Setup custom email addresses

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It had been a while that I owned my domain and was wondering if I could switch all my email communication to a custom email address hello@sanyamkapoor.com. Apart from owning the domain, the only requirement which remains is the that of an MX (Mail Exchange) server which can route my emails for me. This is pretty handily done via services like GSuite and Outlook but I am not in a stage to shell out a few bucks for a custom email address. This is when Mailgun enters the scene with its free offering of 10000 e-mail transactions per month which sounds more than enough.

Here are the steps for anybody seeking solution to a similar problem.

Get your favorite domain name

Get a domain name from a domain registrar like GoDaddy, Namecheap. There is no way you can get this for free (legally at least).

Setup your Mailgun Account and DNS Zone file

After signing up for Mailgun (you might need to go through an activation process with the customer care explaining your need), you must add a new custom domain and make appropriate entries. Here is part of the Zone File which contains the Resource Records (RR) to be managed.

; MX Records
@	3600	IN	MX	10	mxb.mailgun.org
@	3600	IN	MX	10	mxa.mailgun.org

; TXT Records
@	3600	IN	TXT	"v=spf1 include:mailgun.org ~all"
YOUR_DOMAIN_KEY_HOST	3600	IN	TXT	"k=rsa; YOUR_RSA_KEY"

Both YOUR_DOMAIN_KEY_HOST and YOUR_RSA_KEY are available in the Mailgun dashboard. Most Domain registrars provide a comfortable GUI interface to add these MX and TXT records.

Setup Routing via Mailgun

Setup a new Route which in simple words means directing your new email id to an existing one.

A sample rule is:

match_recipient("hello@yourdomain.com")
forward("you@gmail.com")
priority 10

This will forward all mails to "hello@yourdomain.com" to "you@gmail.com".

With this, you have successfully setup to receive emails at a custom domain.

Setup SMTP Credentials

To allow sending email, you need to setup custom SMTP credentials under your Mailgun domain. See How do I start sending email.

Setup GMail custom SMTP account

Gmail allows you to add custom emails to your account which you can send e-mail as right within Gmail itself. See Check email from other accounts with Gmail.

The settings needed are:

SMTP Server: smtp.mailgun.org
PORT: 587 (TLS)
Username: hello@yourdomain.com
Password: <Same as used during setting up SMTP credentials in Mailgun>

You should receive a verification email at the account where you chose to forward your emails (you@gmail.com) before you start sending emails as hello@yourdomain.com.

Voila! Start sending emails around, send me one at hello@sanyamkapoor.com!