Setting up an address on your own domain, such as hello@yourdomain.com, can be done in two quite different ways. Email forwarding passes incoming messages to another inbox, while a full mailbox stores and manages the mail itself. Choosing the right one affects cost, convenience, and how professionally your messages are received.

How Email Forwarding Works

A forwarder is an instruction on your mail server: when a message arrives for one address, send a copy to another. No messages are stored under the custom address. You read everything in the destination inbox, which might be a free webmail account you already use.

Advantages of Forwarding

• Simple: Setup takes minutes and requires no new logins to remember.
• Low cost: Forwarders are commonly included with a domain or hosting plan.
• Flexible: One address can forward to several people at once, which suits addresses like info@ or support@.

Limitations of Forwarding

• Replying is awkward. Unless you configure your destination account to send as the custom address, replies come from your other address.
• Deliverability risks. Forwarded messages can fail SPF checks at the receiving end and may be treated as spam.
• Dependent on another provider. If the destination account has a problem, so does your domain email.

How a Full Mailbox Works

A mailbox is a real account with its own username, password, storage allowance, and settings. Messages are stored on the mail server and can be accessed through webmail or a mail application using IMAP, with sent mail stored alongside received mail.

Advantages of a Mailbox

• Native sending and receiving from the custom address, with a clear separation from personal email.
• Better control: Separate logins, quotas, and filters for each person.
• More professional: Everything about a conversation stays under your domain.

Things to Watch With Mailboxes

• Storage is limited by your plan, so large attachments and long histories need attention.
• You are responsible for securing each account with strong, unique passwords.
• Backups matter. Email is data too, and it should be part of your recovery plan, as described in our guide to website backups and recovery.

Which Should You Choose?

Many sites use both: mailboxes for people who send mail regularly, and forwarders for public-facing role addresses.

Do Not Skip the DNS Records

Whichever route you take, the DNS records for your domain control whether mail reaches you and whether your messages are trusted. MX records tell the world where to deliver mail, while SPF, DKIM, and DMARC help receiving servers verify that mail from your domain is legitimate. We explain each of them in business email on your own domain, and cover frequent mistakes in email deliverability. If you are changing records for a new site, read how to configure DNS without breaking email first.

A Practical Setup Checklist

1. List every address you need and who uses it.
2. Decide which addresses need to send mail and which only receive.
3. Create mailboxes for senders and forwarders for the rest.
4. Configure MX, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records.
5. Send test messages to several providers and check where they land.
6. Document where your email is hosted and who has access.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I send email from my domain if I only use forwarding?

Often yes, if your destination provider supports sending as another address. This usually requires authenticating the address and adjusting SPF so replies are trusted.

Is a catch-all address a good idea?

It catches mistyped addresses, but it also collects a large amount of spam. Many people prefer to create specific addresses instead.

Can I switch from forwarding to a mailbox later?

Yes. Create the mailbox, update any necessary DNS records, and move important messages across. Test delivery before removing the old setup.

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