How to Set Up Email Forwarding in Cloudflare: A Step-by-Step Guide

Setting up email forwarding with Cloudflare is a great way to route emails from custom domains to your preferred inbox. Whether you want to receive business emails at your personal address or consolidate multiple addresses into one inbox, Cloudflare’s Email Routing feature makes it easy to manage email forwarding. In this guide, we will walk you through the process of setting up email forwarding in Cloudflare step-by-step.

You can watch below video for practical :]

Table of Contents:

  1. What is Email Forwarding in Cloudflare?
  2. Benefits of Using Cloudflare for Email Forwarding
  3. Prerequisites for Setting Up Email Forwarding
  4. Step-by-Step Guide to Email Forwarding in Cloudflare
    • Adding Your Domain to Cloudflare
    • Setting Up Email Routing
    • Verifying DNS Settings
    • Creating Email Forwarding Rules
  5. Testing Your Email Forwarding
  6. Troubleshooting Common Issues
  7. Conclusion

1. What is Email Forwarding in Cloudflare?

Email forwarding in Cloudflare allows you to route emails sent to your custom domain (e.g., [email protected]) to another email address (e.g., [email protected]). You don’t need to set up a full email server. Cloudflare handles this via their Email Routing feature, making it seamless to receive domain-based emails in your preferred inbox without the complexity of hosting email services.

2. Benefits of Using Cloudflare for Email Forwarding

  • Cost-Effective: Cloudflare’s Email Routing feature is free to use, saving you from the expenses of hosting an email server.
  • Easy to Set Up: You can set up email forwarding in a few clicks without any complicated configurations.
  • Reliable and Secure: Cloudflare provides secure and reliable email delivery with added protection against spam and phishing.
  • Domain-based Email: You can maintain a professional appearance by using a custom domain for your email addresses.

3. Prerequisites for Setting Up Email Forwarding

Before you start, ensure you have the following:

  • A domain name added to Cloudflare.
  • Access to the Cloudflare dashboard for your domain.
  • An email address where you want to forward your emails (e.g., [email protected]).

If you don’t have your domain added to Cloudflare yet, follow the steps in the next section to get started.

4. Step-by-Step Guide to Email Forwarding in Cloudflare

Step 1: Adding Your Domain to Cloudflare

  1. Log in to your Cloudflare account (or create one if you haven’t already).
  2. Click on “Add a Site” at the top right corner.
  3. Enter your domain name (e.g., yourdomain.com) and follow the prompts to complete the setup.
  4. Change your domain’s nameservers to the ones provided by Cloudflare at your registrar’s website. This step connects your domain to Cloudflare.

Step 2: Setting Up Email Routing

  1. Once your domain is active in Cloudflare, go to your domain’s dashboard.
  2. Navigate to Email > Email Routing on the left menu.
  3. Click Set up Email Routing to begin the process.

Step 3: Verifying DNS Settings

Cloudflare will automatically generate the necessary DNS records for email routing, including:

  • MX records that direct emails to Cloudflare.
  • SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records to improve email deliverability and security.

Verify that these records are correctly set in the DNS settings tab.

Step 4: Creating Email Forwarding Rules

  1. In the Email Routing section, click on Create address.
  2. Enter the custom email address you want to use (e.g., [email protected]).
  3. In the Destination address field, enter the email address where you want the forwarded emails to go (e.g., [email protected]).
  4. Save the rule.

Repeat this process if you want to set up multiple forwarding addresses.

5. Testing Your Email Forwarding

Once you’ve created the forwarding rule, it’s a good idea to test it:

  1. Send an email to your custom domain email address (e.g., [email protected]).
  2. Check the destination inbox (e.g., your Gmail) to see if the forwarded email arrives.
  3. If it appears in your inbox, your email forwarding is working properly.

6. Troubleshooting Common Issues

If you run into issues while setting up email forwarding in Cloudflare, here are a few things to check:

  • DNS Propagation: DNS changes may take a few minutes to propagate. Wait for 10-15 minutes after making changes.
  • MX Records: Make sure that your domain’s MX records are pointing to Cloudflare and not to a third-party email provider.
  • SPF/DKIM/DMARC Records: Ensure that the SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records are correctly set to avoid issues with email deliverability.

If problems persist, check Cloudflare’s support documentation or contact their customer support for help.

7. Conclusion

Setting up email forwarding in Cloudflare is a simple yet powerful way to manage emails for your custom domain without hosting an email server. With the Email Routing feature, you can quickly create forwarding rules and manage your domain-based emails securely and efficiently.

If you follow the steps outlined above, you’ll have your custom email forwarding set up in no time. Enjoy the flexibility and professionalism of using domain-based email addresses, all while benefiting from Cloudflare’s reliable infrastructure.