Quick answer: In Plesk, (1) turn off the mail service for the domain, (2) delete the MX record pointing to mail.yourdomain and add mx.zoho.eu (10), mx2.zoho.eu (20) and mx3.zoho.eu (50), (3) change the SPF record to include zoho.eu, and (4) add the DKIM key from Zoho on zmail._domainkey. Below is every click, plus the check at the end.
All examples use example.com and the EU data center. If you log in to Zoho at mail.zoho.com, replace zoho.eu with zoho.com everywhere.
Step 1: Disable Plesk's mail service for the domain
As long as Plesk thinks it handles mail for example.com, any message the server itself sends to your addresses (contact forms, WooCommerce orders, WordPress notifications) is delivered to an empty local mailbox and never reaches Zoho.
- Log in to Plesk and open Websites & Domains → example.com → Mail.
- Open the Mail Settings tab.
- Untick Activate mail service on domain and click OK.
Existing Plesk mailboxes are disabled, not deleted. Copy any mail you still need to Zoho first, using Zoho's Data Migration.
Step 2: Open the DNS zone
Go to Websites & Domains → example.com → Hosting & DNS → DNS. You'll see the records Plesk created automatically. In each record form below, the Domain name field is the part before example.com: leave it empty for the domain itself.
Step 3: Replace the MX records
- Delete the existing MX record
example.com → mail.example.com. - Click Add Record, choose type MX, leave the mail domain empty, enter the mail exchange server and choose the priority. Repeat for all three:
| Mail exchange server | Priority |
|---|---|
mx.zoho.eu | 10 |
mx2.zoho.eu | 20 |
mx3.zoho.eu | 50 |
Leave the mail.example.com A record alone. Deleting it doesn't help and can break other things.
Step 4: Update the SPF record (don't add a second one)
Plesk already created an SPF record that looks like v=spf1 +a +mx +a:server.hostname -all. A domain may have only one SPF record, so edit this TXT record instead of adding another:
- If your website also sends mail directly from the server:
v=spf1 +a include:zoho.eu ~all - If all mail goes through Zoho (for example, your website sends via Zoho SMTP):
v=spf1 include:zoho.eu ~all
Step 5: Verify the domain and add DKIM
- If Zoho hasn't verified your domain yet, add the TXT record it shows (
zoho-verification=zb…) with an empty domain name, then click Verify in the Zoho Admin Console. - In the Zoho Admin Console go to Domains → example.com → Email configuration → DKIM, click Add, enter the selector
zmailand copy the generated key. - In Plesk add a TXT record with domain name
zmail._domainkeyand paste the whole key (it starts withv=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=). - Back in Zoho, click Verify and switch DKIM on.
Plesk's own default._domainkey record doesn't conflict, because Zoho signs with its own selector. You can leave it.
Step 6: DMARC
Plesk usually creates _dmarc.example.com with v=DMARC1; p=none. Keep it at p=none for the first weeks. To receive reports, edit it to v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:[email protected]. Once Gmail's "Show original" shows SPF and DKIM passing, raise it to p=quarantine.
Step 7: Check that it works
Click Update in Plesk if it asks you to apply the DNS changes. Then check from your computer:
nslookup -type=mx example.com
nslookup -type=txt example.com
nslookup -type=txt zmail._domainkey.example.comThe MX answer must list only the three Zoho servers. Send a test from Gmail to your Zoho address and reply to it. Most changes are visible within an hour; old MX records can be cached for up to 24 hours (why DNS takes time).
Your DNS isn't in Plesk?
If your domain uses another DNS provider (for example Cloudflare), add exactly the same records there. Plesk's DNS zone is only used if the domain's nameservers point to our servers. You can check which nameservers your domain uses in the client area under My Domains.
