Key facts
- Forwarders and aliases included with dijihost Complete Hosting at £1 a day + VAT
- A forwarder stores nothing; a mailbox keeps mail and has its own login
- One address can forward to several people
- Forwarding breaks SPF for the original sender; DKIM usually survives
- Forwarding to free webmail can push mail into spam or get it rejected
- Set-up on other providers: £45 an hour + VAT
Forwarder, alias or mailbox?
| What it does | Good for | |
|---|---|---|
| Mailbox | Stores mail, has its own login, can send | Each person who reads and replies to mail |
| Alias | A second address that delivers into an existing mailbox on the same server | jane@ also receiving accounts@ |
| Forwarder | Passes each message on to one or more addresses, which can be anywhere | info@ reaching two people, or mail going to an outside inbox |
Forwarders save mailboxes. A team of four might have four mailboxes and a dozen role addresses forwarding to them. With dijihost Complete Hosting you get 10 mailboxes and can add forwarders and aliases on top.
Why forwarding to Gmail or Outlook.com causes problems
Forwarding inside your own server is simple. Forwarding out to a free webmail account is where things go wrong, because of how email authentication works.
- SPF breaks. When our server passes on a message from, say, a supplier, Gmail sees it arriving from our server, which is not in the supplier's SPF record. SPF fails for the original sender. Some servers rewrite the envelope sender (known as SRS) so SPF passes for the forwarding domain, but that pass no longer aligns with the sender's From address.
- DMARC then relies on DKIM. If the original sender signed with DKIM and the message is not altered on the way, DKIM still passes and DMARC passes. If they did not sign, and their DMARC policy is quarantine or reject, the forwarded copy can go to spam or bounce.
- Spam damages the forwarder. Forwarding passes on spam too. When a webmail provider sees junk arriving from our server, it can start treating all forwarded mail with suspicion.
Better options than forwarding to free webmail
- Read the mailbox directly. Connect the phone's mail app or Outlook to your business mailbox over IMAP instead of forwarding everything elsewhere.
- Use a proper service end to end. If you love the Gmail interface, Google Workspace gives you Gmail on your own domain with no forwarding at all.
- Keep forwarding internal. Role addresses forwarding to mailboxes on the same domain avoid most of the problems above.
- Filter spam before forwarding where you must forward out, so less junk is passed on.
- Ask regular senders to sign with DKIM. If a key supplier's mail keeps going missing after forwarding, their missing DKIM signature is often the cause, and it is something only they can fix.
For a team address read by several people, a shared or group mailbox is usually tidier than a chain of forwarders.
Forwarding a whole domain
Sometimes you want every address on a second domain, such as an old company name, to reach your main mailboxes. That can be done with forwarders per address, or by adding the old domain as an alias domain where the service supports it. A single rule that accepts every address is a catch-all, which has its own downsides. Note that this is different from domain forwarding, which redirects website visitors, not email.
Whatever forwards, your SPF, DKIM and DMARC records on the sending side still need to be right.
How dijitul helps
Forwarders and aliases are included with dijihost Complete Hosting at £1 a day + VAT, alongside 10 POP3/IMAP mailboxes. If your email is with another provider, we set up forwarding at £45 an hour + VAT. Call 01623 650333 or email info@dijitul.uk and tell us which addresses should reach whom.
How it works and what it costs
Domains are priced live in the client portal. DNS management and 10 mailboxes are included with dijihost Complete Hosting at £1 a day + VAT. On their own, DNS and email set-up is £45 an hour + VAT or a fixed quote.
Tell us what you have
Your domains, who they are registered with, where your DNS and email live today, and what you want to change.
Plan the change
We list every DNS record and mailbox first, so nothing is forgotten, and agree a time to switch.
Make the switch
Transfers, nameserver changes, DNS records and mailbox moves, done carefully with low TTLs and a rollback plan.
Check it works
We test the website, email delivery, SPF, DKIM and DMARC from the outside before calling it done.
Look after it
Renewals, records and email stay looked after, and you can call a person when something changes.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a forwarder and a mailbox?
A mailbox stores mail and has its own login so someone can read and send from it. A forwarder stores nothing; it passes each message on to one or more other addresses. Forwarders are a cheap way to have many addresses without many mailboxes.
Why do forwarded emails go to spam in Gmail?
Gmail sees the message arriving from the forwarding server, which is not in the original sender's SPF record, so SPF fails. If the sender also lacks a DKIM signature, DMARC fails too. Spam passed on by the forwarder also harms its reputation with Gmail.
Can one address forward to several people?
Yes. A forwarder such as info@yourbusiness.co.uk can deliver a copy to several mailboxes at once. For teams that need to see who has replied, a shared mailbox in Microsoft 365 or a Google Group with a collaborative inbox works better.
Can I forward my business email to my personal Gmail?
You can, but it is not ideal. Some mail may go to spam or bounce because of SPF and DMARC, and business mail ends up in a personal account. Connecting your phone to the business mailbox over IMAP avoids both problems.
Is forwarding included?
Yes. Forwarders and aliases are included with dijihost Complete Hosting at £1 a day + VAT, alongside 10 POP3/IMAP mailboxes. If your email is hosted elsewhere, dijitul can set up forwarding there at £45 an hour + VAT.
Related
Get domains, DNS and email sorted
Set up properly, records checked, and real people to call. DNS and email are included with dijihost hosting.