Keep Your Email Working When Your Website Is on Netlify or Vercel

Your website and your email use different DNS records. When you point the website elsewhere, change only the A and CNAME records and leave the MX and TXT records alone.

Overview

MX records tell the world where to deliver your email. A and CNAME records tell browsers where your website is. They are independent, so you can host the site on one service and the email on another.

Why it happens

• Changing nameservers without copying the MX records sends email to a place that does not know your mailbox.
• An extra MX record that points to the website's own address (which is not a mail server) can make some email fail.

What it means

If you keep the right MX records and remove any that point to your website host, email keeps working while the site is elsewhere.

How to fix it

1. Open DNS Records and find your MX records. They should point to your email provider.
2. Do not delete MX or TXT (SPF, DKIM, verification) records when you edit website records.
3. Remove MX entries that point to your website address, because a website host cannot receive mail.
4. If you changed nameservers, add the same MX and TXT records at the new provider.
5. Send a test email to and from your address to confirm. If it fails, see bounce messages explained.

Related articles

• Business Email Help: Start Here (info@yourdomain, Setup, Problems)
• Connect a SakuraHost Domain to Netlify (A and CNAME Records)
• Emails Going to Spam or Not Reaching Gmail: How to Fix It
• Setting Up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC Records for Email Authentication

Frequently asked questions

Can I have email on SakuraHost and the website on Netlify?

Yes. Point the website with A and CNAME records and keep the MX records for your SakuraHost mailboxes.

What is a TXT record for?

TXT records hold SPF, DKIM and domain verification. Deleting them can cause email to go to spam.

Written by Jumbe Nylon, Founder & CTO, SakuraHost. Updated October 2026.