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This article is a modern guide for connecting your HostNed-hosted email accounts with your personal Gmail account. Whether you're looking to receive, send, or manage domain emails using Gmail, this guide outlines the best practices and options available.

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✉️ Overview of Your HostNed Email Options

Every HostNed Web Hosting plan includes:

• Custom @yourdomain.com email accounts
• Access via Webmail (from any browser)
• Support for standard protocols: IMAP, POP3, and SMTP
• Compatibility with clients like Outlook, Apple Mail, Thunderbird, K-9 Mail, and others
• Ability to create Forwarders to redirect mail to external addresses

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🔄 Option 1: Set Up Email Forwarding to Gmail (Most Common)

✔️ Advantages:

• Easiest and quickest method
• No need to change DNS or MX records
• Emails arrive directly in Gmail inbox
• Works well for basic personal or low-volume business use

❌ Disadvantages:

• Gmail only fetches forwarded mail, not sent mail (unless configured further)
• You may not be able to organise forwarded mail into specific Gmail labels automatically
• Gmail's SMTP server must be set up separately for replying as your domain

✅ How To Set Up a Forwarder
In cPanel (Linux)

• Log into your control panel at:
  
  Code Select Expand
  https://yourdomain.com/cpanel
• Go to Email → Forwarders
• Click Add Forwarder
• Enter your full email address (e.g. info@yourdomain.com) and your Gmail address
• Click Add Forwarder to save

📖 cPanel Forwarders Documentation

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In Plesk (Linux)

• Log into your control panel at:
  
  Code Select Expand
  https://yourdomain.com:8443
• Go to Mail → Email Addresses
• Click on the desired email account
• Go to the Forwarding tab
• Check Switch on mail forwarding and enter your Gmail address
• Click OK to save

📖 Plesk Forwarding Documentation

Quote⚠️ Note: HostNed no longer offers Windows/IIS hosting. All Plesk servers are now Linux-based.

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🔁 Option 2: Use Gmail to Fetch Your Mail via POP3 and Send Mail via SMTP

This allows Gmail to both receive and send email on behalf of your domain. It works by setting up Gmail to check your HostNed mailbox via POP3 and send via either Gmail's or your domain's SMTP.
✔️ Advantages:

• Gmail becomes a full-featured interface for your domain email
• Keeps a backup of your mail on Gmail
• More reliable sending as your domain (if SMTP is set up)

❌ Disadvantages:

• Requires manual setup of credentials and server settings
• POP3 may be slower than forwarding (depending on Gmail's polling intervals)
• May be confusing for less technical users

📍 To set this up in Gmail:

• Go to Gmail Settings → Accounts and Import
• Under Check mail from other accounts, click Add a mail account
• Enter your full HostNed email and use the server settings provided in your control panel
• For sending, use Send Mail As → Add another email address

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🛠 Option 3: Use Google Workspace (Business Email)

This advanced method involves changing your domain's MX records to point to Google's mail servers and using Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) to handle your mail.
✔️ Advantages:

• Full Gmail features and Google admin tools for your domain email
• Better deliverability and security
• Shared calendars, drive, and more

❌ Disadvantages:

• Not free – requires a monthly Google Workspace subscription
• More complex setup (you must change DNS settings, verify domain ownership, etc.)
• Entire email handling moves away from HostNed servers

📖 Google Workspace Setup Guide

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👁 Summary of Options

Method	Receive	Send as Domain	Setup Complexity	Cost
Forwarding to Gmail	✅	✅ (with config)	Easy	Free
Gmail POP3/SMTP Integration	✅	✅	Medium	Free
Google Workspace (MX change)	✅	✅	Advanced	Paid Monthly

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⚠️ NOTICE: Avoid Using Both Forwarding and Mailbox Access Simultaneously

While it's technically possible to set up an email address to both forward to Gmail and remain active as a standalone mailbox, we do not recommend doing this unless you're fully aware of the implications.
Here's why:

• Duplicate Emails: When you set up forwarding and keep the mailbox active, Gmail will show and manage the messages you receive, but copies of those same messages will still be stored on your HostNed mail server.
• Quota Overruns: Since the messages remain on the server and are often not manually checked or cleared, your disk usage quota can silently fill up, eventually causing new messages to bounce or be rejected.
• Inbox Management Confusion: Messages deleted or archived in Gmail do not remove or reflect changes in your hosting account inbox.

Quote✅ Recommended Practice:
 If you're forwarding email to Gmail, we suggest either:

• Only use forwarding, and don't log in separately to Webmail or a mail client, or
• Use Gmail's POP3 retrieval method to download the messages instead of forwarding, with Gmail configured to delete messages from the server after retrieval (via the "Leave a copy on the server" setting).

This will keep your mailboxes clean, prevent overages, and maintain a consistent email experience.