When small start-ups or OPC start operations, they often need a corporate mailbox. However, there are many places to spend money in the early stage, and there is no need to purchase a fee-based corporate email service as soon as you come forward. In fact, through Cloudflare + Resend + Gmail, you can build a support for freesend and receive mailand you don't need to install additional software, just use your usual Gmail directly.
Its principle is simple:
** Receiving emails: ** Someone sends emails to hello@yourdomain.com → Cloudflare free email forwarding → Your regular Gmail, such as yourname@gmail.com。
** Send an email: ** You click Send in Gmail → Send through Resend's free SMTP service → The sender seen by the other party is still hello@yourdomain.com。
For individual entrepreneurs, small teams and OPC with small email volume, this solution is basically enough.
preparations
You need to prepare:
- A domain name of your own, such as
yourdomain.com(You can purchase it on Cloudflare, Namecheap, Alibaba Cloud and other platforms. It is recommended to use Cloudflare directly) - A free Cloudflare account
- A free Resend account
- An existing regular Gmail account
Step 1: Hosting the domain name on Cloudflare
If the domain name itself is registered with Cloudflare, you can skip this step.
Log in to Cloudflare and clickadd site, enter your domain name and select the **Free ** plan. Cloudflare provides two Nameservers.
Then log in to your domain name registrar, such as Alibaba Cloud, Namecheap, etc., and change the DNS Nameservers of the domain name to the two addresses provided by Cloudflare. Wait for DNS to take effect until Cloudflare shows that the domain name status ishas been activatedThat's enough.
Step 2: Configure free pickup function
Go to Cloudflare domain name console and findEmail Services → Email Routing。
Click on the top right cornerconnect a domain name, select the domain name you just added and continue. Follow the prompts on the page to add the required DNS records, and then click Activate.
then switch torouting rules, clickCreate routing rules：
- ** Email matching pattern: ** Fill in the mailbox prefix you want to use, for example
hello - ** Action: ** Select "Send to Email"
- ** Goal: ** Fill in your Gmail, such as
yourname@gmail.com
After saving, Cloudflare will send a verification email to your Gmail. Just open Gmail to complete the verification.
Later, you can ask other email addresses to hello@yourdomain.com Send a test email to confirm that the email can be forwarded to Gmail normally.
Step 3: Configure free shipping function
to login in Resend, enter Domains → Add Domain, enter your domain name, for example yourdomain.com。
Resend provides several records that need to be added to DNS, mainly including the ones used for mail authentication. DKIM, SPF, etc. records。If your domain name uses Cloudflare, you can configure it automatically or manually according to the method provided by Resend.
After DNS configuration is complete, click in Resend Verify Domainuntil the domain name verification is successful.
then into API Keys → Create API KeyCreate an API Key. You can fill in the name at will and choose permissions Full access。Be sure to copy and save it immediately after generation, because the API Key is usually displayed completely only once in a similar format:
re_123456...
Step 4: Let Gmail use your corporate mailbox to send emails
Open the web version of Gmail and enterSettings → View all settings → Account and Import。
findSend email using this address, clickadding another email address。
Fill in the popup window:
- ** Name: ** Enter the company name or your name
- ** Email address: ** Fill in the corporate email address, for example
hello@yourdomain.com - checkas an alias
After clicking Next, fill in the SMTP information:
- SMTP server:
smtp.resend.com - ** Port: **465 or 587
- User name:
resend - ** Password: ** Fill in the Resend API Key generated just now
- ** Connection method: **465 uses SSL, 587 uses TLS
Click Add Account.
Next, Gmail will send a verification email to hello@yourdomain.com。Since Cloudflare email forwarding has been set up in step 2, this email will automatically enter your Gmail. Open the email, enter the Captcha or click the verification link to complete the settings.
Step 5: Start using
After configuration is complete, click on Gmailwrite emails, you can select in the sender column:
yourname@gmail.com
Or:
hello@yourdomain.com
select hello@yourdomain.com Later, what the other party sees is your corporate email, not personal Gmail.
In addition, it is recommended to enter Gmail → Settings → Account and Import → Send email with this address, open:
"When replying to an email, use the same address from which the message was sent"
so that people send emails to hello@yourdomain.com After that, you directly click reply and Gmail will automatically use it. hello@yourdomain.com When replying, it is not easy to encounter the embarrassing situation of "it is obviously a corporate mailbox, but the reply becomes a personal Gmail."
Several points to pay attention to
1. Resend free credit
The free version of Resend is currently suitable for low-mail scenarios. The specific free limit and limit suggestions are based on the official current package page. For starting individual entrepreneurs and small teams, it is usually enough.
2. Be sure to complete DNS verification
DNS verification such as DKIM and SPF in Resend is very important. Incomplete configuration may cause mail to enter the garbage box and even affect the success rate of delivery.
3. Don't disclose API Key
Resend API Key is equivalent to a password. Do not publicly publish, take screenshots or submit it to GitHub. If leakage is suspected, it should be deleted immediately and regenerated.
4. Multi-person teams can also be used this way
For example, team member Alice uses alice@yourdomain.com, just forward this address to Alice's personal Gmail in Cloudflare, and then Alice will follow step 4 to configure her Resend + Gmail.
final effect
The entire plan can be simply understood as:
Cloudflare = Free email
hello@yourdomain.com → Cloudflare → yourname@gmail.com
Resend = Free email
Gmail → Resend SMTP → hello@yourdomain.com → Recipient
Gmail = Daily Operation Interface
You don't need to learn a new email client, nor do you need to purchase an additional corporate mailbox. You can continue to use the familiar Gmail to complete the sending and receiving of corporate mailboxes.
forJust started a business, not much email, and wanted to reduce costs as much as possibleThis is a very practical transition plan for individuals and small teams.