Use Hostbrid email without transferring your domain or moving your website

Yes, you can use Hostbrid email without transferring your domain or moving your website. However, Hostbrid’s current self-service setup requires the domain to use Hostbrid DNS; it does not yet support keeping Cloudflare as the authoritative DNS provider. Your website can remain with its current host if you copy its DNS records before changing name servers. If you must keep Cloudflare authoritative, do not change anything yet; contact Hostbrid because that flow is not available in the panel today.

For example, if your domain is registered with DonDominio, its DNS zone is on Cloudflare, and you want addresses such as andrea@example.com or booking@example.com at Hostbrid, keep that setup. Domain registration and renewal are separate: an email account does not include the domain name.

What changes, and what stays put

DNS records tell the internet where each part of a domain belongs. MX records route incoming email; authentication records help receiving providers verify that messages sent from your domain are legitimate. Website records such as A, AAAA, and CNAME for @ and www can keep pointing to your current web host.

For email through the Hostbrid panel:

• The domain remains registered to you at DonDominio or your chosen registrar.
• You need to change the name servers from Cloudflare to Hostbrid; the domain remains registered to you.
• Your website does not move. Before the change, copy its A, AAAA, and CNAME records to Hostbrid, along with verification and third-party records.
• The zone must contain the mail records Hostbrid specifies. Check that they are published before sending mail.

Setup steps

1. Export your current DNS zone. Save every Cloudflare record, not just website records: include MX, TXT, SRV, verification, and third-party services.
2. Add your domain in my.hostbrid.com and review the zone Hostbrid prepares. The domain stays yours; do not start a transfer.
3. Copy the records needed by your website and services into Hostbrid. Check A, AAAA, and CNAME for @ and www before continuing.
4. Change the name servers at your registrar. Do this only after reviewing the full zone. Your website stays at its current host while Hostbrid manages DNS.
5. Check the mail records shown in the panel. Do not publish two SPF records for the same name; merge the new authorization into the existing one if needed. If migrating mailboxes, prepare the IMAP copy before changing MX.
6. Verify DNS and test the complete mail flow. Check MX and TXT records through a public resolver, send and receive messages, and inspect SPF, DKIM, and DMARC in the received headers.

If Cloudflare remains authoritative, Hostbrid’s self-service email setup cannot currently be completed from the panel. If Hostbrid confirms an assisted setup for your domain, mail hostnames must resolve directly to the provider and be DNS only, without Cloudflare’s orange-cloud HTTP proxy. See Cloudflare’s email troubleshooting guide.

When would you change name servers?

Changing DNS is currently required for self-service email. You do not have to transfer the domain or move your website. Before changing name servers, copy and verify the website, mail, verification, and third-party records; changing name servers without copying them can take services offline.

If you need to keep Cloudflare authoritative, contact us before changing the zone. We will confirm whether an assisted option is available for your domain. See Hostbrid email as well.