You have just registered mybrand.co.uk for your consulting practice and a client asks for a contact address that looks like it belongs to your business, not a generic Gmail or Outlook account. The difference between you@mybrand.co.uk and you@gmail.com is more than just a visual cue - it influences inbox placement, brand trust, and how receivers classify your messages.
What a "professional" email actually gives you
- Domain branding - every recipient sees your own domain, reinforcing credibility every time they read the address.
- Deliverability advantage - mail servers check the domain's authentication records before deciding if a message belongs in the inbox or the spam folder.
- Avoiding the Gmail promotions tab - Gmail treats bulk-sent messages from generic domains as promotional by default. A properly authenticated
@mybrand.co.ukaddress is far less likely to be hidden. - Control over reputation - you own the sending reputation of the domain. Bad actors cannot piggy-back on a free provider's reputation to damage yours.
All of these benefits start the moment you add a mailbox on TrueCore. The platform takes care of the technical pieces that most small businesses never see.
Setting up a business mailbox on TrueCore
The process mirrors the one we described in our post Setting Up Email Hosting on TrueCore. It takes less than five minutes.
- Log in to the customer portal and click the Email tab.
- Enter the mailbox name (the part before
@) and set a strong password. - Click Create. The backend creates the mailbox on the Purelymail backend and updates your DNS zone automatically.
When the mailbox is active, the DNS records your domain needs for mail are generated for you:
- MX record - routes inbound mail to PurelyMail.
- SPF TXT record - tells other servers which sources are allowed to send mail for your domain.
- DKIM TXT record - provides the public key for cryptographic signatures.
You do not need to hand-write these. The exact SPF, MX and DKIM values for your domain (generated via PurelyMail) are shown under the Email tab in your portal — copy them verbatim if you ever need to re-enter them.
Connecting a mail client
TrueCore uses standard IMAP and SMTP endpoints, so any modern client will work.
Incoming (IMAP)
- Server:
imap.purelymail.com - Port:
993 - Security: SSL/TLS
Outgoing (SMTP)
- Server:
mailserver.purelymail.com - Port:
587 - Security: STARTTLS
Use your full email address as the username and the password you set in the portal. The same settings apply to mobile clients, Thunderbird, Apple Mail, Outlook, and the Gmail app when configured as an IMAP account.
SPF, DKIM and DMARC - the authentication trio
Our earlier guide SPF, DKIM, and DMARC Explained covers the theory; here is a quick recap focused on what you need to check after the mailbox is created.
SPF - who may send for you
An SPF record lists the servers allowed to send mail for your domain. Use the exact SPF value shown under the Email tab in your TrueCore portal — it's generated for your domain via PurelyMail, so copy it verbatim rather than typing one from a blog. In general terms, the include clause it contains authorises PurelyMail's sending infrastructure, and a soft-fail qualifier (~all) tells receiving servers to treat any other source with suspicion but not to reject outright.
If you start sending newsletters from a third-party service, you will need to add that service's include statement to the SPF record as well; the Email tab explains where.
DKIM - signing every message
When the mailbox is created, a DKIM key pair is generated for your domain. The private key stays on the mail server; the public key belongs in a DNS TXT record. Use the exact DKIM record shown under the Email tab in your TrueCore portal (generated for your domain via PurelyMail) and copy it verbatim.
Receiving servers verify each message's signature against that public key. A valid DKIM signature proves the message originated from a server that holds your private key.
DMARC - policy and reporting
DMARC sits on top of SPF and DKIM. It tells receivers what to do when either check fails and where to send you reports. TrueCore does not create a DMARC record automatically, but adding one is straightforward.
Start with a monitoring policy:
v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:dmarc@mybrand.co.ukLeave p=none for two weeks while you review the aggregate reports. When you are confident that all legitimate sources pass SPF and DKIM, change the policy to quarantine or reject:
v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; rua=mailto:dmarc@mybrand.co.ukDMARC reports arrive as XML files to the address you specify. They show which IPs attempted to send as your domain and whether authentication succeeded.
Keeping your inbox reputation healthy
- Verify records - use a DNS lookup tool to ensure the MX, SPF and DKIM records are present after mailbox creation.
- Monitor DMARC reports - look for unknown sending IPs; they may indicate spoofing attempts.
- Limit bulk sending - if you need to send large campaigns, use a reputable ESP and add its sending IPs to your SPF record.
- Avoid spam triggers - keep subject lines clear, include an unsubscribe link for newsletters, and never purchase email lists.
By following these steps, your you@mybrand.co.uk address will land in inboxes rather than the promotions tab, and you will retain full control over the domain's sending reputation.
Ready to give your brand a proper email address?
TrueCore's email hosting starts at £10 per month with daily backups and SSL-encrypted connections. The trial costs £1 for 14 days, giving you time to test deliverability before committing. Set up your first mailbox today and experience the difference a domain-based address makes for a UK business.