Moving from a Gmail address to e-mail on your own domain: contacts, old mail and telling people

E-mail·· 3 views· 4 min read

The short answer: moving from a Gmail address to one on your own domain comes in four parts: create the mailbox with us, bring the contacts (exported from Google Contacts), bring the old messages you want to keep (through a mail program, with both accounts as IMAP) and tell the people and services where you used Gmail. The Gmail account does not need deleting: it bridges the gap while you move. Why the move is worth it is covered in free e-mail or e-mail on your own domain. Gmail’s menu names change with the version and with the language of your Google account: if you do not see exactly these words, look for the closest option in the same place.

What you have in Gmail and how to bring it

In Gmail How it moves to your domain
Contacts In Google Contacts, Export as vCard. Then import the file into the webmail contacts, or into a cPanel address book: calendars and contacts on your own domain.
Old messages A mail program with both accounts as IMAP, dragging folder by folder: bringing your mailboxes from another provider. For very large mailboxes, imapsync.
Labels Over IMAP, every Gmail label shows up as a folder. Copy the ones you want, one at a time.
Calendar Google Calendar exports an .ics file, which you import into a cPanel calendar through a program or your phone.
Filters and signature They do not move on their own. Recreate them: filters in Roundcube and e-mail signatures.
Sign-ups on websites, banks, social networks They only change when you change them, one by one, in each service’s account.

The order that works

1 Create the domain mailbox and check you can log in to webmail: creating an e-mail account in cPanel. Set it up on your phone and computer: other e-mail apps on your phone.
2 Bring the contacts: export them from Google Contacts and import them on this side. Spot-check a few names.
3 Bring the messages that matter: in the mail program, add the Gmail account and the domain one, both as IMAP. Google may ask you to sign in through its own window or with an app password: follow Google’s help. Drag folder by folder, starting with a small one.
4 Change the important sign-ups: bank, suppliers, social networks, ad accounts. Make a list and tick it off as you go.
5 Tell the people who write to you: in Gmail, switch on an auto-reply with the new address and, if you like, forwarding to the domain address (under Settings > Forwarding and POP/IMAP; Google asks for confirmation).
6 Keep Gmail open for a few months and glance at it now and then: it will still catch messages from people who missed the notice.
Do not copy the All Mail folder along with the others. In Gmail the same message can sit under several labels and in All Mail at once. Copying everything creates duplicates and can fill the new mailbox: check the mailbox space first in your mailbox is full.
Do not delete the Google account. It is often what signs in your Android phone, YouTube or your Business Profile. If you want those services to use the domain address, see a Google account with your domain e-mail.

Want help bringing your Gmail messages across? Tell us the new address and roughly how much mail you want to copy.

Open a support ticket

SEE ALSO

Free e-mail address or e-mail on your own domain: what changes for a business

Bringing your mailboxes from another provider: the messages, not just the addresses

Calendars and contacts on your own domain

Copying mailboxes with imapsync: how it works and what to prepare

Which e-mail addresses a business should create: role addresses and personal ones

A Google account with your domain e-mail and no Gmail: for Business Profile, Analytics and more

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