Skip to main content

How I Set Up My Custom Domain Email with Gmail (Without Google Workspace)

· 2 min read

I wanted to send and receive emails from my own domain, using an address like contact@yourdomain.com, but without paying for Google Workspace or a full-featured email hosting. Here’s the step-by-step process I followed to make it work — super useful for personal branding!

Step 1. Email Forwarding on Namecheap​

  • Logged into Namecheap Dashboard → Domain List → Manage → Advanced DNS.

  • Under Mail Settings, selected Email Forwarding.

  • Added a forward rule:

    • Alias: contact
    • Forward to: my Gmail address.

✅ Now all emails sent to contact@yourdomain.com land in my Gmail inbox.

(You can also do a catch-all)

Step 2. Sending as contact@yourdomain.com from Gmail​

  • In Gmail, went to Settings → Accounts and Import → Send mail as → Add another email address.

  • Entered my name + contact@yourdomain.com.

  • Used Gmail’s SMTP with these settings:

    • SMTP Server: smtp.gmail.com
    • Port: 587 (TLS)
    • Username: my full Gmail address
    • Password: App Password (see below)

🔑 App Password Fix​

Normal Gmail password doesn’t work with SMTP anymore (error 535). I had to:

  1. Enable 2-Step Verification in my Google account.
  2. Go to Google App Passwords.
  3. Generate a new password for “Mail → Other (SMTP).”
  4. Use that 16-character app password in Gmail SMTP settings.

✅ After verifying the confirmation code (sent to my forwarded inbox), I could now send mail as contact@yourdomain.com.

Step 3. Adding SPF & DMARC Records​

To avoid landing in spam, I added DNS records in Namecheap.

SPF​

Type: TXT
Host: @
Value: v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all
TTL: Automatic

DMARC​

Type: TXT
Host: _dmarc
Value: v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:youremail@gmail.com
TTL: Automatic

(DKIM requires Workspace or another mail host, so I skipped it.)

Step 4. Testing​

  • Sent myself an email, opened Show original in Gmail → SPF & DMARC passed ✅
  • Used mail-tester.com → got a spam score + deliverability report.
  • DMARC reports started arriving in my Gmail (can use tools like Postmark or dmarcian to visualize).

Final Result​

  • ✅ Receiving emails at contact@yourdomain.com in Gmail
  • ✅ Sending emails from Gmail with my custom domain
  • ✅ SPF/DMARC protection so I don’t end up in spam

All without paying for Google Workspace — just a little DNS + Gmail trickery. 🚀