Gmail, cPanel, web host like GreenGeeks or HostGator

One of the most frustrating things about using a domain email like imbatman@yagisanatode.com is that every time you want to check your email you need to log into your websites cPanel, navigate to the Email section, click ‘Email Accounts’ find the Access a Webmail provider like Roundcube and then wade through the clumsy interface to read and answer your website emails.

Groan!

Maybe you found that email forwarding link in the cPanel and forwarded your emails to your Gmail account on your own. Nice one! Have you ever replied with your personal email by mistake? Or do you dread having to go to back into cPanel to reply?

ugh!

What if I told you that I could make this sick, chore-ladened nightmare go away? What if I could tell you that you can receive and send your website emails from the womblike comfort of Gmail?

OMG, Yagi! Tell me more you sweet goat!

…um… okay, a bit creepy but sure.

Setup is pretty easy, but if you search for it on the interwebs, the instructions even from Google are a little disjointed and incomplete.

This tutorial is a two-parter:

1. Setup my website email forwarding from my web host’s cPanel to my personal Gmail account.
2. Setup the ability to send or reply to emails using your website email from your personal Gmail account. Teleport to this bit!

Let’s get started…

Email Forwarding

This is the easy bit, and if you have already set this up on your Gmail account, you are better off moving to the next step.

1. Navigate to your web host provider

Go to your website host provider and log-in. Fumble around until you find the link to your cPanel. For GreenGeeks users like me, it’s pretty easy to access:

2. cPanel Forwarder

In the cPanel, navigate to the EMAIL category, and find the icon called Forwarders.  Give it the old, clicky-click.

Your cPanel theme may be a little different, but everything should look reasonably similar.

On the Forwarders page, click the Add Forwarder button.

The Add Forwarder page will load and you will be prompted to do the following:

1. Add your email address: e.g. imbatman
2. Select your domain: e.g. @yagisanatode.com
3. Type in your forwarding address: e.g. bwayne@gmial.com
4. Click Add Forwarder.

Which sends you to a new page letting you know that you are all set up:

Done! Your Gmail account should now be receiving forwarded emails from your website email.

Now to be able to reply from the cozy confines of your very own Gmail account:

Reply to your Website emails from your Gmail account

This is where it gets a little more challenging.

To send an email from your Gmail account using your website domain email you need to do the following:

1. Add your website email address to your Gmail account

1.  In your Gmail account go back to your settings pages by selecting the cog, top right. 
2. Across the top, you will see a number of tabs. Select the Accounts and Import tab.
3. Three sections down, you will see the Send mail as section.
4. Select, add another email address.
5. A pop-up window will appear.
6. Enter your name for this account. This will be the title that will be displayed in your Gmail when posting.
7. Enter the email address from your website.
8. Click, Next Step.
9. A new email will appear prompting you to enter some confusing stuff with some preloaded values.
10. The STMP server is your web address minus the www. In my case: yagisanatode.com
11. The Username should be the email account name. For me, that’s, imbatman.
12. Enter your password to your website email account.
    1. Don’t have a password or don’t know your password? Go back to your cPanel navigate down to the Email area and click Email Accounts.
    2. Find the email you are setting up. In the Actions column next to the email, you will find the link, Passwords and authentication.

       

    3. Click it. A dropdown will appear for you to enter your password.
13. Select Add Account.
    1. Did you get a red error that says:  Authentication failed. Please check your username/password? Your username may be your full email address. For example, try something like: imbatman@yagisanatode.com (Part 11)

2. Verify you want to send your website emails from your Gmail account

Once you have put in all your details successfully and clicked Add Account in Gmail. You will be prompted with a verification window.

Already set up forwarding to your Gmail?

If you have already set up email forwarding from your website account back in the cPanel, you will receive a forwarded email in your Gmail account. Here, you can click on the link provided in the email (1.) or copy the code and paste it into the space provided under where it says: Enter and verify the confirmation code.

haven’t set up forwarding to your Gmail yet?

If you haven’t set up email forwarding yet:

1. Go back to your cPanel.
2. Navigate to the EMAIL information. Click Email Accounts.
3. Select Access Webmail.
4. You will receive an email from the Gmail team. Click it:
5. Here, you can click on the link provided in the email (1.) or copy the code and paste it into the space provided under where it says: Enter and verify the confirmation code.

3. Sending Emails in Gmail with your Website Email

Once you have confirmed your website email, you can now head back to your Gmail main page and send emails using your website email.

You will notice that you now have a little dropdown on your email sending and replying windows. It should look a little like this:

1. New Email
2. Reply to an email forwarded from your website email:

 

 

Done!

Now you can forward and reply to emails in Gmail using your website email. It’s as comfy as the sweet sweet bliss of uninterrupted daily routine.

So, what do you think? Is this the best way to handle your website emails? Do you like using Gmail to send out your website emails? Let me know your thoughts below.

~Yagi