A website migration does not always require an email migration. First identify whether mailboxes are hosted on the old web server, on a separate email platform or in another hosting account. Treat website content, incoming mail routing and mailbox contents as separate migration tasks so that a change to one does not unintentionally interrupt another.
Recommended workflow
- Export the current DNS zone and list every mailbox, alias, forwarder and application that sends mail.
- Create required destination mailboxes and verify storage capacity and secure access before transferring messages.
- Run tests before and after the DNS change, then investigate any messages still arriving at the previous provider.
If email stays with the existing provider, preserve its MX and authentication records when changing website A or AAAA records. Also inspect the MX target: a mail hostname that follows the website address may still be affected even though the MX record itself has not changed.
If mailboxes are moving, agree the transfer method and final synchronization window before changing MX records. Retain accessible copies of existing mail and confirm folder counts where practical. Do not remove the old mail service immediately after the switch. Check messages from external senders, outgoing authentication and mailbox access on every essential device before treating the migration as complete.
