Home > Empowering Tips > Understanding Email Redirect: What, How, and Best Practices

Email management has many tools designed to make communication more efficient. One of these tools is email redirection. In this article, we’ll explain what it is, how it works, the benefits (with real-world scenarios), and best practices to help you use it effectively.

What is Email Redirect?

Email redirection, also called email forwarding, is a function that automatically sends incoming emails from one address to another. When someone sends an email to email address A, it is instantly passed along to email address B without requiring any action from the sender or the receiver.

For example: An email sent to support@yourdomain.com is automatically forwarded to teamlead@yourdomain.com.

Redirecting helps manage communications efficiently without having to monitor several separate inboxes.

How Does Email Redirect Work?

The process of email redirection happens at the server level:

1. The email server receives a message sent to the original address (e.g., info@yourdomain.com).
2. Based on a redirection rule set by the user, the server automatically sends a copy of the email to the specified destination address (e.g., yourname@yourdomain.com).
3. Depending on how the redirect is configured, the original mailbox may:
   • Keep a copy of the email.
   • Not retain any copy (pure redirection).

If you’re using Lookafter Email Services, you can refer to this guide to set up email redirection for your account.

Benefits of Email Redirect

Email redirection can streamline communication and reduce operational friction. Below are key benefits along with examples to show how they apply in real-life situations:

1. Simplified Inbox Management

Instead of checking multiple email accounts every day, redirection lets you centralize messages into one primary inbox. For example, a small business owner uses multiple public email addresses such as info@, sales@, and support@. Rather than logging into each one, all emails are redirected to owner@yourdomain.com where they can be viewed and responded to in one place.

2. Continuity During Staff Changes

Redirecting an employee’s email ensures no messages are lost if someone resigns, goes on leave, or changes roles. For instance, an HR executive leaves the company. Their email is redirected to the department head to ensure recruitment queries and internal requests don’t get missed during the transition.

3. Temporary Coverage

Emails can be redirected temporarily when someone is on leave, vacation, or sabbatical, ensuring continuity without needing to share login credentials. Let’s say a team member managing clients@company.com is on a 2-week vacation. Their emails are temporarily redirected to assistant@company.com so the team can continue handling customer requests.

4. Backup Purposes

Email redirection can serve as a simple way to create a backup of incoming messages by sending a copy to another mailbox. Imagine this: emails sent to sales@company.com are redirected to backup@company.com, which is monitored solely for archival and backup purposes. This ensures a second copy exists in case of accidental deletion or issues with the main inbox.

5. Redirection to Personal Email

Some users prefer reading business emails from their personal email account for convenience, especially on mobile. For example, a solopreneur sets up contact@theirbrand.com for customer use but redirects it to their personal email address for easier access while traveling.

Best Practices for Using Email Redirect

To make the most of email redirection while avoiding problems, follow these best practices:

• Keep a master list of all redirects: Prevent confusion and avoid forgotten or outdated redirects.
• Limit redirection layers: Avoid redirecting emails multiple times (e.g., A → B → C), which can create delays or errors.
• Secure the destination mailbox: Ensure that the final receiving account is monitored and protected with strong passwords and multi-factor authentication.
• Review and update regularly: Especially after team or organizational changes, check and update redirection rules to stay current.
• Avoid redirecting to free email services: Redirecting business emails to free email accounts can introduce security, privacy, and deliverability risks. It’s best to redirect within your business domain’s email accounts for more control and compliance.
• Use with care for high-volume addresses: Too many forwarded messages can flood the destination mailbox, leading to missed or overlooked emails.

Conclusion

Email redirection is a powerful and efficient way to manage communications, especially for small teams or organizations in transition. When used thoughtfully, it reduces the complexity of managing multiple inboxes and keeps important messages flowing where they need to go.

However, it’s crucial to understand when it’s appropriate — and when a more robust email management solution is necessary.