cPanel – Setup Google Apps MX, CNAME and SPF records

Since Google Apps is one of the best (if not the best) email services out there, here is how you can set up your domain, which you have its DNS managed by eicra.com, to point to Google.

This blog post presumes you’ve already set up your Google Apps account and that you are just now doing the finishing touches (ie. final DNS settings to have Google handle your emails). If you’ve set up your Google Apps account correctly, this final step will put the finishing touch and allow Google to handle all your emails needs.

For this to be done, you’ll need to set up three DNS records:

1. MX records, thus telling the world, who handles email for your domain (ie. Google).
2. CNAME record, so that if you type mail.yourdomain.com (replace yourdomain with your own domain name – like mail.eicra.com), it points to Google Apps login page.
3. SPF record to tell the world that Google is allowed to handle emails for your domain (this helps other mail servers know that Google is allowed and thus, help prevent filtering emails from you as spam).

Note: the links above point to Google’s own help articles, respectively.

MX Records:

• In your C-panel, Click on Zone Editor
• 
• 
  
• Click on the +MX record
  

Update the Priority & destination >> Add an MX record

• Now go to Google’s MX Records page and begin entering new records, one at a time 
• Note: You don’t need them. (period) at the end of each record. If you do put one in, you’ll get an error message “Destination must be an FQDN (fully-qualified domain name)” 

  
  

  CNAME Record:
• In your control panel, click on Simple DNS Zone Editor from the Domains section (picture 1)

  In your C-panel, Click on Zone Editor

• 

  Click on the Manage
  

• 
  

• Then Click on the ADD record and add CNAME Record
  
  Complete the CNAME here
  
  

SPF Record:

• Google recommends that you add the following SPF record to your DNS zone. In cPanel, users can do this using the advanced DNS Zone Editor to have this record added for you (picture 1)
  v=spf1 include:aspmx.googlemail.com ~all
•  Click here the Manage
• 
  Click the Add record and ADD TXT record
  
• Type your SPF here and Add record
  

The end result (after MX, CNAME, and SPF):

After all said and done, you can always ask Eicra’s support to review your DNS zone and make sure you did it correctly, this is what we should see if you did it all right (picture 1)