How to Set Up an Autoresponder in cPanel
Autoresponders reply automatically to incoming mail — ideal for holidays, festivals, or confirming receipt on busy addresses. You can schedule start and stop in advance.
Step-by-step
- Open Email → Autoresponders in cPanel.
- Click Add Autoresponder.
- Choose the interval — hours to wait before the same sender gets another auto-reply. 24 hours is a good default so frequent correspondents are not spammed.
- Enter the email address the autoresponder applies to.
- Set the From name and Subject — e.g. "Out of office — back 28 June". Tick HTML only if your message body uses HTML.
- Write the message body. Keep it short: dates away, who to contact urgently, when to expect a reply. You can use %subject% and %from% placeholders.
- Schedule it. Set Start and Stop to exact dates/times — set it before you leave and it switches itself on and off.
- Click Create. Test by emailing the address from an outside account.
💡 Good to know
- The autoresponder replies and the mail still lands in the inbox normally.
- Mailbox users can manage their own autoresponder from webmail without cPanel access.
- Avoid autoresponders on addresses that receive automated mail (notifications, mailing systems) — they can create reply loops; the interval setting protects against most of these.