How to Set Up a Professional Email Address in Under 10 Minutes

You need you@yourbusiness.com instead of yourbusiness.stuff@gmail.com. Here is how to set it up in 10 minutes with zero technical background.

What you need before starting

• A domain name (e.g., yourbusiness.com). If you do not have one, buy one from Cloudflare ($10/year), Namecheap ($9/year), or Porkbun ($10/year). This takes 2 minutes.
• An existing email account (Gmail, Outlook, iCloud) where you want to receive the forwarded email.

Minute 1-3: Add your domain

1. Create a free Cleanbox account at my.cleanbox.app
2. Go to Domains → Add domain
3. Enter your domain name
4. Cleanbox shows you the DNS records you need

Minute 3-7: Set up DNS

Log in to your domain registrar and add these records:

MX record

Type: MX
Name: @ (or blank)
Value: mx1.cleanbox.to
Priority: 10

Record 2:
Type: MX
Name: @ (or blank)
Value: mx2.cleanbox.to
Priority: 20

TXT record (verification)

Type: TXT
Name: @
Value: cleanbox-verify=your-token-from-dashboard

TXT record (SPF)

Type: TXT
Name: @
Value: v=spf1 include:_spf.cleanbox.to ~all

If your registrar is Cloudflare, this propagates instantly. Other registrars may take 5-15 minutes.

Minute 7-8: Verify and create your address

1. Back in Cleanbox, click Verify on your domain
2. If DNS has propagated, verification succeeds
3. Go to Aliases → Add alias
4. Select your domain, enter the local part (e.g., info, hello, or your name)
5. Select your existing mailbox as the delivery destination
6. Click Create

Minute 8-10: Test it

1. Send a test email from a different account to your new address (e.g., you@yourbusiness.com)
2. Check your inbox — the email should arrive within seconds
3. If it lands in spam, wait a few more minutes for SPF to propagate and try again

Done. You now have a professional email address that forwards to your existing inbox with full spam filtering.

Optional: Add more addresses (2 minutes each)

Create additional aliases for different purposes:

• info@yourbusiness.com — General inquiries (put on your website)
• support@yourbusiness.com — Customer support
• hello@yourbusiness.com — Friendly catch-all
• billing@yourbusiness.com — Invoice-related email

Each alias can forward to a different mailbox or the same one — your choice.

What about sending?

Cleanbox aliases are receive-only. To send email from your custom domain address, you have two options:

• Gmail "Send as" — Settings → Accounts → Add another email address. Enter your custom domain address and SMTP settings. Gmail will let you choose which "from" address to use when composing.
• Full email hosting — If you need full send+receive, consider Google Workspace ($7/user/mo) or Microsoft 365 ($6/user/mo) with Cleanbox Relay in front for spam protection.

For most freelancers and small businesses, receive-only aliases are sufficient for the first months. You can upgrade to full hosting later without changing your addresses.

What you get for free

The Cleanbox free plan includes:

• 1 mailbox connection
• 3 aliases (enough for info@, support@, and your-name@)
• 50 emails per week
• Spam filtering on every message
• Contact categorization and one-click unsubscribe

That is enough to run a professional email presence at zero cost. Upgrade when you need more aliases, higher volume, or features like Shield and custom domains beyond the first one.

For a more detailed walkthrough including DNS provider-specific screenshots and advanced options, see Custom Domain Email: The Complete Guide for Small Businesses.