In this section, we are going to cover registering your custom email address (coleman@djcflo.com) and getting the domain to point to the correct service, connecting everything so your new inbox sends receives mail!
You can use other email services (ProtonMail, Zoho) but for this guide I am going to use Google. For $7/month, you can have what is essentially a Gmail inbox (via Google Workspace) that integrates everywhere you see Gmail across the web (for example, sign in with Google, or in the Apple Mail app) without having to mess around with any custom settings.
Once we get signed up with an account, we are going to add in some code to protect our outgoing mail from being marked as spam, and also set up some alternate Email Alias names so that you can have multiple “email addresses” that all function under the same inbox (coleman@djcflo.com, booking@djcflo.com, cflo@djcflo.com) without having to pay for more than one single account.
2.1 – Add gmail MX records to DO
- To prepare your DigitalOcean DNS records to integrate with Google, navigate to the MX records tab
- Click “Add Gmail MX Records” to automatically populate the gmail records
- It will add in 5 records to the list, that look like “aspmx.l.google.com”, alt1.aspmx.l.google.com, alt2.aspmx.l.google.com, etc
- Now you’re ready to sign up for GoogleAdmin mail hosting
- If you want to learn more, check out this support article on DigitalOcean
2.2 – Sign up for Google Workspace $7/mo plan
- Use this link to sign up for Google Workspace (bookmark admin.google.com for future logins!)
- Choose the $7/mo plan
- Fill out your personal, business, and credit card info
- When choosing your new account name, I recommend using your First name (example: coleman@djcflo.com)
2.3 – Verify Domain in GoogleAdmin and activate Gmail
- In GoogleAdmin, select “I have a domain I can use” and enter your domain
- Verify Domain in GoogleAdmin and activate Gmail using TXT records
2.4 – Add Gmail SPF record in DigitalOcean
- SPF Records specify the servers and domains that are authorized to send email on behalf of your organization
- This helps inboxes receiving email from you to know that it’s legit and not mark it as spam
- Add a new TXT record with the following data
- VALUE: v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all
- HOSTNAME: @
- Read more on Google’s support article
2.5 – Add Gmail DMARC record in DigitalOcean
- DMARC lets you tell receiving servers what to do with outgoing messages from your organization that don’t pass SPF or DKIM
- Add a new TXT record with the following data, customizing YOURDOMAIN in the text below
- VALUE: v=DMARC1; p=reject; rua=mailto:spam@YOURDOMAIN.com; pct=100; adkim=s; aspf=s
- HOSTNAME: _dmarc
- Read more about DMARC here on this support document
2.6 – Add DKIM record in DigitalOcean & enable DKIM Authentication in GoogleAdmin
- DKIM adds a digital signature to every outgoing message, which lets receiving servers verify the message actually came from your organization
- Generate your DKIM token in GoogleAdmin
- Add your TXT record with the following data, but the Value you can just copy directly from Google
- VALUE: v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=SOMEINSANELYlongTXTstringWITHaWHOLEbunchOFcharactersTHATgoesONandONandONitsREALLYveryLONGtrustMEjustCOPYandPASTEtheLONGtextINTOyourHOSTNAME
- HOSTNAME: google._domainkey
- Read more about DKIM on this support document
2.7 – Register alias email addresses under GoogleAdmin
- This allows you to have multiple “names” people can email you at, and it will all hit your main inbox
- Navigate to Users > Select yourself
- Add alternate email addresses (aliases)
- contact@, info@, booking@, anything@
- Read more about email aliases on this support article
2.8 – Set up a catch-all email redirect in GoogleAdmin
- Set up a catch-all email so if someone misspells or types something wrong when trying to send you email, it will still reach you!
- In GoogleAdmin, go to Menu > Apps > Google Workspace > Gmail > Routing
- On the Routing tab, scroll to Routing
- Click Configure or Add Another Rule. The Add setting box opens.
- In the Add setting box, take these steps:
- Email messages to affect: INBOUND
- Click the menu “” and select Modify message.
Select Change envelope recipient
Select the Replace recipient option and enter your catch-all email address.
Scroll down, and click Show options. - Under Account types to affect, check the Unrecognized/Catch-all box. The Users and Groups boxes should be unchecked.
- Here is an in-depth support document detailing catch-all email addresses