Want to ditch that unprofessional @gmail.com email address without paying for Google Workspace or Microsoft 365? Whether you’re a freelancer, small business owner, or just want a more professional look, this guide walks you through setting up a free business email — no monthly fees attached.
Let’s dive in.
Why You Need a Business Email
First things first — why bother setting up a business email in the first place? A personalized email like yourname@yourbusiness.com boosts credibility and trust. Imagine contacting a client from john.doe@gmail.com versus john@awesomebusiness.com — which one screams more professional? Exactly.
The good news? You can have that without paying $6 per user per month for Google Workspace. Let’s make it happen.
What You’ll Need:
- A domain name (we’re using Name.com for this tutorial. Use my affiliate link as I earn a commission for each signup at no additional cost to you)
- A Gmail account
- A bit of patience — but trust me, it’s worth it
Step 1: Set Up Email Forwarding at name.com
Most domain registrars (like Name.com) offer free email forwarding. This lets emails sent to yourname@yourbusiness.com land in your regular Gmail inbox. To do so;
- Log into your Name.com account or signup for one if you haven’t already. Please use this affiliate link.
- Go to Email Forwarding settings.
- Add a new forward from
yourname@yourbusiness.comto your Gmail address such as yourname@gmail.com. In my case below, I am forwarding emails from info@sitemonki.com to hataricloud@gmail.com. - Save the settings.
👉 Why Email Forwarding Matters: This is crucial because it redirects incoming emails from your business address to your personal Gmail inbox — you won’t miss a thing. But this is only half the setup. You’ll still need to send emails from your business address.
When you enable email forwarding for a specific domain, Name.com automatically configures MX records (Mail Exchange records). This ensures Name.com knows where to route your emails.
👉 What Are MX Records? Think of MX records as the traffic director for your email — they tell the internet where to send messages addressed to your domain.
Step 2: Set Up Gmail to Send as Your Business Email
Receiving emails is half the battle — now let’s configure Gmail to send emails from your custom address too. For this, you will have to setup gmail smpt server in your gmail settings.
- Open Gmail, click the gear icon, and head to See All Settings.
- Go to the Accounts and Import tab.
- Under Send Mail As, click Add another email address.
- Enter your business email (
yourname@yourbusiness.com).
- In the SMTP settings:
- SMTP Server:
smtp.gmail.com - Port:
587 - Username: Your Gmail address
- Password: Your Gmail App Password (more on this below)
- SMTP Server:
- Hit Add Account — verify the confirmation email.
👉 About App Passwords: If you have two-factor authentication on (and you should!), Gmail won’t accept your regular password here. Instead, create an App Password:
- Ensure you have signed in to the gmail account you are forwarding emails to and that two-factor authentication is enabled.
- Go to https://myaccount.google.com/apppasswords
- Enter a name for the app specific password. Enter something like Mail
- Click on “Created. An app password will be generated for you.
- Copy and paste it into the SMTP setup above under the password field.
🎉 Step 3: Make It Default(Optional)
To avoid accidentally replying from your Gmail, set your business email as the default sender.
- Go back to Accounts and Import.
- Find your business email under Send Mail As and hit Make Default.
You’re Done!
Congrats — you now have a professional business email setup without monthly fees. You’ll send and receive emails from yourname@yourbusiness.com straight from Gmail — and no one will know you didn’t pay a dime for fancy email hosting.
When composing email, simply select your business email in the dropdown menu of the from field. By default, it’s your gmail email which is selected.
🛠️ Need Help Setting This Up?
If this feels too technical or you hit a snag, I’ve got you covered! For a $50 one-time fee, I’ll walk you through the entire setup over a Google Meet call — screen sharing included. Go to sitemonki and contact me.
👉 Here’s what you’ll need:
- A domain from Name.com (about $17/year for a .com domain — this is an affiliate link, and I earn a commission at no extra cost to you).
- A Gmail account
📲 Get Support:
- Fill in this form to book a support session
- Or chat live via WhatsApp
Additionally, I prepared a video tutorial if you wish to follow visual guide;
Let’s get your professional email up and running today — no tech headaches required! Happy emailing!