Email forwarding has become a vital service for many who work with the Internet on a daily basis. An email forwarder is a service that automatically forward email messages from one account to another.

An email forwarding service is especially handy for managing email from websites. Many website operators set up email accounts through their domain, but have the mail sent to another account for easier access.

The pricing and costs of e-mail forwarding will depend upon your needs and which features are most important for your business. Some of these features may include:

1. A service that provides HTML email code forwarding.

2. Email forwarding that can handle heavy usage.

3. A provider that can set up an email forwarding domain for email generated through websites.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Choose free automatic email forwarding to keep costs low

There are many free automatic email forwarding services available, but these services may lack some extra features. For instance, you might not be able to to forward emails to multiple accounts or send more than 25 MB a day. Even so, free services can serve as startup programs, or as a temporary solution until you can find a better service.

I recommend: HotPOP offers many different email forwarding account types for individuals and businesses, including a free service for basic forwarding options. For more information on how email forwarding services work, check out this article from Wise Geek.

Use an email forwarding service that offers HTML email code forwarding

Most businesses offer their email newsletters and other important announcements in HTML format because many customers would rather see the newsletter that way. You must check to see if the service you use allows HTML forwarding, and if it has enough MB per transfer to do so. Forwarding services that offer 20 MB forwards or higher will cost $25 to $40 per year.

I recommend: ForwardLive offers email forwards up to 20 MB, which is the right size for receiving most HTML emails. Bigfoot.com is another email forwarding service that offers plenty of messages per day, inbox storage and anti-spam solutions.

Sign up for forwarding services that provide a personalized email forwarding domain

The easiest way to reach customers without listing your personal email address is to use a forwarding service that provides a number of personalized email addresses. This way, you can reply to your customers from an email address that reflects the name of your business or the department the request was forwarded to. Forwarding services with personalized email can cost between $25 and $45 per year.

I recommend: Pobox provides all its email forwarding accounts with up to six personal domain addresses, so you can send and receive mail from multiple accounts. EmailAddresses.com provides a guide to help you understand personalized email forwarding and how it can benefit your business.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If you expect to receive a large volume of email each day, choose a heavy use email forwarding service that can give you 100 MB of storage and transfer.

An email forwarding service is a virtual office solution for small business owners. You can establish an email forwarding domain and e-mail forwarding service to forward emails to several different accounts. This is especially helpful when you need more than one address for various email topics or purposes.

For example, you may need one email address specifically for questions about your products or services, and another for billing issues. E-mail forwarding software takes emails sent to the email forwarding service first and then your inbox. You can even use email forwarding software to create temporary, multiple addresses to filter your incoming mail and delete them if they start to receive spam which can protect your main address.

Email forwarding services are also helpful if you employ a virtual assistant or need someone else to check you email while you are away from the office for an extended time. Business mail forwarding services are an especially handy tool for small businesses:

1. Email forwarding allows you to choose your own domain name.

2. You can set up your email forwarding service and customize it for your business needs.

3. You can use email forwarding to customize SPAM filers to keep unwanted mail to a minimum.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Register your email forwarding domain name.

An email forwarder allows you to set up an email alias allowing you to collect mail in different inboxes without the hassle of actually having to check more than one inbox. You can choose any domain name you like as long as it's available.

I recommend: Name Cheap and Go Daddy are popular sites to purchase email forwarding domain names.

Set up the email forwarding for your domain site.

You'll need to activate your email account to take advantage of a free DNS email forwarding service provider.

I recommend: Zone Edit and My Domain are both service providers. They also have live customer service representatives to help you with your business mail forwarding set up if you have any problems.

Establish a default mail map for business email forwarding

If you receive an email to an address tied to your domain, that email address not specified as one of your selected site maps, it will automatically go to the default email address you have set up.

I recommend: Easy DNS can help you set up quickly with ease making email forwarding a breeze.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  This is only an automatic email forwarding service that passes all email messages received to a different email account. You will need to have an established email account first in order to establish email forwarding.
• •  Some business forwarding mail services offer the convenience of viewing postal mail online instantly. With an email forwarder you can manage both your postal and electronic mail using a filter to eliminate any unwanted mail.

