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Email3 min read
Keeping your email out of the spam folder
Three settings that decide whether your message lands in the inbox or quietly disappears.
Mail servers now automatically verify that an email really came from who it claims. If that can't be verified, the message ends up in spam — or isn't delivered at all. Three records on your domain handle this.
What's what
- SPF — the list of servers allowed to send mail from your domain. If you send through several services (company mail, newsletter, invoicing), all of them must be listed.
- DKIM — every outgoing message is signed with a key. The recipient can verify nobody altered it in transit.
- DMARC — the rule for what should happen when a check fails. It can also send you reports about abuse of your domain.
The most common mistake: two SPF records at once. A domain may only have one. Add a second and the check fails, hurting deliverability. When you need to add a service, extend the existing record — don't create a new one.
How to go about it
- 1Work out which services send mail on your behalf — mail, newsletter, shop, CRM, invoicing.
- 2Ask each of them for the values they need in DNS.
- 3Merge them into one SPF record.
- 4Add DKIM following your mail provider's instructions — usually one or two CNAME records.
- 5Roll out DMARC in a lenient mode first, then tighten it after a few weeks.
Not sure where your domain stands? Send us the domain name and we'll run a free check — you'll get a list of what's missing and what's misconfigured.