2020-09-21 by Performance Insider

Section 1: Introduction

This post will walk you through the process of creating your own email domain for free with Gmail and G Suite. G Suite is a productivity tool from Google that enables individuals to use Gmail with their own custom email address. A domain name refers to the section of an email address that follows the @ symbol. Getting a custom email domain is beneficial in that it adds credibility to your account, especially if you run a business. It also makes your account appear more professional, which will help in earning the trust of those you communicate with.

Section 2: What are your requirements.

To acquire a customized email domain with G Suite, you will need:

Domain name Website

In this post, I will be using G Suite and Gmail. There are many reasons for selecting G Suite:

Reliability. You do not have to worry about your G Suite account having performance issues.

Security. Google has advanced security measures to protect the privacy of users.

It has millions of active users worldwide, including businesses, students, and individuals, which demonstrates how reliable and dependable the firm is.

Spam filters. These detect email messages from addresses identified as spam and store them in a separate folder.

Offers 30 GB storage space. This is quite an extensive amount of space compared to other service providers.

It can be used offline.

It is compatible with nearly all kinds of devices and platforms.

Round the clock support services to resolve any issues, you could be having concerning your account.

Section 3: Step by step instructions

Step 1: Register for a G Suite account.

Google offers monthly or annual subscription options for getting a G Suite account. You also get to test the experience of using this service through a free trial lasting for 14 days.

On your browser, search for G Suite.

Press the "Get Started" button and choose the plan that best suits you.

On the next window, fill in the name of your business, country, and number of employees your business has. If you just need an account for yourself, you can specify this.

Press the Next button to proceed.

You will be required to indicate your first and last name and the email address you are currently using. Fill in this information and press Next.

On the next screen, select a domain name.

In case you do not own an existing domain name, press the "No, I need one" button to have a new one registered for you. You can use Bluehost to get a free domain name. I will show you how to get a free custom domain name with Bluehost in step 2.

If you have one, choose "Yes, I have one I can use". Additional steps are provided to confirm that you own the existing domain name.

After this, you will be needed to choose a username and password to get a G Suite account.

Note that the username shall become your first custom email address; therefore, select one that is suitable for your business.

Once you enter these details, your new account with G Suite will be created.

Press "Go to Setup" button. From here, you can create more accounts for other people. There is also a link with information on how to do this for the different companies offering web hosting services.

If you have an existing domain name, an HTML code snippet will be provided.

Add the snippet to your existing website to verify ownership.

Remember that the domain name you registered with Bluehost is not registered with Google, and you will be required to configure the correct MX records so that emails reach Google servers. After verification, you can send and receive emails from this account.

In order to transfer the MX records from Bluehost, it is mandatory that you own an account which requires the following step 2.

Log in to your Bluehost account and navigate to the Domains section.

Choose your domain name and select the Manage option that follows the DNS zone editor.

Switch to the G Suite configuration page and look for a prompt that reads "I have opened the control panel of my domain name".

Check this box. After checking, you are presented with the MX records which you should enter in your domain name Service Provider's page.

Navigate back to Bluehost and select the Add Record button to save these records.

Return to G Suite and tick off the prompt reading "I created the new MX records".

Then you will be requested to delete existing MX records.

Switch back to Bluehost and select the DNS zone editor

Navigate to Bluehost and scroll down to MX records. On this window, old MX records can be seen in addition to the ones you previously created.

Delete the old records by clicking the delete button alongside each record.

Switch back to G Suite and tick off the box reading "I deleted existing MX records.

On Bluehost, save the records.

Switch to G Suite setup and confirm the "I have saved MX records" box.

Proceed to press the "Verify domain and setup email" button to complete the process on G Suite.

Step 2: Register for hosting services with Bluehost by visiting their website.

Press the Get Started Now button to proceed.

On the next page, you will be presented with several plans to choose from.

After finding a plan that suits you best, click on the option.

Upon clicking the link, you are directed to a page where you can create your free email domain name.

Next, you will be required to type in your preferred domain name.

Bluehost then checks whether the chosen domain name is available.

If not available, you are provided with several options to choose from, or you can create a new name that is available.

After you get a domain name, you can proceed to finalize the registration process.

On the next page, you will be presented with the package information plus some extra options.

You can deselect the extra options to keep the costs at the desired level.

