How to Send Emails Using Email Routing with Cloudflare

Cloudflare offers a robust suite of services for optimizing and securing websites, including email forwarding capabilities. However, it's important to note that Cloudflare's Email Routing feature is primarily designed for managing inbound email traffic. So, if you're looking to send emails using Cloudflare, you'll need to leverage third-party SMTP providers like Gmail, Sendinblue, or AWS SES. In this guide, we'll walk you through the process of setting up email forwarding with Cloudflare and sending emails using Gmail as an example.

Setting Up Email Forwarding with Cloudflare:

1. Sign in to your Cloudflare account and navigate to the DNS settings for your domain.

2. Set up email forwarding by creating MX records pointing to the desired email address(es) where you want to receive emails.

3. Cloudflare's Email Routing feature allows you to easily manage email forwarding rules, such as redirecting emails to different addresses based on specific criteria like sender or recipient.

Sending Emails Using Gmail SMTP:

1. To send emails using Gmail with your custom domain alias, you'll first need to generate an "App Password" for authentication purposes.

2. Visit the Google Account security settings and generate an app password under the "App Passwords" section.

3. Configure SMTP settings in your personal Gmail account by adding your custom domain email address as an alias.

4. Enter the SMTP server settings (smtp.gmail.com), port (587), and your Gmail address along with the app password generated earlier.

5. Confirm the email alias by following the verification steps provided by Gmail.

6. You can repeat this process for multiple aliases associated with your domain.

Enhancing Email Deliverability:

1. To ensure better deliverability and avoid the "via Gmail" label in your outgoing emails, consider setting up DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) authentication.

2. DKIM allows email recipients' servers to verify that an email message was sent from an authorized source, improving trust and reducing the likelihood of emails being marked as spam.

3. Consult your email provider's documentation or support resources for instructions on configuring DKIM for your domain.

Enhancing Email Deliverability with DKIM:

While sending emails using Gmail or other SMTP providers is relatively straightforward, ensuring optimal deliverability requires additional steps. One crucial aspect is configuring DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) authentication for your domain. DKIM adds a digital signature to your outgoing emails, allowing recipients' email servers to verify the authenticity of the sender. This not only enhances trust but also reduces the likelihood of your emails being marked as spam.

To set up DKIM:

Access your domain's DNS settings in Cloudflare.

Generate DKIM records using your email provider's documentation or support resources.

Add the DKIM records to your domain's DNS configuration.

Verify the DKIM setup by sending a test email and checking the headers for DKIM signatures.

Implementing DKIM may vary slightly depending on your email provider, so be sure to follow their specific instructions for configuring DKIM authentication.

Conclusion:

Cloudflare Email Routing simplifies the process of managing inbound email traffic and creating custom email addresses for your domain. However, it's essential to understand that Cloudflare does not handle outbound email sending. By integrating with third-party SMTP providers like Gmail or dedicated SMTP services, you can send emails using your custom domain addresses effectively.

In this guide, we've covered how to set up email sending using Gmail SMTP, along with alternatives such as dedicated SMTP providers. Additionally, we highlighted the importance of DKIM authentication for enhancing email deliverability and trustworthiness.

With these steps, you can fully leverage Cloudflare Email Routing for inbound email management while seamlessly sending outgoing emails from your custom domain. If you have any questions or need further assistance with DKIM setup or SMTP configuration, feel free to reach out for additional guidance.