Part 4: Professional Email¶

This page is part of the Personal Website Setup Guide. If you are joining mid-series, start at the Home page.

This part covers setting up a professional email address using your custom domain (you@yourname.com) without paying for Google Workspace or any other email hosting service. This setup is completely free.

The setup uses Cloudflare Email Routing to receive emails and Gmail SMTP to send them.

How it works¶

Someone sends email to you@yourname.com
        ↓
Cloudflare Email Routing receives it
        ↓
Forwards it to your Gmail inbox
        ↓
You reply from Gmail, appearing to send from you@yourname.com

Step 1: Enable Cloudflare Email Routing¶

In the Cloudflare dashboard, click on your domain
In the left sidebar, click Email then Email Routing
Click Get started
Under Destination addresses, add your Gmail address and click Send verification email
Check your Gmail inbox and click the verification link Cloudflare sends
Back in Email Routing, under Routing rules, click Create address
In the Custom address field, type the part of the email address that comes before the @ symbol. For example, type hello to create hello@yourname.com.
Set the action to Send to and select your verified Gmail address
Click Save
Send an email to your new address from any account to confirm it arrives in your Gmail inbox within a few minutes.

Cloudflare will automatically add the required MX and TXT records to your DNS. You do not need to add these manually. The records Cloudflare adds include an SPF record, which helps prevent your professional emails from being marked as spam by recipients.

Step 2: Configure Gmail to send from your custom address¶

Receiving email is now working. This step allows you to send email from Gmail so it appears to come from your custom domain address.

2a: Generate a Gmail App Password¶

Gmail requires an App Password for this configuration. App Passwords are only available if you have two-factor authentication enabled on your Google account.

Go to myaccount.google.com
Click Security in the left sidebar
Under How you sign in to Google, click 2-Step Verification and enable it if it is not already on
Once 2-Step Verification is enabled, go back to the Security page

Note: The App Passwords option is hidden unless 2-Step Verification is fully enabled. If you recently enabled 2-Step Verification, try signing out of Google and signing back in. This refreshes your account session and makes the option visible. If you still cannot find it, go directly to: myaccount.google.com/apppasswords

In the search bar at the top of the page, type App passwords and click the result
In the App name field, type something recognisable, for example, Gmail SMTP yourname.com
Click Create
Google will display a 16-character password. Copy this immediately. It will not be shown again.

Security note: Store your App Password in a password manager. If you lose it, you cannot view it again. You will need to delete it and generate a new one at myaccount.google.com/apppasswords.

2b: Add your custom address to Gmail¶

In Gmail, click the Settings gear then See all settings
Click the Accounts and Import tab
Under Send mail as, click Add another email address
A window will open. Fill in:
Name: Your name as you want it to appear
Email address: you@yourname.com
Leave Treat as an alias unticked. Leaving this unticked ensures Gmail sends from your custom address directly rather than treating it as a forwarding alias.
Click Next Step
Fill in the SMTP settings:
SMTP Server: smtp.gmail.com
Port: 587
Username: Your full Gmail address (not your custom domain address)
Password: The 16-character App Password you generated in Step 2a
Select Secured connection using TLS
Click Add Account

Note: If port 587 with TLS fails due to network restrictions, use port 465 with SSL as an alternative.

2c: Configure reply behaviour¶

Still on the Accounts and Import tab, find the When replying to a message section
Select Reply from the same address the message was sent to
Next to you@yourname.com, click make default

Why this matters: If you leave the default set to your Gmail address, any reply you send will appear to come from your personal Gmail rather than your professional address, even if the original email was sent to your custom domain. Changing these two settings ensures your professional address is used consistently.

2d: Verify the address¶

Gmail will send a confirmation email to your custom domain address. Because Cloudflare Email Routing is already set up, this email will arrive in your Gmail inbox.

Find the email from Gmail with the subject Gmail Confirmation
Click the confirmation link inside it

Verification is usually instant. If Gmail does not confirm immediately, wait a few minutes and check again.

Your custom domain address is now verified. You can compose emails in Gmail and select you@yourname.com from the From dropdown before sending.

What you should see¶

After completing all steps in this part:

Emails sent to you@yourname.com arrive in your Gmail inbox
You can compose a new email in Gmail, select you@yourname.com from the From dropdown, and send it
Recipients see your custom domain address, not your Gmail address

If email routing or SMTP is not working as expected, see the Troubleshooting page.

Your setup is complete. See the Quick Reference page for all configuration values in one place.

Written by Douglas Ebhoman, a technical writer based in Prague who builds documentation systems for DevTools and SaaS companies. douglasebhoman.com · LinkedIn