Google Apps for Domain is a great free tool from Google that you can use for your blog or website to take care of managing email, documents, calendars, and more. If you are on a server where you can modify the MX records, you should consider setting up Google Apps.
It’s very easy to setup, except for the one part where you have to add in these new MX records to your DNS Zone File. Sounds scary, right? It’s really not that bad though.
In this article, I’ll tell you how to add the appropriate MX records for Google Apps to your Media Temple DNS Zone file. If you use another hosting company, it’s probably a very similar process.
Step 1: Log in the Account Center on Media Temple and click on Domains. Click on the Domain you want to setup the Google Apps email for and click on Edit Zone File under the DNS Zone File heading.
Step 2: Now you need to delete the current MX record and add the additional MX records that Google has provided. There are seven MX records you have to add:
ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM.
ALT1.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM.
ALT2.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM.
ASPMX2.GOOGLEMAIL.COM.
ASPMX3.GOOGLEMAIL.COM.
ASPMX4.GOOGLEMAIL.COM.
ASPMX5.GOOGLEMAIL.COM.
Note that you need to have the period (.) at the very end of each host name. Also, you have to give each one a certain priority, which you do by giving each one a certain number. You don’t have to necessarily use their exact numbers, it just needs to be ordered correctly.
Here is what my DNS zone looks like with the seven MX records for my Blogging Skillz domain:
For Media Temple, you don’t have a separate box for Priority, so you have to type in the number first, then the host name, as shown above.
Leave the TTL value and everything else to their default values. Just make sure you choose MX for the record type.
That’s really it! Now just click Save and you’re done setting up Google Apps for Domain! It will take a couple of hours for Google to update their servers, but you should be able to send emails immediately. Enjoy!
This is a good tutorial for helping you configure MX records on your own time if your tech savy. Personally I would want this setup and ready to go which brings me to my current point. I have been with quite a few web hosting companies in my life and currently reside with Netfirms now.
I must say that my experience with them has been great and with their recent launch of Google Apps the work is done for you. There is absolutely no need for setting up or configuring MX records on your own like this!
Netfirms has taken out all the hassles for me because they do all the work for you and I highly recommend their service.