In order to confirm the registration, you need to present your payment details.

Next, Bluehost sends an email message containing your login credentials, which you will use to access the Bluehost panel.

Under the Bluehost panel, you can make the desired changes.

Step 3: Create your email address

Once you sign up with Bluehost, use your credentials and log into your account. From the main sidebar, navigate to the Advanced tab.

Under the Advanced Tab, go to the Email section and select Email Accounts.

From the Email Accounts section, click on Create.

A new form will be presented requiring you to fill in the fields.

In the Username field, enter your desired email identifier.

Then select a strong password for your account.

In the Storage space field, set the quota to the desired limit.

Note that the storage space depends on the hosting subscription package you have chosen.

You can set the quota limit to unlimited or any other level provided it is acceptable under the selected plan.

After filling in this information, press the Create button again.

It only takes a second to have your email account created after pressing the Create button.

A message telling you that the email account has been created will appear.

Step 4. Using your Bluehost custom email domain

You can now begin using the custom email domain you just created.

1. Accessing your email messages

The first way you can use your email domain is for WebMail purposes which displays the email messages in your inbox.

Under the Emails & Office tab, click Manage.

Select your new address and proceed to Check Mail button located to the right side of the address.

Bluehost prompts you to choose how to access your mail for the very first time you want to access the mailbox. The first option is using Roundcube, and the second is setting up access to a device like Android or iPhone.

To quickly check your mailbox, you can click the Webmail Login button on the desktop instead of the Hosting Login button. Upon clicking the WebMail option, you are taken to the email account page.

2. Forwarding email messages

You may choose to set up email forwarding, which allows you to redirect messages automatically to another account. Under forwarding, a business may display a support email address and then direct messages from this email to its workers.

Navigate to Bluehost dashboard.

Click on the Advanced tab.

Scroll down to the Email section.

Browse for the Forwarders option and click on it.

Click Add Forwarders on the next screen.

Enter the name of address to be forwarded the mail

Next, add the address where the mail will be forwarded to and click the Add Forwarder button.

You can choose to forward the mail to numerous addresses. To do this, click the Submit button and input the name of the other recipient or forwarder.

Your custom email domain can be connected and used with Gmail and other third party email service providers. In this section, I will describe the step by step instructions for connecting your custom email domain name to your Gmail account. You will also find the steps of sending emails, forwarding the email messages, and receiving mail to this account. The reason for choosing Gmail is because it is among the most popular sites offering email services.

3. How to connect your custom email account to Gmail

Use your login credentials to log in into your Gmail account.

While in the inbox folder, click on the right hand side gear that appears at the upper corner.

Select Settings.

Go to the Accounts tab.

Under the Accounts tab, select Add a mail account option.

You will be required to fill out a form indicating your Bluehost email address details. The form requires your custom email address, the password, and server details.

After filling out the form, click the Add Account button.

Once the account is created, you can receive emails in the Gmail inbox.

4: Sending mail through your custom email address

You can choose to send email messages using your custom email address via Gmail.

This can be done by selecting the first option that appears reading "Yes I want to be able to send mail as name@yourdomain.com."

Press the next button.

You will be asked to verify the Bluehost email address.

Navigate back to your Bluehost email and check for the verification code sent from Gmail.

Copy the verification code, paste it in the verification box and click verify.

You will notice that you can decide on which email address to use when sending an email message.

You can use the Gmail address or the custom email address you registered with Bluehost.

5. Receiving emails to your Gmail account.

Sign in to your Gmail account.

Select the Settings icon located at the top right side of the screen and select Settings.

Look for the tab named Accounts and Import

Select Add a POP3 mail account you own.

Key in your custom Email address.

Click the Next Step button.

Under the Username field, key in the full email address.

Proceed to type in the Password for your email account

Enter a POP Server for incoming mail.

Select "Always use a secure connection (SSL)" option.

Change the port to 995.

Click the Add Account button to complete the process.

Section 5: Conclusion

With these simple steps, you will have a custom email domain that is ready to go. The tutorial was helpful and enjoyable, right? As I had said previously, a custom email domain name is better than a generic name because it adds credibility to your account. Other users will find it easier to trust emails from an account that uses a custom domain name. Please leave a comment regarding what you feel about the post in the comments section below, and if you liked it, do not hesitate to share.