Guide · Setting up
Email alias or mailbox: what to create for info@, sales@ and support@
A shared address such as info@ does not always need a mailbox of its own. This guide explains the difference between an alias and a mailbox and which one fits each address a business uses.
The difference in one paragraph
A mailbox stores mail: it has a password, a quota and a place where messages stay. An alias stores nothing: it receives mail for an address and forwards it to one or more other addresses. A mailbox is a place; an alias is a signpost.
Which to create
- A person’s own address, such as ana@: a mailbox. The person signs in, keeps mail and sends from it.
- A shared enquiry address, such as info@ or sales@: usually an alias to the people who answer. Nobody needs another password, and when the person who answers changes, the alias is edited rather than a mailbox handed over.
- A team that must share a history, such as support@: a mailbox, signed in by the team, when everyone needs to see what has been answered.
- An address used only to sign up for services: an alias, so it can be removed if it starts attracting spam.
What each costs
A plan bounds the number of domains and mailboxes. At Alcitron Mail an alias is not counted against the mailbox allowance, so an alias is the cheaper way to give a role its own address.
Forwarding safely
An alias forwards only to a domain that takes mail: another domain hosted by the service, or one whose DNS has an MX record or, failing that, an address record. A domain that publishes a null MX, or that does not exist, is refused with the reason shown. Forwarding to a personal mailbox elsewhere works, but mail that reaches it passes through that provider’s checks, so keep your own domain’s records in order; DKIM, which RFC 6376 describes, is what lets a receiver tie a message to the domain that signed it.
A starting set
- One mailbox per person.
- info@ as an alias to whoever reads enquiries.
- A mailbox for any team address that needs a shared history.
- The role addresses postmaster@ and abuse@, which exist already.
Questions
Does an alias count against the mailbox allowance?
No. An alias stores nothing, so it is not counted as a mailbox.
Can an alias forward to several people?
Yes. An alias receives mail for an address and forwards it to one or more other addresses.
Can an alias forward to any domain?
Only to a domain that takes mail. A domain hosted by the service always qualifies; any other needs an MX record or, failing that, an address record, and a null MX or a missing domain is refused.
Sources
The documents this guide’s statements rest on. Each link opens in a new page.