Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) is a collection of apps that help you create and collaborate with your team, including the ability to use Gmail for your domain’s email.

 

Deprecated: Google Workspace is no longer available for purchase. If you have a current subscription, you can continue to use this feature.

Note that Google Workspace email accounts are nonrefundable. We are unable to issue a refund if you want to cancel your email subscription.

 
 

Subscription

The Google Workspace Business Starter plan offered by BigCommerce is an Annual Plan that is billed monthly. When you created a new Google Workspace Business Starter account, you made a 12-month commitment (required) to the number of licenses you needed at that time. You can then add and remove user accounts as you wish, as long as you don’t exceed your number of purchased licenses.

Keep in mind, you can’t remove licenses and lower your monthly payments until it’s time to renew your annual contract. Note that Google Workspace email accounts are nonrefundable.

 
 

Getting Your Meta Tag from Google

Before using Google Workspace, you’ll need to verify that you own the domain. Google does this by providing a unique meta tag that you’ll add to your BigCommerce DNS settings.

1. Sign in to your Google Admin console. You’ll use the same username and password you used to set up your Google Workspace account.

2. At the top of the Admin console home page, click Click here to continue setting up Google Workspace.

3. Click Verify.

4. Click Switch verification method, and then click add a meta tag.

5. Click Copy to copy your unique verification record.

 

Add Your Meta Tag Record to BigCommerce

1. In your BigCommerce control panel, go to Settings › Email & DNS records, then click Mail Servers.

2. Select I want to use Google G Suite for emails sent to my store’s domain.

3. Paste the meta tag provided by Google into the verification box.

4. Click Save and proceed.

5. Click Save at the bottom of the page and we’ll automatically add the necessary Google Workspace MX records.

 

Stores with DNS managed outside of BigCommerce: If your domain’s DNS is managed outside of BigCommerce (like with your registrar or another host), you’ll need to manually add the Google Workspace MX records for your domain there. Google has instructions on how to do this for several DNS hosts.

Editing DNS Records

If customers are not receiving emails from your store, you may need to edit the default TXT SPF record in your DNS records.

To edit the TXT record, go to Settings › Email & DNS records, then select Web Hosts.

The Web Hosts tab highlighted under Server Settings > DNS

Only one SPF record can exist at a time, though you can combine multiple entries to make a single record. Ensure that your record contains the default listed below, at minimum.

In the TXT record, add include:_spf.google.com to the information already present in the Value field. For example:

  • Default — v=spf1 +a +mx include:_spf.bigcommerce.com ~all
  • Updated — v=spf1 +a +mx include:_spf.bigcommerce.com include:_spf.google.com ~all

The Value field highlighted showing include:_spf.google.com appended to an existing TXT record.

Save your changes.

 

Verify Your Domain with Google

At this point, you can complete verification from your Google Admin Console.

1. Return to the Google Admin console. If necessary, use the Click here link at the top of the page to continue setting up the Admin Console.

2. Navigate to the Verify your domain page.

3. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Verify my domain.

 
 

Managing Google Workspace Accounts

Click Email at the top of your Account Dashboard to see your existing Google Workspace accounts and their status. From this page, you can also Launch Google Workspace, which will take you to your Google Admin console.

The Email tab and Add Account button highlighted in the Account Dashboard

Account Statuses

  • Active means the domain is set up and using Google Workspace.
  • Needs verification means that setup was successfully completed for the domain but you still need to take steps to verify the domain (see above).
  • Action required means you need to check your alternative/recovery email address to login and verify your account.
  • Suspended means that the account has been temporarily suspended because a valid payment method may need to be configured or updated before service can resume. Once the payment method is resolved, you may need to contact our support team to unsuspend the account.
  • Cancelled means the Google Workspace account for this domain has been cancelled with BigCommerce and billing has been transferred to Google. If this happens, your Google Workspace subscription will be temporarily suspended and you will need to log in to your Google Admin console (or contact Google support) to set up payment and re-enable the subscription.
  • Contact support means something went wrong while setting up the account. You’ll need to contact our support team to resolve this.