New to Microsoft 365? This is the order to do things in, from your first sign-in to sending email from your own address in Outlook. Each step links to a detailed guide, and if you'd rather not do it yourself, we'll set it up with you at no extra cost.
Where do I create my email account?Microsoft 365 email addresses are created inside Microsoft 365 itself, in the Microsoft 365 admin centre at admin.microsoft.com. You won't find an email option in the Host Dada Client Area or Control Panel for Microsoft 365. Follow the steps below.
Before you start
- Find your Microsoft 365 welcome email from Host Dada (subject: "Your Microsoft 365 … account is ready: how to log in"). It contains your admin username, which ends in
.onmicrosoft.com, and a temporary password. You can also see the username in the Client Area under Services → your Microsoft 365 service. - Decide which email addresses you want, for example
you@yourbusiness.co.uk,info@orsales@. - Know who manages your domain's DNS (the settings that tell the internet where your email goes). If your domain uses Host Dada nameservers (
ns1.kandekore.nettons4.kandekore.net), that's us, and we can add the records for you.
Microsoft 365 Apps for business has no emailThat plan includes the Office apps (Word, Excel, Outlook) but no mailbox. If you need email at your own domain, you need Business Basic, Standard or Premium. Contact us to switch.
Step-by-step
- Sign in for the first time. Go to admin.microsoft.com and sign in with the username and temporary password from your welcome email. Microsoft asks you to choose a new password and set up the Microsoft Authenticator app. See First sign-in to Microsoft 365 and the admin centre and Set up multi-factor authentication.
- Connect your domain. In the admin centre go to Settings → Domains → Add domain and prove you own it by adding the
MS=ms…TXT record Microsoft gives you to your domain's DNS. Until you do this you can only use theonmicrosoft.comaddress. See Connect your domain to Microsoft 365. - Create your mailboxes. Each person who needs their own inbox is a user with a licence: go to Users → Active users → Add a user. Extra addresses for the same person (such as
info@) are aliases, and an inbox several people share is a shared mailbox, which needs no licence. See Add a user and assign a licence, Add an email alias and Create a shared mailbox. - Point your email at Microsoft 365. Add the MX, autodiscover and SPF records Microsoft shows you. From this moment new email is delivered to Microsoft 365, so do this after creating your mailboxes. If your domain is on Host Dada nameservers, open Manage DNS and choose Preconfigured Settings → Office 365 Mail to add them in one go (see Microsoft 365 DNS records on Host Dada nameservers), or ask us to do it.
- Set up Outlook on your devices. Sign in with your new address (for example
you@yourbusiness.co.uk) and its password. See Outlook for Windows, Outlook for Mac and iPhone and Android. You can also use Outlook on the web straight away. - Install the Office apps (Standard and Premium). Download Word, Excel and Outlook from office.com → Install apps. See Install Microsoft 365 apps.
- Finish off. Turn on DKIM and DMARC so your email doesn't land in junk (guide), and move any old email across (IMAP migration).
Useful Microsoft 365 links
| What | Where |
|---|---|
| Admin centre (users, domains, licences) | admin.microsoft.com |
| Outlook on the web (your email) | outlook.office.com |
| Office apps and downloads | office.com |
| Reset your own password | passwordreset.microsoftonline.com |
Troubleshooting
I can't find where to set up my email account
It's in the Microsoft 365 admin centre, not the Host Dada Client Area. Sign in at admin.microsoft.com, connect your domain (step 2), then add a user (step 3). That user is your email account.
My domain is registered somewhere else (GoDaddy, IONOS, 123 Reg)
That's fine. Microsoft 365 works with a domain registered anywhere; you add the records at whoever manages its DNS. If you'd prefer to move the domain to Host Dada so we can manage the records for you, see Transfer a domain to Host Dada.
I've lost the welcome email or the temporary password has expired
Open a support ticket and we'll reset the admin password and resend your login details.
Would you rather we did it? We'll set up your domain, mailboxes and DNS with you at no extra cost. Open a support ticket
and tell us your domain name and the email addresses you want.
Last reviewed: October 2026
