How to Set Up Email Forwarding

Email forwarding lets you automatically redirect messages from one email address to another. This is useful when you want to receive email sent to multiple addresses in a single inbox, or when you want to redirect departmental addresses (like sales@ or info@) to the right person. This guide shows you how to configure email forwarding in your {{COMPANY_NAME}} hosting control panel.

Types of Email Forwarding

1. Standard Forwarding

Messages sent to one address are forwarded to another. The original recipient's mailbox may or may not retain a copy, depending on your settings.

Example: [email protected] → [email protected]

2. Multi-Destination Forwarding

Messages sent to one address are forwarded to multiple recipients simultaneously.

Example: [email protected] → [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

3. Domain-Level Forwarding

All email sent to any address at your domain is forwarded to a specific destination. Also known as a catch-all forward.

Example: *@yourdomain.com → [email protected]

Setting Up Forwarding in cPanel

Step 1: Log In to cPanel

Access your cPanel at https://yourdomain.com:2083 or through your {{COMPANY_NAME}} dashboard.

Step 2: Navigate to Forwarders

1. In cPanel, scroll to the Email section
2. Click Forwarders

Step 3: Add a New Forwarder

1. Click Add Forwarder
2. In the Address to Forward field, enter the local part of the email (e.g., info)
3. Select your domain from the dropdown
4. Under Destination, choose Forward to Email Address
5. Enter the destination email address
6. Click Add Forwarder

Tip: To keep a copy in the original mailbox while forwarding, create the email account first and then set up the forwarder. Without an existing mailbox, the message is only forwarded.

Setting Up Forwarding in DirectAdmin

Step 1: Log In to DirectAdmin

Access DirectAdmin through your {{COMPANY_NAME}} dashboard or at https://yourdomain.com:2222.

Step 2: Navigate to E-Mail Accounts

1. Under E-Mail Manager, click E-Mail Accounts
2. Click on the email account you want to configure

Step 3: Add Forwarding

1. In the account settings, locate the Forwarding option
2. Enter the destination email address
3. Choose whether to keep a local copy
4. Save changes

Setting Up Forwarding in Webmail (Roundcube)

If you prefer to configure forwarding from within your webmail:

1. Log in to Roundcube webmail
2. Go to Settings → Filters
3. Click Create to add a new filter
4. Set the filter name (e.g., "Forward All")
5. Under conditions, select all messages
6. Under actions, select Redirect message to and enter the destination
7. Optionally add Keep a copy in Inbox
8. Click Save

Important Considerations

SPF and Forwarding

When you forward email, the forwarding server sends the message on behalf of the original sender. This can cause SPF failures at the final destination because the forwarding server's IP is not in the original sender's SPF record.

Mitigation:

• Your hosting server uses SRS (Sender Rewriting Scheme) to rewrite the envelope sender, which prevents SPF failures in most cases.
• If you notice forwarded emails being rejected, contact {{SUPPORT_EMAIL}} for assistance.

Forwarding Loops

Never create a circular forwarding chain (A forwards to B, B forwards to A). This creates an infinite loop and will result in your account being suspended.

Forwarding to Gmail/Outlook

Gmail and Outlook may flag forwarded messages as spam if:

• The original sender's domain lacks SPF/DKIM
• The forwarded volume is very high
• The content triggers spam filters

Consider using IMAP fetch (POP3 collection) in Gmail as an alternative to forwarding for better deliverability.

Managing Existing Forwarders

Viewing Forwarders

In cPanel, go to Email → Forwarders to see all active forwarders.

Deleting a Forwarder

1. Navigate to the forwarders list
2. Find the forwarder you want to remove
3. Click Delete next to it
4. Confirm the deletion

Troubleshooting

Related Articles

• Creating Email Aliases and Catch-All Addresses
• Setting Up MX Records for Email
• Troubleshooting Email Not Receiving

Need help with email forwarding? Contact our support team at {{SUPPORT_URL}} or email {{SUPPORT_EMAIL}}.