Table of contents

• Introduction
• PurelyMail Domain Set Up
  • DNS
  • Creating User
• GMail Configuration
  • Sending Emails
• Receiving Emails
• Conclusion

Introduction

I initially was using SimpleLogin for routing my custom domains. One of the problems with SL was CC’ing other people and replying. It would reveal both the SimpleLogin proxy email and the actual email address. I heard about using Cloudflare Email Routing for sending emails, but I also wanted to recieve emails via GMail. I discovered PurelyMail online which only costed 10 USD per year, had a trial, and should be able to handle both send and recieve.

PurelyMail Domain Set Up

DNS

First I set up my Domain with PurelyMail. I was using Cloudflare for routing, so I followed the instructions to add the seven records. The instructions are below:

1. Click the “Add record” button and select the “MX” type. Put @ on the “Name” field and mailserver.purelymail.com on the Mail Server field. Leave TTL on Auto and set priority to 50. Save.
2. Click the “Add record” button again and select the “TXT” type. Put @ on the “Name” field and v=spf1 include:_spf.purelymail.com ~all on the Content field. Leave TTL on Auto. Save.
3. Click the “Add record” button again and select the “TXT” type. Put @ on the “Name” field and purelymail_ownership_proof=XXXXXXXXXXXXXX on the Content field. Leave TTL on Auto. Save.
4. Click the “Add record” button again but this time select the “CNAME” type. Put purelymail1._domainkey on the “Name” field and key1.dkimroot.purelymail.com on the Content field. Leave TTL on Auto and click on the cloud on “Proxy Status” and set it as DNS only (this is very important). Save.
5. Click the “Add record” button again but this time select the “CNAME” type. Put purelymail2._domainkey on the “Name” field and key2.dkimroot.purelymail.com on the Content field. Leave TTL on Auto and click on the cloud on “Proxy Status” and set it as DNS only (this is very important). Save.
6. Click the “Add record” button again but this time select the “CNAME” type. Put purelymail3._domainkey on the “Name” field and key3.dkimroot.purelymail.com on the Content field. Leave TTL on Auto and click on the cloud on “Proxy Status” and set it as DNS only (this is very important). Save.
7. Finally, click the “Add record” button again and select the “CNAME” type. Put _dmarcon the “Name” field and dmarcroot.purelymail.com on the Content field. Leave TTL on Auto and click on the cloud on “Proxy Status” and set it as DNS only (this is very important). Save.

Below is my resulting DNS for the domain:

When I clicked Check DNS Record on PurelyMail, everything looked good.

Creating User

I created a new user for the domain with a username and password.

GMail Configuration

Sending Emails

I went to GMail settings and clicked Add another email address under Send mail as:

I went through the wizard for set up. Adding email as alias:

I then added the SMTP server. SMTP uses port 587 and smtp.purelymail.com. I used the username and password of the new PurelyMail user I created earlier.

After clicking Add Account from the previous step, I got prompted to confirm the email.

After clicking on the link in the email, I was prompted to confirm.

Receiving Emails

GMail doesn’t allow for IMAP, so I had to use POP3. I went to GMail settings and clicked Add a mail account under Check mail from other accounts:

Selecting POP3

I then added the POP3 details. POP3 uses port 995 and pop3.purelymail.com. I used the username and password of the new PurelyMail user I created earlier. I decided to leave a copy of the email on the server just in case.

Conclusion

I used MailGenius to test emails, and they scored 97 (three less for domain TLD and content of email). Now I can manage all emails from the domain in GMail and fix the issue with CC’ing or replying. I just need to ensure I top up PurelyMail.