emails
 
 
 

 

NEW SUPPORT LINE (South Africa only): SMS your support request (FIRST WORD MUST BE SUPPORT) to 072 532 1530

RSA.PW NEW TLD

Using Google apps as your mail server

Posted in Email on 2012-09-28, Last Updated on 2012-09-29

It is possible to use google apps as your incoming and outgoing mail server, rather than PHP-Web-Host.com's mail servers.

There are several reasons why you might want to do this. For instance, if you already have other google app accounts, it might be convenient to have your email accounts in the same place.

Another good reason is if you receive very large mails. We host a number of recruitment agent's and estate agent's websites and they receive CVs and property photos. In their cases their mail boxes could fill up quickly and they run the risk of going over quota. With Google Mail you get 10Gb per mail box on their free accounts and up to 25Gb on their pro accounts (which are not free).

Limits

Google Apps is free for up to 10 accounts, so if you use 10 or LESS emails then you won't pay anything. If you need 11 or more accounts Google charges $5 per account, per month, so if you have 15 mail accounts then that would cost $75 per month.

There are 3 parts to setting up your mail with Google Apps:

  1. Setup your Google Apps account
  2. Modify your MX records with PHP-Web-Host.com
  3. Create your mail account in your mail software (like Outlook)

 

NOTE: For purposes of this article we'll use the domain name "gssports.co.za" and we'll setup an email account "[email protected]"

 

Setup your Google Apps account

 

Google Apps

 

 

  • Click on the "Start Now" button
  • Enter your domain name in the box and click on "Submit"

 

 

Google Apps

 

 

  • Now fill in the rest of the form and then click the "Create Account" button.

 

 

 

Google Apps

 

 

 

  • In the Google setup wizard, click on the "Go Express" button

 

 

Google Apps

 

 

  • Click on "Next" in the next screen
  • Click in "Next" in the next screen again
  • You'll now need to verify that you are the owner. Click on the download link to download the verification file. This will be something like google342342544354.html.

 

 

 

Google Verify Site

 

 

 

  • Now, open a new browser window and go to Cpanel (in our case, www.gssports.co.za/cpanel)
  • Click on "File Manager" (you can also upload it via FTP)

 

 

Cpanel File Manager

 

 

  • In File Manager, make sure you're in the public_html folder, then click on the "Upload" button and upload the verification file.
  • Go back to the google screen and click on the "Verify" button
  • If all goes well, you should see a success message

 

Modify your MX records with PHP-Web-Host.com

  • Go back to Cpanel (www.gssports.co.za/cpanel) and click on the "MX Entry" icon in the "Mail" section

 

 

Cpanel MX Entry setup

 

 

  • Scroll down to the "MX Records" section and delete the current MX record

 

 

Delete existing MX Entry

 

 

  • Scroll up a little and add the following MX records (note the numbers to use)

 

 

Google MX Records

 

 

Add MX record in Cpanel

  • Once done, your cpanel should look like the following mx setup

 

 

 

Cpanel Google MX records

 

 

 

  • Scroll up a little further and select the "Remote Mail Exchanger" from the "Email Routing" section, and then click on the "Change" button

 

 

Cpanel Google Remote Mail Exchanger

Create your mail account in your mail software (like Outlook)

We use Thunderbird mail client, but if you use outlook, the steps are similar. This article is not a detailed guide to setting up mail clients, its purpose is to give you the correct values to use.

 

  • Go to tools and add a new mail account using the new email address you setup in Google Apps and the password you setup there
  • The settings are:

Email Address - The full email address, eg, [email protected]
Password - Whatever you entered in Google Apps

Incoming - POP3. The POP3 server is pop.gmail.com. It is on port 995 and uses SSL/TLS
Outgoing - SMTP. The SMTP server is smtp.googlemail.com. It is on port 465 and also uses SSL/TLS

UserName - this is your full email address

 

That's it! Verify your MX Records

That is it. Note that MX records just like DNS records need time to propogate throught the globe, so you might not be able to use your mail for up to 24 hours. This may also have an impact on setting the mail up in your mail client, so you might need to delay that step.

 

 

 

mxtoolbox

 



To check that you've setup your MX Records correctly, go to www.mxtoolbox.com, then type your domain name in and click on "MX Lookup".

If you've done the CPanel setup correctly, you'll see setting as follows:

 

 

 

 

 

Send an email from your new Google Mail account.

 

Mail Headers

 

 

If you look at the message headers you should see this mail as coming from google.com! You're all done!

 

Conclusion

For most users, its probably not worth setting up your mail to route through Google, however, if you're expecting your mail box to get very full this might be a good option for you.

Please post here if you have any questions or comments about using Google Mail for your mail.

Comments

Name:PHP-Web-Host.com - Support
 
Comment:
If you only have the domain name with no hosting, you can still use google apps for your mail, however, you will not be able to use the verification method above whereby you place a verification file on the server.

In Google\'s verification screen, you\'ll need to select the alternative methods, then select the option to add a record to the DNS entries. This will give you a text string to enter into the DNS records for the domain. Email that through to support and we\'ll add the record into the DNS zone. Once that\'s been done you\'re site should be verified and the rest will be the same.

Add your comment

Display Name:
Web Address:
Email Address: (not displayed)

Comment

SSL Certificate Authority Paypal Verified We accept PayPal

 
 
  ??? Free, easy content management system
HOME | WEB DEVELOPMENT | WEB HOSTING | SOFTWARE | RESELLERS | SEO | GENERAL | AFFILIATES | RESELLER 50GB | RESELLER 100GB | RESELLER 150GB | RESELLER 200GB | VPS