Every email setup starts here. Create the inbox first, then add your DNS records, then set up forwarding at your email provider.
What email address to use
Use an address on your own domain:
- support@yourstore.com
- help@yourstore.com
Don't use a free mailbox address. Standard setup doesn't accept addresses on free domains such as gmail.com, yahoo.com, outlook.com or icloud.com. If you enter one, you'll see "Please use paid email address." If you don't have a domain email yet, set one up in Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 first.
Standard or Gmail quick setup
Standard setup works with any provider and has no sending limits. It takes about 10 minutes and needs two DNS records. We recommend this for every store.
Gmail quick setup connects instantly but caps you at 1,500 emails a day. That cap causes delivery failures during sales and busy periods. Use it for testing only.
Create the inbox
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Go to Settings → Inboxes and click Add inbox
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Select Email
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Choose Standard setup
If you see an Access restricted banner, our team needs to review your account before you can add an email inbox with Standard setup. See Access restricted when adding an email inbox.
If the banner says Connect your shop first, click Connect shop, connect your Shopify store, then come back to this step.
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Enter your support email address
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Give the inbox a name (e.g. "Support" or your store name). Customers see this name as the sender of your emails unless you add a business name later. See Sender name below.
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Click Create inbox
Commslayer then shows you two DNS records. Keep that page open — you need it for the next step.
The inbox can receive email from this moment, but nothing arrives until you set up forwarding at your email provider. The DNS records are for sending only.
"Email has already been taken"
An email address can belong to one inbox only, across all Commslayer accounts. This message means an inbox with that address already exists, in this account or in another one.
Email aliases, several addresses and "Email has already been taken" →
Sender name
By default customers see your emails as coming from "Agent name from Store name", for example "Sarah from Acme Store". You can switch an email inbox to show the store name only.
- Go to Settings → Inboxes and click Manage on the email inbox
- In the Copywriting section, find Sender name and choose Friendly (agent name and business name) or Professional (business name only)
- Click Save
The setting is per inbox. Administrators and managers can change it.
- Store name part: under Additional options, tick Add business name and type the name. If it's empty, the inbox name is used.
- Agent name part: each agent sets Display name under Settings → Profile settings. If it's empty, the full name is used.
- The word "from" follows the Site language under Settings → Account settings. You can't type your own word.
Common problems
Customers see "Support" instead of the store name. "Support" is the inbox name. Tick Add business name and type your store name.
I want to remove the agent name. Set Sender name to Professional.
The name in the app differs from what customers see. Inside Commslayer every reply shows the agent who wrote it. To check what customers see, send an email to an address you own.
Next
Something not working? Email troubleshooting →