Set Up an Email Address for a Domain with G Suite (Google Apps)

For my first blog, I was able to set up an email address for a domain with Microsoft Outlook for free. Later on, the service turned into a paid product but allowed the early birds to continue using the free service.

I was lucky. For a while.

I keep receiving email and I happily reply right away using the mobile app . . . thinking that the flow of communication is smooth.

Not on both sides. The recipient keeps on complaining that they cannot reply directly to my email.

More complains. Lost opportunities. Broken promises (to fix the issue).

I gave in and set up an email address for a domain with G Suite which is formerly called Google Apps.

Little did I know I’m in for a little bit of roller coaster ride.

So in this post, I’ll share the tips and tricks on how to get around the confusion, because I bet you would rather scream at Space Mountain in Walt Disney World Resort than in front of your computer.

How to Set Up an Email Address for a Domain

By now, I’m assuming you already have a domain. If not you can try Namecheap which I’ve been using since I’ve moved my domains from GoDaddy.

1. Sign up for G Suite (one month free trial then $5/user in month). You will use the domain in signing up (e.g. info@mydomain.com).
2. Log in on Google Admin Console and click Start Setup to verify the domain on your host (e.g. Siteground). The set up wizard will guide you on the process. (Adding additional domain is easier. This post will teach you that later on.)

For anyone hosting their website on Siteground, here are the steps in editing the MX entry:

1. Login > Cpanel > MX Entry
2. Choose the domain
3. In the MX Records you should see the following changes
4. Click “Set Google MX” and you’re done

(To check if SPF is set up on Siteground, go to Cpanel > Email Authentication.)

Note to myself: Change the MX Records for every email address.

Note: It will take 48 hours to activate the email address.

If you are not yet ready to spend for a professional email address, you can try Zoho Mail (FREE) which I’ve also used before settling in G Suite.

Changes to Make in WordPress

OK, G Suite is already set up; it’s time to update your WordPress blog or other content management (CMS).

To start getting notifications whenever someone comment or send a message through Jetpack Contact Form follow these steps:

1. Log in on your blog: WordPress Dashboard > Users > All Users
2. Choose a user.
3. In the Contact Info enter the new email address.
4. Click Update Profile.

Note: You may also want to update your Gravatar account with the new email address for blog commenting. Don’t forget to also upload a company logo.

And for the Gmail account, add a signature with links to your social media accounts.

With a professional email address it’s easier to connect with the readers so get the message across with a dose of information and humour.

And emoticons. 🙂

Changes to Make After the G Suite Setup

After you are done going back and forth the console, host, and WordPress, you would want to make some improvement on the G Suite account:

1. 10 tips for managing G Suite
2. Change your organization name

Getting used to the Admin Console may take a while. The good news is adding more domains with no extra charge is easier and faster.

Add More Domains

The steps in adding more domains or domain alias are somewhat similar. Alias is an email for a similar domain (eg. hello@mydomain.com, hi@mydomain.com). For this post, I’ll show you how to add a different domain.

1. Go to Domains
2. Click Add/remove domains
3. Click ADD A DOMAIN OR A DOMAIN ALIAS
4. Choose Add another domain and enter the domain in the textarea
5. Click CONTINUE AND VERIFY DOMAIN OWNERSHIP
6. Verify your ownership of the domain through Recommended method  or Alternate methods
   
7. I chose the Alternate methods. I copied the HTML tag in the Genesis Theme (dashboard > Theme Settings > Header Scripts). If you are using a different theme, make sure to put the meta tag before the </head>
8. Click VERIFY
9. The message is displayed “Congratulations, you have successfully verified your ownership of http://mydomain.com/”
10. Click Continue
11. Click Users among the menus
12. Click the round button at the right bottom of the screen to add a new user to the recently added domain
13. Provide information and choose the domain. (You CANNOT edit the first and last name later on unless you delete and make a new user.) Click CREATE and Done
14. Log in to Gmail to test the new email address. The password is the same for the domain use in registering on G Suite. It takes take 48 hours to activate the new email

Note: You can also buy a domain on Google (from $12/year) before setting up G Suite which has the same price of $5/month (basic).

How to Add Email for Another Domain with Only One User

The credit for this part goes to Igor’s Blog which help me to spend only $5.00/month. It pays (more like save) to search through Google before buying anything online.

Before you do the following steps make sure that you have added the domain you’ll use in making a new email. If not refer to the instructions above; otherwise, let’s continue:

1. Login on G Suite (Admin Console)
2. Users > choose the user (likely the default/admin)
3. User information > Email aliases
4. Enter the email address > SAVE
5. Login on Gmail with the same account you use on G Suite
6. Go to Settings > Accounts (tab)
7. Click “Add another email address you own”
8. Enter the name and email address > click next step
9. Refresh Gmail. Read the latest email. Click the link to verify the new email address

Another Resource: G Suite  – Add or remove an email alias

For the detailed instructions you can go to Igor’s Blog.

That’s what I have for now when it comes to G Suite. I’ll write more about G Suite whenever I encounter a problem . . . and find a solution.

If not I’ll still write about how I’m having a headache cause by a code or something and hope that somebody can help me out.

Have you tried G Suite already? If not what did you use in creating an email address for a domain, share the tips in the comment.