How to Change MX Records for Your WordPress Site (Step by Step)

November 25, 2020 In Wordpress Addons & Tutorials By Web Admin in Marbella

Recently, a reader asked how they could change the MX records for their site?

MX records (Mail Exchange records) are necessary for delivering emails to your business email address. You’ll need to change them if you want to use G Suite or other email services with your own domain name.

In this article, we’ll show how to easily change MX records for your WordPress domain name.

What Are MX Records and Why Change Them?

MX records (Mail Exchange records) are a special type of DNS record. It tells the internet servers where to send emails coming to and from your website domain name.

For instance, if you want to use Google Workspace to create a professional email address with your domain name (such as name@yoursite.com), then you need to route all your emails through Gmail’s servers.

Similarly, if you wanted to use an SMTP service provider to send WordPress emails, then you’ll need to add MX records to send your emails using SMTP.

Important: Before you begin, you need the details for your new MX records. Your business email provider should be able to supply these. For instance, these are Google’s MX records for our domain.

That being said, let’s take a look at how to easily change MX records for your WordPress website.

Since this is a comprehensive tutorial, we have added quick links, so you can to jump straight to the section you need.

Changing MX Records Using Domain.com

Domain.com is the best domain name registrar on the market.

If your domain name is registered with Domain.com, then you can follow the instructions below.

Tip: Want to register a new domain for sending emails? Make sure you use our Domain.com coupon code to get a 25% discount.

First, you need to sign in to your Domain.com account and click the DNS & Nameservers link on the left hand side.

If you have multiple domains, then make sure the right one is selected in the breadcrumb navigation at the top of the screen.

Next, scroll down the list of DNS records to find the MX entries for your domain. You need to click the 3 vertical dots next to the first MX record and then click the Edit link.

You will now see a popup where you are able to edit your MX record. Simply enter the new MX record in the Content box. We are using the G Suite MX record here.

You can leave the Name and Type set to their defaults. After that you need to enter the Content, TTL (Time To Live), and Priority as specified by Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) or your email host. Then, click the Update DNS button.

Repeat the process for the other MX entry, using the same MX record. That’s ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM in our case.

You should see your changed MX records in the list.

Congrats, you have successfully updated MX records for your domain name on Domain.com.

Changing MX Records Using Bluehost

Bluehost is the best WordPress hosting company on the market. They offer free domain name registration with every website.

If you registered your domain name with Bluehost, then you can follow these instructions to add MX records to your domain name.

First, you need to log in to your Bluehost account and switch to the Domains tab in the left sidebar. After that, click on the Manage dropdown menu next to your domain name and select DNS option.

You will then see the DNS details page for your domain.

Now, scroll down to the ‘MX (Mail Exchanger)’ section. Go ahead and click the 3 vertical dots next to the top MX record then select Edit.

You will now be able to edit the MX record. Simply change the priority, ‘Points To’ and TTL as specified by G Suite or your email service provider.

Don’t forget to click on the ‘Update DNS’ button to store your settings.

Go ahead and repeat the editing process for the other MX record. For this one, you need to use the details for the second MX record specified by G Suite or your email host.

You should then see your 2 MX records listed.

Tip: Go ahead and use the Add Record button to create further MX records, if your email host provides them.

Changing MX Records Using SiteGround

SiteGround is a popular premium WordPress hosting company that we use for WPBeginner’s website hosting. You can get up to 63% off their hosting using our SiteGround coupon.

If your domain is registered with SiteGround, then you can follow the instructions below to update your MX records.

First, you need to log in to your SiteGround account and go to the Websites tab. Then, click the cPanel button next to your domain.

Next, scroll down to the Mail section of your cPanel and click the ‘Advanced MX Editor’ button.

Now, you need to select your chosen domain from the dropdown list.

After that, you need to select the Remote Mail Exchanger option. Then, you can enter the Priority and Destination as specified by G Suite or your email service provider.

Simply click the Add New Record button and your MX record will be added.

Changing MX Records Using HostGator

HostGator is a large hosting company that many WordPress sites use. If you want to set up a HostGator account, make sure you check out our HostGator coupon to get 62% off, plus a free domain and SSL certificate.

Note: You’ll need a hosting account with HostGator in order to update your MX records. You can’t change your MX records if you just have a domain registered there.

If you registered your domain and have a hosting account with HostGator, then you can follow the instructions below to update your MX records.

First, you need to log in to your HostGator account. Then, click the Hosting tab in your sidebar.

Below your domain’s name, click on the cPanel link.

Now, cPanel will load in a new tab. First, click on the Email link on the left hand side. This will jump you down to the Email section of the page, where you need to click on the ‘MX Entry’ button.

Next, scroll down the MX Records page to the MX Records section. Simply click Edit next to the existing record.

Now, you can change the priority to 1 and the destination to ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM in the boxes that appear below the original record. Click the Edit button to save those changes.

You will then see the new record listed. You can also add new MX records using the Add New Record button above this.

Changing MX Records Using GoDaddy

GoDaddy is a popular web hosting and domain name company. They’re offering WPBeginner readers hosting for just $1.00/month plus a free domain. You can find out more details when you use our GoDaddy coupon.

If you registered your domain with GoDaddy, you can follow the instructions below to update your MX records.

First, log in to your GoDaddy account. Next, click the DNS dropdown in the navigation menu and select Manage Zones.

Next, you need to search for the domain that you want to use. This domain needs to be one you’ve already registered with GoDaddy.

Once you’ve selected your domain, scroll down the page and you will see a list of records. Here, you need to find and edit your MX records. If you don’t have any MX records, then simply click the Add button below the list.

Next, select MX from the Type dropdown list. You should then enter the details of your first MX record. For G Suite, those details are:

Host: @
Points to: ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM
Priority: 1

Go ahead and click the Save button to save your MX record.

You will then see your record in the list. To add another MX record, simply click the Add button again.

Changing MX Records Using Namecheap

Namecheap is another popular domain name registration company, offering great value domains.

If you registered your domain with Namecheap, just follow the instructions below to update your MX records.

First, go ahead and log in to your Namecheap account. After that, you need to go to Domain List » Advanced DNS.

Next, scroll down the page to the Mail Settings section. Here, you need to click the dropdown link and select Custom MX.

Now, you can enter the details for your MX record. For G Suite, those are:

Host: @
Mail Server: ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM
Priority: 1
TTL: 60

Then, simply click the Save All Changes button to save your new MX record.

You can go ahead and add more records too, using the Add New Record button.

Final Steps After Setting Up Your MX Records

After setting your MX records, make sure you follow any other steps for setting up your email or SMTP account correctly. For help with Google Workspace (formerly G Suite), check out our step by step instructions on setting up a professional email address with Gmail and G Suite.

Next, you may need to set up your WordPress site to send email using your email / SMTP service provider.

To do that, you’ll need WP Mail SMTP plugin. It allows you to easily route all your WordPRess emails using SMTP without any complicated set up.

For detailed instructions, take a look at our ultimate guide on setting up WP Mail SMTP with any host.

We hope this article helped you learn how to change MX records for your WordPress site. You might also like our article on how to create an email newsletter, and how to add website push notifications in WordPress to communicate with your customers.

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How to Change MX Records for Your WordPress Site (Step by Step)