When setting up a new domain or account, typically the steps are:
Set up a test domain: Your test domain is typically test-sub.domain.com. (i.e. alumni.philadelphia.edu would be test-alumni.philadelphia.edu.) This allows you to set up MX records to test mail flow without disrupting your existing domain.
You will provide us with your initial list of address->forwarding address pairs. We will:
- import the the initial list, converting the address to @test domain
- provide you with an API key for the test domain
- provide you with an admin account for accessing the admin web interface
- set up our mail servers to accept mail for the test domain
Test: Once a test domain is set up, we will use it to test everything. We'll set up some test users to make sure mail is being handled properly, then ask you to try testing with some real user accounts.
This is also your chance to set up the API in your web application. (You can use the admin interface to easily confirm the changes are being made, too.) You are responsible for setting up the API to accept forwarding address updates. Typically, this is a fairly simple integration, and our technical staff is available for questions via email.
At this time, we also usually ask that you shorten the "time to live" on the MX records for the real domain.
Sign the contract: You sign a "reseller" contract, authorizing you to offer Pobox accounts to your user group, and accept our terms of service on their behalf.
Set up the real domain: Because, in most cases, the real domain is already handling mail, this step proceeds only after you're satisfied that everything (API integration, test mail forwarding, etc.) works properly for the test domain. Once you are satisfied, we will:
- Add the real domain to your account
- Ask you to update the API integration to point to the real domain
- set up our mail servers to accept mail for the real domain
- send test messages to test users (designated by you)
- ask you to update the MX records for the real domain
- monitor initial mail flow for any issues
Because MX records can take several days to update, please plan to leave your existing solution in place for up to a week.