I didnt know google apps was free. I was there checking it out the other day and I thought I charged for one year subscriptions.

Standard accounts are free but include no uptime guarantee. Premium accounts cost money. Setting it up can be kind of complex so some people hire outside companies to set up and manage the Google apps part of their account. But if you're just using it for Gmail shouldn't be too hard. We might benefit from having a thread JUST for Google apps/Gmail, because this could turn into a very long conversation....

Here ya go.

I found it easy to set up. When you sign up for the account it usually will give you instructions, you have to change your mx records your server and then do a verification process. Below is a link to a good page to help you figure out what your mx records need to be for your host. Just look for the host name link at the bottom of the page.

What settings to use for your mx records: http://www.google.com/support/a/bin/ans … wer=174125

Most cpanels (I use linux server with cpanel) have an easy enough way to update their mx records. Once I got my MX settings I needed, I just found the mx link in my control panel in the mail section. Clicked it and got the screen to add them in. See photo below.

I have many clients websites using it. When I can direct them that way instead of using mail on the server, I like to do that. They get better features. I have been using it for several years and I love it. I use the free version I actually have about 20 email address, because I do answer and questions for some of my customers. I have all the emails from different domains roll into my google apps account and I can switch between who I want to be. I love the way if people reply it keeps the emails together. Love the filter and label system, plus they have a great spam filter.

Here is where you go to sign up: http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/group/index.html

What is interesting they say that you can only have 50 accounts, but I have some with more. There is a link in the settings control panel that lets you request more accounts. Never been charged for the additional accounts. I can not guarantee that newer accounts would have the same option without being charged. I had these accounts for a long time.

Here is a picture of a cpanel with the mx records needed for my server. Yours might be different:

Here is what the cpanel mx record screen looks like in my cpanel:
http://www.coffeecuphelp.com/krickman/helppics/googleapps.jpg



Kim

Kim,

Thanks for the helpful info! I was aware of the 50 user limit and had wondered if that meant (for purposes of gmail) that I could open ONE Google Apps account and host gmail for up to 50 different domains. Well, it turned out that "user" isn't the same as domain, you need a premium account for that.... is there any way, that you're aware of, that I can host email accounts for multiple domains in ONE standard Google Apps account? I know accounts are free, but I just don't want the headache of having to log into a different Google Apps account for each of my clients when they make requests pertaining to their email accounts. I prefer to have everything in the same place.

Chad

Yes you can have multiple domains for one google apps account. It is called Domain Alias. I have 3 domains on one free standard google apps. But what you go to keep in mind, if you do this, is that each user account will get to use all three domains. For example:

username: chad

domains: domain1.com - domain2.com - domain3.com

results in email address assigned to user chad are:

chad@domain1.com - chad@domain2.com - chad@domain3.com

So two people can not have chad for their user name if they were both using a different domain.

----------------------------------How to find where to
To set up additional domains, go to "Manage This Domain" link (settings for google apps admin)

Click "Domain Settings" in the menu

Then Click "Domain Names" tab.

You will then see "Add a domain alias" - just click and follow instructions. It will make you verify and such before it is active.

Also I see in most Google directions it says that it is available to premium or education users. But I have never had problems using it at all and never charged.

Here is a link to show all the difference between paid and not paid:

http://www.google.com/support/a/bin/ans … wer=175121

------------------------- HOWEVER -----
In your case where your customers have different domains, I strongly recommend that you do create individual google apps for each customer domain. They might not like it if they see some email dribbling in from another domain, because they are all sharing the domain alias.

In my case - I deal with several customers answers and questions and do it from an email on their domain. I set up all google apps with an administrator email account called website@whateverdomain.com - this is my account for that customer (unless they request otherwise)

Then I just forward any mail going to that email account to go to my main email account I have on my domain. Then in my google apps email account for my main domain, I can set up my account to use that other domain. Then it shoots off a verification email to make sure I can access this domain. Then you verify. Once verified all emails for the other google apps accounts can funnel into my main account and I can be who ever I want. It works really well. I never leave my one google apps mail account, it is all in one place.

Does that make sense?

The only person with access to the Google Apps account will be ME. ALL my clients get is the login credentials for their Gmail accounts.



Do you mean that each email address would have to have the same prefix at all the different domain names?



How, exactly, would this happen? If someone mistyped an email address?



This part confused me a little bit...

Thanks Kim, that was very informative.

Sorry Chad on how I explained it. I know what you are after. I been doing it for some time and love the ability to get all my mail in one location.


Domain Alias

If you use 1 google apps account and put all your customers domains on it, then each google apps user will get an email address with each domain name assigned to the google apps.

Example

Domain1 owner was named Sarah Giggles and her username is sarah.

Domain2 owner was name George Smiles and his username is george.

Each will receive the following email address automatically:

Sarah Giggles gets sarah@domain1.com and sarah@domain2.com
George Smiles gets george@domain1.com and george@domain2.com

Let's say you opt not to tell them about the other email address, but then all of a sudden they got email address to their username@theothersdomain.com. Not very professional and it puts a question mark in their brain on how reliable you are in setting things up.

What I recommend, Just my opinion:

First set up a google apps account for Your Business Domain(not your customers) then choose A or B:


A. For customers who do not plan on using email address with their domain in it:

Log on to your customer hosting server and create a forwarding account for the email you want to use. Then forward it to your google app for your website domain.

Then in your google apps for just your domain, you can create a setting that allows you to send mail as the email account you set up on your customer server. Then you get mail from their website and you can switch identity to their domain to send mail from your google apps.

It is clean and simple and if some day they decide they want to have their own google apps, your not trying to undo a bunch of stuff.


B. For customers who might or want to use their domain name in their email address:

Set up google apps for just their domain. Then create all the email accounts; yours, your customer and so on.

Then log into your email account on your customers google app and forward it to your google app for your domain.

Then log on to your google app for your domain create a setting to allow you to be able to send email as the other email account with your customers domain name.

If your customer already has an existing gmail account, you can still set up the customers google app user account to forward to their gmail and also they can create a setting to allow them to send mail using the email address from their domain too.

----------------------------------------------------

Chad, Domain Alias work great if you have a business with many identities, but I don't recommend locking your customers domain names up. It is easier to take a bit of time in the beginning and then there is less mess to clean up in the end if things change.

Have you used Gmail and their settings for allowing you to send mail as other identities?

I currently have many email address that I can chose to send from. I have more than 30 email address that forward to my google apps for various reasons.

I pop a few servers for personal email and spam accounts I set up for when I sign up for things.

I have 3 domains (that are about my business) that are domain alias on my google apps.

Every email to reach me is funnel into one account on my OWN business google apps and it works great. I only have one place to log in and be who I need to be.

I have several customers that use their own domain google apps and love it. Some of them have several email accounts and love having it all tied into one account also.

Plus I never even mentioned the nick name feature you can use in google apps for more added fun!

Kim