Introduction
This guide explains how to create a Gmail account and use it for business emails on your own domain. This allows you to use all the features of Gmail for your existing business email address without having to pay for the G Suite.
This guide assumes that you want to use Gmail for sending and receiving all business emails, and that you’ll update any email applications on your devices (e.g. Mail on your Mac) to use Gmail. This is much easier to do before you start actively using the email address.
Requirements
- A mobile phone.
- Access to the existing email account on your domain.
- The SMTP and POP3 addresses and ports for the existing email account on your domain. If you don’t have an account (or don’t have the details), and the email for your domain is managed via cPanel, see How to create an email account in cPanel.
Skill Level
Intermediate knowledge of email accounts.
Instructions
Time needed: 5 minutes.
- Go to the Google Accounts page.
Go to https://accounts.google.com/.
If you’re already logged in with another Google Account, log out. - Choose create an account.
Click Create account and select either For myself or To manage my business.
Click Next. - Complete the Create your Google Account step.
Fill in the First name, Last name, Username, Password and Confirm fields.
Click Next. - Start the Verifying your phone number step.
In the country drop down, select the country your phone is in.
In the Phone number field enter your mobile number.
Click Next. - Complete the Verifying your phone number step.
In the Enter verification code field enter the code which was texted to your phone.
Click Verify. - Complete the Welcome to Google step.
Fill in the country drop down and Phone number (optional), Recovery email address (optional), Your date of birth and Gender fields.
Click Next. - Complete the Get more from your number step.
Click Skip or Yes, I’m in.
- Review the Options in the Google Terms of Service.
Click More Options.
Click the relevant options (e.g. for Web & App Activity). - Complete the Google Terms of Service step.
Read the document.
Tick I agree to the Google Terms of Service and I agree to the processing of my information as described above and further explained in the Privacy Policy.
Click Create Account. - If prompted, click Confirm.
- Go to Gmail.
Go to https://mail.google.com/.
- Complete the Welcome steps.
In the Welcome popup, click Next then OK.
- Go to Accounts and Import in Settings.
Click the cog icon at the top right and select Settings then Accounts and Import. This is usually https://mail.google.com/mail/#settings/accounts
- Add another email address.
In the Send mail as section, click Add another email address.
- Complete the Enter information about your other email address step
In the popup, fill in the Name and Email address fields.
Tick Treat as an alias.
Click Next Step. - Complete the Send emails through your SMTP server step.
In the SMTP Server, Username and Password fields enter the relevant details for the existing email account on your domain.
In the Port drop down, select the relevant option for the existing email account on your domain.
Select Secured connection using TLS (recommended). If this doesn’t work, you’ll see an error message and be able to change it to Secured connection using SSL.
Click Add Account. - Complete the Confirm verification and add your email address step.
Click the verification link in the email sent to the existing email account on your domain.
If this isn’t possible, in the Enter and verify the confirmation code field, enter the code in the same email and click Verify. - Make the new email address the default.
In the Send mail as section, next to the email address you’ve just added, click make default.
- Click Always reply from default address.
- Add an email account.
In the Check email from other accounts section, click Add an email account.
- Complete the Enter the email address that you would like to add step.
In the Email address field, enter the email address of the existing account on your domain.
Click Next. - Complete the Gmailify step.
Select the relevant option (if available) and click Next.
- Complete the Enter the mail settings step.
In the Username, Password and POP Server fields enter the relevant details for the existing email account on your domain.
As required, tick or untick the Leave a copy of retrieved message on the server, Always use a secure connection (SSL), Label incoming messages and Archive incoming messages options.
Click Add Account.
At this point, Gmail will start transferring any emails from the inbox on your existing email account. If you have unticked Leave a copy of retrieved message on the server, the emails will be removed from that account.
More Info
- Send emails from a different address or alias guide: https://support.google.com/mail/answer/22370
- Check emails from other accounts guide: https://support.google.com/mail/answer/21289
Next Steps
Now that you’ve created a Gmail account for business emails on your own domain, you can access it via an email application on your device (e.g. Mail on you Mac). To do this, see https://support.google.com/mail/answer/7126229