1. What should someone consider when choosing an email hosting provider?

  2. It's probably going to be a  central part of infrastructure, so keep that in mind. You'll use it for a long time.

  3. Features you need. Maybe you need to share your calendar, for example.

  4. Interoperability and vendor lock-in. You can move on if you want to.

  5. What are the benefits of self-hosting over using a service like Gmail?

  6. One word: Control. You maintain control over your solution.

  7. If you self-host, you have more control over the product.

  8. As a hosting provider, what are some of the pitfalls of hosting email?

  9. Reputation management. Other services that receive email have to fight a lot of spam.

  10. Track the reputation of domains and IP addresses.

  11. Properly configure domains for MX records.

  12. Are there any common ways email hosting is misconfigured?

  13. Set up SPF, DKIM, DMARK.

    • SPF makes sure email is coming from a verifies recipient (DNS).
    • DKIM: Domain Keys Identified Mail. Essentially a signature (Mail Server).
    • DMARK: Ties SPF and DKIM together by publishing policy and protocol. (DNS Record).
  14. What features in Plesk help with email hosting?
    • SPF, DMARK, DKIM are built-in.
    • Other UIs for important measures like rate and message size limits.
    • Email Security extension with anti-spam.

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