s not much work on the hosting side. The more detailed part is adding the DNS records. But your hosting provider will usually give you all the info you need. Just follow the steps, copy and paste the values, and you should be good to go.
If you're also planning to set up a custom email for your website, I hope this guide helps you.