Email Forwarding: Use Your Domain Without Paying For A Mailbox
You want hello@yourbusiness.com on the website and business cards. You do not necessarily want another inbox to check, another monthly bill, or a full Microsoft 365 rollout on day one. Email forwarding is the simple middle path - and at a decent registrar it should be free, unlimited, and permanent, not a paid add-on.
What Email Forwarding Is
Email forwarding creates addresses on your domain that pass messages through to an inbox you already use.
Example:
- Someone writes to hello@yourdomain.com
- The message is redirected to you@gmail.com (or Outlook, iCloud, your host mailbox - wherever you chose)
- You read and reply from the inbox you already live in
The visitor still sees a professional address. You still use one familiar app. Setup is usually a couple of fields: the local part (hello, info, support) and the destination email.
At Dab Hand Domains every domain includes unlimited forwarding addresses for free, for life - hello@, info@, support@, and as many others as you need - redirected to any inbox you already use.
Forwarding vs A Real Mailbox
They solve different problems.
Forwarding is enough when:
- You mainly need to receive enquiries
- Volume is modest
- You are fine replying from Gmail/Outlook and do not mind if the reply sometimes shows your personal-looking From address (depends on how you reply and which tools you use)
- You want zero extra subscription for mail
A real mailbox (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, and similar) is better when:
- You must send and receive as name@yourdomain.com consistently
- Several people need separate inboxes and calendars
- You need company-wide policies, shared drives, or admin controls
- Deliverability and professional sending identity matter day to day
Dab Hand's product stance is honest about this: forwarding gets mail to you; a real mailbox lets you send from your domain properly. Many people start with forwarding and upgrade later.
How hello@ Actually Works
Technically, mail for your domain is routed using MX records in DNS. When you enable forwarding at the registrar, those records (and related settings) are pointed at the forwarding system so messages for your domain land there, then bounce onward to your chosen destination.
You usually do not need to hand-edit MX for basic registrar forwarding - the dashboard does it when you turn forwarding on. If you later move mail to Google or Microsoft, you replace those MX records with theirs and stop using registrar forwarding for that domain (or run a deliberate hybrid only if you know what you are doing).
Unlimited Redirects, One Brain
"Unlimited" matters more than it sounds. Small businesses collect addresses over time:
- hello@ for the website form and general contact
- accounts@ for invoices
- jobs@ for hiring
- personal firstname@ for founder vanity that still looks official
Forwarding lets you route all of those into one or two real inboxes without buying a seat per alias. That is ideal for freelancers and tiny teams. When the team grows, seats on Workspace or 365 start to make more sense.
Spam And Abuse Notes
Forwarding does not magically stop spam. If an address is published on the open web, bots will find it. Practical habits:
- Prefer contact forms for public pages when you can; publish fewer raw addresses
- Use specific addresses for specific channels so you can retire a noisy one without killing everything
- Keep WHOIS privacy on so your personal email is not scraped from registration data
- Do not forward to an address you never check - bounce loops and missed leads are worse than spam
If spam volume explodes on one alias, delete or change that forward and publish a new address. Cheap fix, high impact.
Common Setup Mistakes
Typos in the destination. Mail goes into a black hole or someone else's inbox. Double-check the destination address.
Fighting MX records. If you set Google's MX and registrar forwarding MX at the same time without a plan, mail will not do what you expect. One mail system should own MX.
Assuming send = receive. Forwarding is about receiving on the domain. Sending as the domain from Gmail needs extra setup (SPF/DKIM and provider features) or a real mailbox product. Plan for that if branded outbound mail matters.
Forgetting the domain renews. Forwarding dies with the domain. Auto-renew and reminders still matter.
Free For Life Should Mean Free For Life
Some registrars charge yearly for a handful of forwards, or bundle "email" as a paid tier that is really just redirects. That is a dark pattern when the underlying cost is tiny.
Look for:
- Unlimited aliases included with the domain
- No separate "email forwarding" line item at checkout
- Dashboard control without opening a ticket
- Clear path to real mailboxes later if you outgrow redirects
That is the Dab Hand model: included, forever, no upsell for the basic path.
A Sensible Starter Setup
- Register the domain and confirm it is active in your account
- Create hello@ and info@ forwards to the inbox you check daily
- Put hello@ on the site contact section and Google Business Profile if you use one
- Keep personal addresses off public WHOIS (privacy on)
- Revisit in six months - if you are sending dozens of client emails a day as the brand, consider Workspace or 365
Bottom Line
Email forwarding is how most small sites should start: professional receive addresses, zero new inbox habit, no extra bill. Graduate to full mailboxes when sending identity and team features earn their keep.
If your registrar charges for basic forwards, you are paying rent on something that ought to come with the domain. Unlimited free forwarding for life is the baseline, not a luxury feature.