How to Set Up Email Forwarding and Auto-Responders in cPanel

A professional email address is one of the simplest things you can do to build credibility with customers. Having info@yourcompany.ca looks far more trustworthy than yourcompany2009@gmail.com. But many business owners do not want to manage yet another inbox.

cPanel solves this with email forwarding: your professional address exists and receives mail, but every message is automatically forwarded to wherever you already read email. You get the professionalism without the inconvenience.

Setting Up Email Forwarding

Email forwarding in cPanel takes about two minutes to configure.

Log in to cPanel and click Email > Forwarders
Click Add Forwarder
In the Address to Forward field, enter the address you want to forward from (for example, info)
Select your domain from the dropdown (for example, yourcompany.ca)
Under Destination, choose Forward to Email Address and enter the Gmail or other address where you want to receive messages
Click Add Forwarder

That is it. Email sent to info@yourcompany.ca will now arrive in your Gmail inbox. The sender sees a professional address; you read it wherever you prefer.

Important note: Forwarding creates a copy at the destination. If you want to reply from your professional address rather than your personal Gmail, you will need to configure "Send mail as" in Gmail settings - which lets you reply as info@yourcompany.ca while composing in Gmail.

Email Aliases vs Full Email Accounts

A forwarder sends mail from one address to another, but no mailbox is created. There is no separate inbox to log in to, and no email stored on the hosting server.

A full email account creates an actual mailbox with storage on the server. You can log in to it via webmail or configure it in an email client like Outlook or Apple Mail.

For most small businesses, the right approach is:

Create a full email account for your primary address (the one you check regularly in a dedicated app)
Use forwarders for department addresses (info@, hello@, support@) that all funnel into a central inbox

Setting Up Auto-Responders

Auto-responders send an automatic reply whenever someone emails a specific address. They are useful for vacation messages, acknowledgement replies ("Thanks for reaching out - we will respond within one business day"), and out-of-office notifications.

In cPanel, go to Email > Autoresponders
Click Add Autoresponder
Set the Character Set (UTF-8 is standard)
Enter the From name and email address for the auto-reply
Write your Subject line and Body message
Set a start and end date if the auto-responder is for a limited period (like a vacation)
Click Create/Modify

Keep auto-responder messages brief and informative. State when the recipient can expect a real reply, and provide an alternative contact if the matter is urgent.

Setting Up a Catch-All Address

A catch-all (or default address) receives any email sent to your domain that does not match an existing address. For example, if someone mistypes infoo@yourcompany.ca, a catch-all ensures that message is not lost.

In cPanel, go to Email > Default Address. You can forward catch-all messages to a specific address or simply discard them.

Be cautious with catch-all addresses: they receive enormous amounts of spam, since spammers often send to random combinations at every domain they discover. Many hosting administrators choose to discard catch-all messages for this reason.

Forwarding to Multiple Addresses

If you need a single address to forward to multiple people - for example, orders@yourcompany.ca going to both the owner and a customer service employee - create two separate forwarders for the same source address. Each forwarder sends to a different destination, and both recipients receive every message.

Testing Your Setup

After creating a forwarder or auto-responder, send a test email from a personal account (not the same domain) and confirm everything behaves as expected. Check that: