# Ultimate Email Forwarding Guide + Send Reply


Imagine you have 5-6 different emails for different purposes, like your personal, work, side projects, etc. Managing those will be a nightmare since you have to literally set up each account and open it every day to check and respond. 

But what if there is a way to manage them all in one place? In your Gmail? Yes, it's a bit hacky but you can do the following on your personal Gmail account. 

- Use your Personal Gmail as usual
- Forward other (`@domain.com`) emails to your Gmail
- Send Replies from Multiple `@domain.com` automatically

## Step 1 - Email Forwarding

The first step is to forward your domain email address to your personal Gmail. Email Forwarding is supported by most domain registrars and it's free. Just check your registrar's help docs to find this option. 

In my case, I'm using Cloudflare, which provides this option for free. So I forwarded my `@domain.com` email to my personal email address. 

![Cloudflare Email Routing.png](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1654506207327/6AjwCuT-7.png align="left")
 
Here are some links to popular registrars for email forwarding docs.

- [Go Daddy](https://in.godaddy.com/help/set-up-my-forwarding-email-address-7598)
- [Namecheap](https://www.namecheap.com/support/knowledgebase/article.aspx/308/2214/how-to-set-up-free-email-forwarding/)
- [Google Domains](https://support.google.com/domains/answer/3251241?hl=en)

Make sure the MX records in the DNS matches the Email forwarding service you use. 

![Cloudflare DNS MX Records.png](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1654506393312/usUFqzapd.png align="left")

## Step 2 - Send Email & Reply from Gmail

In this step, we will set up sending emails from your custom domain alias from Gmail. Gmail auto-selects the email alias based on which address you received the email.  When you receive an email to your personal email `you@gmail.com`, then you can reply to it from that email. Otherwise, If the email is sent to `you@domain.com` then you can reply to it from the same domain alias. 

Follow the steps to set it up!

*`Note: You can skip this step if you want to use an external SMTP Server. Just go to step 3 and add your SMTP Details. `*

### 1. Enable 2-Step Verification

2-Step Verification is mandatory for using email as an alias in Gmail. Click on the following link to enable it

[Enable Enable 2-Step Verification](https://myaccount.google.com/signinoptions/two-step-verification)


### 2. Generate your App Password

Visit  “App passwords" from Manage Account -> Security.

Direct Link: https://myaccount.google.com/apppasswords 

![image.png](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1621418308378/zjEomK195.png)

- Under “App passwords" click Select app and then `Mail`. 
- Click Select device and then `Other`.
- Enter the custom name (eg: your email address) and click Generate. 
- From the app password box, copy the 16 character password generated. 

You'll need this password for the next step. Paste it in a safe place. 

> **Important:** If you are using Google Workspace, visit your Workspace Settings for Gmail -> Advanced settings and make sure to check "Allow users to send mail through an external SMTP server...". 

### 3. Add an email alias

Go to [Gmail](https://mail.google.com/) and under Settings -> Accounts and Import -> Send mail as, click "**Add another email address**"

Then enter the Name that you want your email to be seen as "From". For "Email address", enter the email address with the custom domain you used above (e.g. `hello@web3templates.com`)

![image.png](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1621420018055/pBUWb87GF.png)

Confirm that "Treat as an alias" is marked, and click "**Next Step**" to proceed.

On the next page, In the "SMTP Server" field, enter `smtp.gmail.com`. and leave the port as `587`

In the "Username" field, enter the portion of your Gmail address without the gmail.com part (e.g. just "user" if my email is user@gmail.com)

Fill in the "Password" field with the password you generated above.

![image.png](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1621420341964/tufZ8MSNK.png)


Now, you will receive an email from Gmail with a confirmation code. Since you have set up the forward already, you should see It in your Gmail itself. Open that email and copy the code and paste it to the following screen.

![image.png](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1621420373409/-g3G8HVNy.png)

### Final Step

Now, open your Gmail settings -> Account & Imports -> "**Send Mail as**". Then check the radio button says "Reply from the same address the message was sent to" 

![image.png](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1621424140162/KlG8UDicS.png)

## Done 🎉

Congratulations! You've successfully completed all steps. Now you will be able to receive & send emails from your own custom email address inside your Gmail Account. Make sure to test it from a different email address (Don't test from the same email).

Let me know what you think in the comments.