How To Route Domain Email Through Gmail

Do you want to keep all of your email accounts in one place instead of having to check separate email accounts in multiple programs and locations?  If so, here is a step by step guide to have your domain email route through Gmail.

Email messages will still be sent and received through your domain email server, so you’ll still need to have the account setup with your hosting company.  But instead of some of the common issues that can occur with domain-level email hosting — like full email accounts, trouble accessing email in coffee shops and hotels, and some ISPs blocking domain-level email — you will have an email account that you can access from anywhere via Gmail’s web-based email and mobile app.  Plus, your email responses can still derive from your domain email account and NOT your Gmail account.  Here’s how it’s done:

Step 1: Create a Gmail account. If you have an account already, skip to Step 2.

If you already have a Gmail or Google account, proceed to Step 2.  If you need a Google/Gmail account, use the link below.

https://accounts.google.com/SignUp

Step 2: Access your Gmail settings to have Gmail receive incoming domain email

1. Login to your Gmail account and click the gear at the far right side of the page. From the drop-down menu, select Settings.
2. From the Settings page, click Accounts and Import from the navigation along the top.
3. On the left, you will see Check mail from other accounts (using POP3). To the right of this, click on the link named Add a POP3 mail account you own.
4. In the pop-up window that ensues, type in your full email address. Click Next.
5. In the next window, enter your FULL EMAIL ADDRESS under Username. This is very important. Some servers require just the info BEFORE the @ as the username, but most servers require the full email address.
6. Enter your password.
7. Under POP Server, type mail.yourdomain.com, where yourdomain.com is YOUR website email server. For example, my POP server is mail.radiantd.com.
8. For Port enter 110. Most ISPs use 110 for receiving email. Your may be different.
9. For the radio buttons, only click Label Incoming Messages. Emails sent to this account will be marked as such.
10. For the radio button Leave a copy of retrieved message on the server, this needs to be left UNCHECKED. If you check this box, a copy of every email message will be kept on the hosting company’s email server in perpetuity, which will eventually fill up, causing your email service to suddenly stop working.
11. Click Add Account.

Step 3: Setting up Gmail to send email from your domain email address.

1. While still on Gmail’s Settings / Accounts and Import page, you will see Send Mail As… in the left column.  To the right of that, click Add an email address you own.
2. Enter the Name that you’d like people to see when sending email from this account, and the Email Address of the domain email account.  This will be the same email address you setup to receive email from in Step 2.
3. Make sure Treat as Alias is checked.  Click Next Step.
4. Make sure that Send through Gmail (easier to set up) is checked.  Click Next Step.
5. Read the info in the next box, then click Send Verification.
6. Login to your email account via yourdomain.com/webmail (use your full email address and pw), select RoundCube and then look in your Inbox for an email with a verification code.
7. Type in the code and click Verify.
8. Still on the Accounts and Import page, find the When replying to a message and make sure the box is checked for Reply from the same address the message was sent to.

Step 4: Confirm that everything is working properly

The last step is simply verifying that Gmail is now properly routing email in and out via your domain email address.

1. In Gmail, select Compose — near the top left.  In the From: drop-down menu, select your new email address.  Then write an email and send it to yourself.  All new email received via this new email address should be marked accordingly in your Gmail inbox.

Copyright 2014 by Tom Lempner and Radiant Design.