How to add a Gmail Alias

Overview

Follow these instructions to add your Gmail Alias address to Front. An alias is an additional email address associated with a primary Gmail account. When an email is sent to the alias address, it will show up in the inbox of the primary Gmail account.

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Prerequisites

• Only add the alias to Front if you need to reply using the alias address.
• The primary Gmail account associated with the alias will need to be added in Front prior to adding the alias. 
• You’ll need to be a Front administrator to add the alias address as a shared inbox.

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Helpful information before you get started

• If no one needs to reply using the email alias address, you do not need to add the alias to Front. You only need to have the primary Gmail account added to Front.
• If only a single person should be able to send using the alias address, you’ll want to add the alias address to that person's individual inbox.
• If a group of people should be able to send using the alias address, you’ll want to add the alias address to a shared inbox.

Front recommends you convert your alias into a Google Group. Google Groups are free to create and will make it easier for you to manage emails sent to your current alias address. Check out more information about Google Groups here.

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Security and deliverability considerations

If you need to send emails using the alias address you've connected to Front, we strongly recommend you either set up SPF/DKIM on your DNS OR set up a custom SMTP through Google's Gmail SMTP Relay.

Utilizing Google's Gmail SMTP Relay will allow you to deliver emails through your existing email infrastructure, maintaining your current level of email deliverability. 

Setting up SPF/DKIM will ensure emails sent through Front's 3rd party email provider - SendGrid - have proper authorization to send on your domain's behalf, protecting your emails from landing in your recipient's spam folder.

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Instructions

Follow the steps below if your Front account was created after Apr 17, 2023 (your settings sidebar has both an Inboxes and Channels section).

Step 1

Click the gear icon on the top right of Front and into the Company or Personal settings tab, depending on which space you are working with. Admins can also access user settings by following these steps.

Step 2

Click on Inboxes on the left menu and create a new shared inbox or individual inbox.

Step 3

When following the steps to add a channel, choose Google from the channel menu, then select Gmail Alias. Click Continue.

Step 4

Enter the email address and click Continue.

Step 5

Select the inbox to connect to your channel, then click Save changes. All messages from your channel will route to this inbox by default.

 Step 6

Check your email inbox for the validation email we sent you. Click the link in the email to validate and be able to send from this address in Front, then click Continue and finish the setup steps. 

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Instructions [legacy]

Follow the steps below if your Front account was created before Apr 17, 2023 (your settings sidebar has an Inboxes section and does not have a Channels section)

Step 1

Click the gear icon on the top right of Front and into the Company or Personal settings tab, depending on which space you are working with. Admins can also access user settings by following these steps.

Step 2

Click on Inboxes on the left menu and Add an individual inbox or Add a shared inbox, depending on which space you're in. Fill out the name and description of your inbox and click Create.

Alternative to Step 2

If you want to add the alias to its root inbox that is already in Front, click into the existing inbox and add an additional channel into the inbox. This means you will have multiple channels coming into the same inbox in Front.

Step 3

Choose Google from the channel menu, then select Gmail Alias, and click Continue.

Step 4

Fill in the email address.

Step 5

You will see instructions on the screen to check your email inbox for the validation email we sent you. Click the link in the email to validate and be able to send from this address in Front, then click Continue on the setup screen.

Step 6 (for shared inbox)

Choose the teammate access for this inbox, and whether you'd like to add this inbox to teammates' sidebars.

Step 7

Complete the remainder of the inbox settings, and click Finish.

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FAQ

Will emails sent through Gmail's SMTP Relay appear from the alias address or the primary Gmail account address?

Emails will appear From: the alias address. For example, let's say I have a primary Gmail account (andersen@) and an alias (andersen.yu@). Despite having to set up the custom SMTP using the andersen@ credential, when I send an email from Front using andersen.yu@ the recipient will receive an email From: andersen.yu@. Read more about setting up a Gmail SMTP Relay here.

How can I prevent duplicate conversations from appearing in both the alias channel and the primary channel? 

It is expected that messages sent to your alias will also be routed to your primary channel in Front. If you would like to keep these inboxes separate, we would recommend converting your alias to a Google Group. Google Groups are free to create and will make it easier to manage routing emails to go only to your alias addresses. Please find more information on adding a Google Group here. 

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Pricing

This feature is available on all plans.