Gasp!!  There has been a shift in the force…of the Internet…

The disturbance is real but don’t be alarmed!  We’ve got you covered.  We’re going to show you, step by step, how to setup your email with your own domain name and still use it in Gmail without having to pay for Google Apps for Work!  (And, just so you know, if this gets too complicated or you just don’t have the time…we’ve got you covered there too!

This walkthrough will be longer than others that you’ll find because, not only am I going to tell  you how to setup your email with your own domain name and setup an email forward…I’m going to help you set it up so you can Send Mail AS that email as well!

That’s important considering you’re sending out from that email address in your ESP (Email Service Provider…aka MailChimp, ConvertKit, Aweber) and if someone replies and you reply back – you don’t want it coming from a DIFFERENT email address do you?  Was that confusing?!  Well, the answer is no!

For this walkthrough I’m going to be showing you how to do this if you’re hosted on BlueHost.  The steps should be able the same on other platforms, it’ll just look different.  Alright, here we go!

Step 1: Create Your Domain Name Email Address

• Log into your host cPanel (BlueHost, GoDaddy, HostGator…)
• Go to Email section of your cPanel and select “Email Manager”

• Select “Create an Email Account”

• Select your email address name.  If you own more than one domain, be sure to select the correct domain in the pull down box.
• Enter a password that meets the requirements and copy it somewhere (you’ll need it later).
• Leave “Default Webmail Client” on whatever it defaults to as long as one is selected. I’ll be using Roundcube for this walkthrough.  Don’t worry, you’ll only be using this while you’re setting up your new domain email address.
• Select “Unlimited” mailbox size.

Congrats!

You just created your brand new domain name email address!!

But WAIT!  We’re not done!

Step 2: Setup Your New Domain Name Email in Gmail to “Send Mail As”

• Next you’re going to go back to your “Email Manager”, find your new email and click the drop down box, select “Configure Email Client”

• This is going to take you to this screen – you’re going to need this info so leave it open and open a new tab.

• Go to your Gmail account and click the gear in the upper right hand corner and click “Settings.”

• Click the Accounts and Imports tab.

• Go to the “Send Mail As” section and click “Add another email address you own.”

Alright, take a deep breath for me, this is going to get a little tricky…

Enter your name (as you want it to appear) and the new domain name email you just created and click “Next Step.”

• In the next box, enter the information that I told you to leave open.  Secured connection using SSL should be preselected.  Leave it that way.  Once you’ve entered everything, click “Add Account.”  Like this:

• Now you should see a box that is asking for a verification code.

Here’s where it gets a little tricky…hang in there…we have to go get that verification code.  We’ll need to do that from within your new domain name email from within your cPanel.  Don’t worry, I’m walking you through it…

• Go back to your cPanel and select “Email Account Manager” again.  Beside your new email address make sure “Roundcube” is selected and then click “View Inbox.”

• It’s then going to ask you to sign in.  Just use your new domain name email and password.

• Once you’re signed in, locate the email from Gmail and click on it to open it.

• Once it’s open, copy the confirmation code.

• Now go back to the yellow box that is requesting the verification code and paste it in and click “Verify.”  Make sure that you didn’t copy a space before or after the verification code because that will cause it not to work.

• Find your way back to the tab that is open to the “Accounts and Import” settings in Gmail.  You’ll want to make some decisions here.

Decision 1: Would you like to start sending mail as your new domain email?  If you want to make it your new default email, simply go to the right of your newly setup email and choose “Make Default.”  From here on out, when you send an email from Gmail it will go out with your new domain email!  How cool is that?!?!

Decision 2: Next, you’ll need to decide if when you’re sending an email, you’d like to reply as the same address that the message was sent to (either your Gmail address or your new domain name email) OR if you’d like to ALWAYS reply from your default email address (the one that is selected as your default email above.

You’re almost done.  Just one more step…now we need to Forward emails that come into your new domain name email to your Gmail account.

Step 3: Forward Your New Domain Name Email to Your Gmail Account

• Let’s go back over to BlueHost.  Select “Email Account Manager” again.  This time you’re going to go to the “Forwarding” tab.

• Click “Add Email Forwarder”

• Enter the domain name email that you just created at the top.
• Make sure that “Forward to this address:” is selected and then enter your Gmail address then click Submit.

And, that’s it!! You’re all set!!!