Automatic forwarding of e-mails to another e-mail account allows you the ability to send your mail exactly where you want it to go. With this type of service, you can use a public e-mail address and keep your private one secure. In some cases, this can cut down on spam and junk e-mails.

E-mail forwarding advice and ratings cover a variety of topics, from setting up an e-mail forwarding program to troubleshooting problems. When you start your search for information, keep the following options in mind:

1. Look for sources that give advice on how to set up an account and that provide you with ratings for providers.

2. Compare editor and user ratings for e-mail forwarding software before you download.

3. Turn to forums to find advice and ratings from people with an interest in e-mail forwarding.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Get e-mail forwarding advice and ratings from sources covering popular companies

Whether you want to set up business mail forwarding for your e-mail account or send your spam to a junk file, an e-mail forwarder can help you accomplish your goals. If you've never used an e-mail forwarding service, you'll want to find basic advice on how to set it up. If you already know something about it, you'll want to start comparing services.

I recommend: EmailAddresses.com provides an article on how to establish an e-mail forwarding service without paying a company to do it. It recommends a couple of free DNS servers, as well. Emailsreview.com provides a review of e-mail forwarding services sorted by popularity.

Find advice and ratings on e-mail forwarding software

E-mail forwarding software gives you the tools you need on your own computer to be able to forward your e-mails. Some companies offer free downloads, while others offer a limited-time free trial offer. Press releases and user reviews can advise you during your search.

I recommend: Free Downloads Center offers user reviews for all of the programs it has. It includes products like the Dynu Email Forward Service. Read press releases at PRWeb on software such as e-mail forwarding.

Find forums on e-mail forwarding services

Forums on e-mail forwarding services cover everything from problems you may encounter and advice on how to correct the situation to information on international e-mail forwarders. Most of the advice and ratings come from members rather than experts, but there are forums with experts acting as moderators.

I recommend: WebmasterWorld offers a forum that discusses potential issues with e-mail forwarding services. FlyerTalk offers a forum, dedicated to frequent flyers, covering international e-mail forwarding. The users on the forum recommend and compare e-mail forwarding services on several different threads.

Email forwarding is a way to have many email addresses, but only have to check one. You simply set up email forwarding with your Internet service provider (ISP) or a web based email service so you get all your email delivered to one address. Everything is forwarded to a catch-all account. You set this up by using a domain name and can choose any one you want, as long as it’s available.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Web-based email

Though many people have email accounts run through ISPs, you can obtain a web-based email account. This is an email address that you get through an online service.

I recommend: WiseGeek offers a description of a web-based email and the advantages of using it instead of an ISP email account.

Internet service provider, or ISP

An ISP is a company that provides your business with Internet service. Some of these have free packages that include email, but they may not have all the features you need.

I recommend: The List is a comprehensive search tool that allows you to look up ISPs in your area. As you click on the individual services for details, you'll see which provide email service and web forwarding.

Domain name

A domain name is the name you choose and register so you can have email forwarded to it.

I recommend: GoDaddy.com is largest site in the world used to purchase and register domain names.

Short message service, or SMS

SMS includes text messaging, in which text messages are sent from one phone to another. There are also voice SMS services. You can sign up to have SMS mail delivered to your inbox, if the ISP you select offers this service.

I recommend: TechTarget describes SMS and how it works.

Target email address

A target email address is the place where email messages eventually end up. The messages are often forwarded from role addresses found on websites. For instance, when an author sends an email to an 'admin' address, the message is usually forwarded to the person assigned the admin role. Similarly, an ISP may package its service with vanity addresses that get forwarded to a target account.

I recommend: NTC Hosting explains target email addresses.

Mail server, mail transfer agent (MTA), mail transport agent, mail router or Internet mailer

A mail server is a computer that provides email services to people and companies, kind of like an electronic post office box.

I recommend: IBM explains what is required of an email router.