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+title = "A 12-year-old's guide to free custom emails"
+date = 2025-12-16
+extra.image = "/assets/images/post-image/free-custom-email.jpg"
++++
+
+Are you a small business looking for a custom email?  
+A software developer wanting a more professional inbox?  
+Or just a hobbyist flexing their custom email to friends?
+
+If so, this article is for **you!**
+
+I'm Arslaan Pathan, and as of 2025, I'm 12 years old.
+
+Today, you'll learn exactly how to make your business email **completely free** — no payment required!
+
+If a 12-year-old can do it, then you definitely can too.
+
+*(Note: This does require you to have a domain name. It might work with a shared subdomain from FreeDNS or DuckDNS, but your mileage may vary.)*
+
+This guide will be primarily focusing on Cloudflare Email Routing + Gmail SMTP.
+If you want to use another provider or different services, please refer to another article.
+
+## Step 1: Receiving emails
+
+The first step in creating a custom business email is receiving emails.  
+This guide assumes you are using Cloudflare nameservers with your domain.
+If not, please follow [this guide.](https://developers.cloudflare.com/dns/zone-setups/full-setup/setup/){: target="_blank" }
+
+1. Open the Cloudflare dashboard and select your domain if you haven't already.
+
+2. On the left sidebar, click on `Email`, then `Email Routing`.
+
+3. It should bring you to a `Getting started with Email Routing` page.
+
+4. Enter the desired custom address in the `Custom address` field.
+
+5. Enter the desired destination email (in this case, your current email) in the `Destination` field.  
+    It may take you through to another page that makes you verify the destination email, but simply follow the steps and you should be good to go.
+
+6. Press `Continue`.
+
+7. Make sure email routing is enabled and add other desired addresses if you would like.
+
+Done! You've setup email routing so you can receive emails in your normal Gmail inbox. It wasn't that hard, right?
+
+## Step 2: Sending emails
+
+Now comes the tricky part, sending emails. Don't leave just yet --- it isn't very hard, just a bit more complicated compared to receiving emails.
+
+### 1. Create a Google App Password
+
+First, you need to create a Google App Password so we can login to Gmail SMTP without being blocked by 2-Factor Authentication.
+
+To create an app password for Gmail, go to [this link](https://security.google.com/settings/security/apppasswords).
+
+Give it a memorable name, generate the app password, and store it in a safe place.
+
+### 2. Add your Cloudflare Email as an alias in Gmail
+
+In Gmail, press the Settings icon and click on `See All Settings`.
+
+From there, go to `Accounts and Import` -> `Add another email address`.
+
+In the first field that shows up, type your desired Cloudflare email address that you setup in the `Receiving emails` section.
+Check the `Treat as an alias` box, and press `Next`.
+
+It will now ask you to setup an SMTP server.  
+Enter the following configuration:
+- **SMTP Server**: `smtp.gmail.com`
+- **Port**: `587`
+- **Username**: Your gmail username before the `@`. If your email is `[email protected]`, this will be `johnsmith`.
+- **Password**: The app password you generated earlier (not your Google account password!)
+- **Encryption**: Secured connection using TLS
+
+Once saved, you will receive a confirmation email in your inbox from Gmail. Press the link in the email to confirm your newly added email.
+
+## Step 3: Adding DNS records
+
+In your Cloudflare account, go to the DNS/Records page for your domain (located in the left sidebar).
+
+Add another record with the following values:
+- **Type**: `TXT`
+- **Name**: `@`
+- **TTL**: `auto`
+- **Content**: `v=spf1 include:_spf.mx.cloudflare.net include:_spf.google.com ~all`
+
+Finally, add one last record with the following values:
+- **Type**: `TXT`
+- **Name**: `_dmarc`
+- **TTL**: `auto`
+- **Content**: `v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:[email protected]`
+
+Make sure to replace [email protected] with your chosen email address.  
+For multiple addresses, comma-separate them like this:  
+`v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]`
+
+## Enjoy!
+
+Good job! You've just set up your own custom email address with a custom domain for completely free!
+You'll be able to send about 500 emails a day, which is more than enough for most small business or individuals.
+
+It may take a couple days for all the DNS records to apply, so please be patient if your emails are being marked as spam or if emails aren't sending/receiving.
+
+Thanks for reading!