Use email forwarding with an email client
You can receive and send email from your domain address, such as [email protected], at no extra cost by combining Templ's email forwarding and SMTP service with a free email client (an app for reading and sending email). Keep your existing inbox, such as Gmail, and use Apple Mail on Mac or Thunderbird on Windows, Mac, or Linux to send from your domain.
How it works
Incoming and outgoing email use separate services:
- Receive: Templ forwards messages sent to your domain address to your existing inbox. Your email client reads that inbox through IMAP, which keeps messages and folders synchronized between devices.
- Send: your email client connects directly to Templ SMTP (the outgoing mail service), using your domain address as the sender. It does not send through Gmail's Send mail as feature.
- Store: your existing inbox provider stores your messages. Templ provides forwarding and sending, not mailbox storage.
This replaces the retiring Gmail setup. You can still read forwarded messages in Gmail on the web, but use your configured email client to send or reply from your domain address.
Prepare your domain and inbox
- Create an email forwarding address that delivers to your existing inbox. Follow that guide's MX record instructions: MX records control where incoming mail goes. Do not replace another provider's MX records if you want to keep receiving mail there; an existing mailbox or alias can receive replies without Templ forwarding.
- Follow our SPF and DKIM and domain verification guidance to authorize Templ to send for your domain.
- Open Templ Panel → Email → SMTP Settings for your outgoing server credentials. These are separate from your inbox provider's login.
Templ SMTP allows ordinary correspondence and automated website email, not bulk or marketing email. See allowed use and sending limits.
Connect your email client
First add your existing inbox to the client using your inbox provider's setup. For Gmail, choose Google and sign in through Google's authorization screen where offered. Do not enter Templ credentials as the incoming server login: Templ does not provide an IMAP mailbox.
Then add your domain sender address and configure a separate outgoing server:
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Sender email address | Your domain address, such as [email protected] |
| Outgoing server | Server hostname from Templ Panel → Email → SMTP Settings |
| Outgoing username and password | Templ SMTP credentials, not your inbox login |
| Port | 587 |
| Connection security | STARTTLS (TLS encryption) |
Keep encryption and certificate verification enabled. Only the outgoing server uses Templ credentials; leave your inbox's incoming settings unchanged.
Apple Mail on Mac
- Add your existing inbox in Mail → Add Account if it is not already configured.
- Open Mail → Settings → Accounts, select that inbox, and under Account Information, use Email Address → Edit Email Addresses to add your domain address.
- Under Server Settings, open Outgoing Mail Account → Edit SMTP Server List and add Templ's outgoing server using the settings above. If needed, turn off Automatically manage connection settings for this outgoing server to enter the port and enable Use TLS/SSL.
- Select the Templ outgoing server for the account. When composing, choose your domain address in From.
The outgoing server selection applies to the account, not just one address. If you also send from your personal Gmail address, check the selected sender and outgoing server before sending; do not assume Templ can send for your Gmail address. See Apple's outgoing server settings.
Thunderbird on Windows, Mac, and Linux
- Add your existing inbox to Thunderbird.
- Open Account Settings → Outgoing Server (SMTP) → Add. Enter the Templ settings above; select STARTTLS and Normal password for authentication. Thunderbird prompts for the SMTP password when sending.
- Select your incoming account in Account Settings, then Manage Identities → Add. An identity is a sender name and email address associated with the same inbox.
- Enter your name and domain address, and select the Templ server under Outgoing Server (SMTP) for this identity. Keep your original identity's outgoing server unchanged.
- Select your domain identity in From when composing or replying.
Thunderbird supports a separate outgoing server per identity; see Thunderbird's account settings. These instructions are for the desktop app, not Thunderbird for Android.
Test sending and receiving
- Send a message from another account to your domain address and confirm it reaches your inbox.
- Send from the client with your domain address selected. Check that the recipient sees that address as the sender and can reply to it.
- Reply to a message received at your domain address. Check From before sending so the reply does not expose your personal inbox address.
- Check that outgoing messages appear in your inbox provider's Sent folder. If not, review the client's sent-message folder settings; SMTP sending alone does not synchronize sent messages.
Other options
If you want to send from your domain in Gmail's web interface rather than a desktop app, use a full mailbox service such as Google Workspace. This is a separate paid service, not the free Gmail forwarding setup. Other mailbox providers also work with Templ-hosted websites; follow the provider's DNS instructions when switching incoming email.