Today, I figured out how to set my Gmail account to send and receive emails from develop@thelifeofsean.com for free. There was no need to sign up to anything or even subscribe to Google Workplace. The only thing I had to pay for was my domain name and my hosting. Continue reading through and you can hopefully do it too.

Prerequisites:

In order to follow this guide you’ll need to have already bought your domain name and set it up with hosting. I bought my domain name through Google and had my domain name pointed to DigitalOcean’s nameservers (My hosting service).

Directions:

Follow the original source: https://support.google.com/domains/answer/3251241. I’ll be going in depth addition details below.

Receiving Emails From Your Email Alias

STEP 1: Set up email forwarding:

1. On your computer sign in to Google Domains.
2. Click the name of your domain. (If you bought your domain name through Google it should already be on the list. At the moment I don’t know how you would add the domain name if you bought it from another domain registrar.)
3. Open the Menu (It should be a 3 bar icon).
4. Click Email.
5. Under “Email forward,” enter the alias email address name and the existing recipient email address. NOTE: If you want your Gmail to catch all emails sent to your domain, use a catch-all wildcard by adding “*@” before your domain name and enter it in the Alias Email field. For example, what I would be entering for this step is: *@thelifeofsean.com
6. Click Add.

Set up email forwarding with custom name servers

If you use Google name servers, Google Domains automatically creates the required mail exchange records (MX records) to make email forwarding work.

But if you’re like me (using Digital Ocean for hosting) and you’re using custom name servers and want to use Google Domains’ email forwarding, learn how to set up email forwarding with custom name servers.

If you’re using Digital Ocean, you can have most of it for you, BUT you’ll want to double check if the records match the link provided above. I had to correct the first row for mine. In any case the link above ever goes down, I’ve pasted the same chart below.

Name/Host/Alias	Type	Time-to-live (TTL)	Priority	Value/Answer/Destination
Blank or @	MX	1H	5	gmr-smtp-in.l.google.com
Blank or @	MX	1H	10	alt1.gmr-smtp-in.l.google.com
Blank or @	MX	1H	20	alt2.gmr-smtp-in.l.google.com
Blank or @	MX	1H	30	alt3.gmr-smtp-in.l.google.com
Blank or @	MX	1H	40	alt4.gmr-smtp-in.l.google.com

Step 2: Activate email forwarding

Google Domains sends a one-time confirmation email to the recipient email address you entered in Step 1. Follow the instructions in the email to activate email forwarding.  Forget the crossed out part and have your friend, mom, or cat send and email to your domain email you added in step 1. Then check if you received in your Gmail.

You may not receive a confirmation email and email forwarding begins immediately if:

• You’ve previously verified the recipient address with Google Domains for another forwarded email alias.
• The recipient address is the same address you use to sign in to Google Domains.

If you were able to receive an email from your friend, mom, or cat.. CONGRATS! You can move onto the next part.

Sending Emails From Your Email Alias

If your primary email address is a Gmail address, you can make sending an email look like it’s from the email alias you created. Learn how to send emails from an alias.​

If the original link does not work, here’s a copy below with my notes added to it:

Step 1: Generate your app password

1. On your computer, go to your Google Account. 
2. At the left, click Security. 
3. Under “Signing in to Google,” click App passwords and sign in, if required.
   • If you don’t find “App passwords,” click 2-Step Verification and follow the steps to turn on 2-step verification for your account. You may have to sign in again.
4. Under “App passwords,” click Select app  Mail.
5. Click Select device  Other.
6. Enter the name of your domain and click Generate.
7. From the app password box, copy the 16 character password generated. You’ll need this address when you add your new send-as (forwarded) account (in Step 2 below).

Step 2: Add an email alias

1. On your computer, go to Gmail.
2. At the top right, click Settings  Settings.
3. Select the Accounts and import or Accounts tab.
4. In the “Send mail as,” click Add another email address.
5. In the window that opens, enter the name you want recipients to view.
6. Enter the email address alias you’ve set up for email forwarding. 
7. Confirm that “Treat as an alias” is marked, and click Next step. 
8. In the “SMTP Server” field, it may have something else prefilled in it, but make sure to enter: smtp.gmail.com.
9. From the “Port” menu, choose 587.
10. In the “Username” field, it may also have a username prefilled in there, BUT enter the Gmail account you’re signed in with. 
11. In the “Password” field, enter the 16-character generated app password that you copied in Step 1. 
12. Confirm that the Secured connection using TLS box is marked.
13. Click Add account.

​Step 3: Confirm the address

1. On your computer, go to Gmail.
2. Open the confirmation message you received from Gmail.
3. Click the link. 

Step 4: Change the “From” address

1. In your message, click the “From” line.
   • If you don’t find the “From” line, click the space next to the recipient’s email.
2. Select the address to send from. 

For more help on how to send email from your email alias in Gmail, visit the Gmail Help Center.

If you send an email from your Gmail account to your domain’s custom email address, Gmail might auto-archive the message since the sender and recipient are the same. Adjust your Gmail settings to create filters that will help prevent that.