Leaving a Hotmail address for e-mail on your own domain: contacts, old mail and telling people

E-mail·· 15 views· 4 min read

The short answer: moving from a Hotmail or Outlook.com address to e-mail on your own domain comes in four parts: create the new mailbox, bring the contacts, decide what to do with the old mail and tell people for a while. The Hotmail account does not need to be closed, and often should not be: it is usually also your Microsoft account, the one that signs in to Windows, OneDrive and other services.

What you bring, and how

What How it comes across
Contacts Export a file from the contacts page in Outlook.com and import it into the webmail address book, your phone or your mail program.
Old mail Either it stays in Hotmail and you look it up when needed, or you copy it to the new mailbox with a mail program that has both accounts.
Mail still arriving at Hotmail Forward it to the new address, if your account offers that option, or check it now and then.
Calendar Export it from Outlook.com and import it into your domain calendar: calendars and contacts on your own domain.
Places you are signed up Bank, shops, social networks, suppliers: change the e-mail in each, by hand. No tool does this for you.

The move, step by step

1 Create the new mailbox in cPanel and check it sends and receives in webmail: creating an e-mail account.
2 Export your Outlook.com contacts: on the contacts page (People), look for the manage option and Export contacts. Save the file and import it into webmail under Contacts > Import, or into your phone. Microsoft changes menu names with updates and with the language: if the exact path is not there, use the search box in Settings.
3 Copy the old mail you want to keep: add both accounts to the same mail program (Thunderbird or Outlook, for example), the new one over IMAP with our settings. The program handles signing in to the Microsoft account the way Microsoft requires. Then drag the folders across, a few at a time, from the Hotmail account to the new one.
4 Forward what still arrives: in the Outlook.com settings look for Forwarding and enter the new address. If you would rather not forward, leave an automatic reply saying what the new address is.
5 Tell people: send a short message to your frequent contacts from the new address, put the new address in your signature and change it on cards, the website and social networks.
6 Change the e-mail on the services you use, starting with the important ones (bank, tax office, suppliers). Keep Hotmail open until nothing that matters arrives there any more.
Do not delete the Hotmail account in a hurry. If it is also your Microsoft account, you lose access to whatever is tied to it. And old services may still send recovery codes there. Microsoft has its own rules for unused accounts: check them on its official page and sign in now and then.
For a business, create role addresses too (general, invoices, support), so nobody has to change address again when people change: which addresses to create.

Want help with the new mailbox or your program’s settings? Tell us your domain address.

Open a support ticket

SEE ALSO

Free e-mail address or e-mail on your own domain: what changes for a business

How to create an e-mail account in cPanel?

Calendars and contacts on your own domain

Adding a signature to your e-mails: webmail, computer and phone

Which e-mail addresses a business should create: role addresses and personal ones

Your domain mailbox in Outlook.com or Outlook on the web: what works and where the limits are

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