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Email deliverability is a critical component of any website's functionality. Whether it's transactional emails like order confirmations, password resets, or contact form submissions, you need to ensure they reach their intended destination and don't end up in the spam folder. When emails from your website are not being delivered, it can lead to frustrated customers, lost sales, and a damaged brand reputation. This comprehensive guide will walk you through the essential steps to troubleshoot and resolve email deliverability issues by properly configuring your website and its server settings. For other related server issues, see our Server Maintenance Checklist.

Setting Up DNS Records: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC

The first and most critical step in improving email deliverability is to authenticate your emails. This involves setting up three key DNS records: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. These protocols are the industry standard for proving that your emails are legitimate and are coming from a trusted source, which helps email providers like Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo distinguish your emails from spam. These records also help in securing your website against basic threats.

1. SPF (Sender Policy Framework)

SPF is a DNS record that lists all the servers that are authorized to send emails on behalf of your domain. Email providers check this record to verify that a message from your domain is indeed from an approved server. If an email is sent from a server not listed in your SPF record, it is more likely to be flagged as spam.

How to Set Up: You will add a TXT record to your domain's DNS settings. A basic SPF record looks like this: v=spf1 include:_https://www.google.com/search?q=spf.google.com ~all. The v=spf1 part indicates the version of SPF. The include statement authorizes a specific third-party service (like Google Workspace, in this case) to send emails on your behalf. The ~all at the end is a "soft fail" policy, which recommends that receivers treat emails from unauthorized servers with suspicion but not necessarily reject them. A more stringent policy, -all (hard fail), tells receivers to reject all emails from unauthorized servers. It is crucial to only have one SPF record per domain, as multiple records can cause validation issues.

2. DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail)

DKIM adds a digital signature to your emails. This signature is encrypted and is used to verify that the email was not altered during transit. It provides a layer of trust that goes beyond just the sending server's IP address. Email providers use the public key in your DNS record to decrypt the signature and confirm that the email's content and headers remain unchanged from when it was sent.

How to Set Up: Your email service provider will give you a public key, which you must add as a TXT record in your DNS. The record will typically have a hostname like selector1._https://www.google.com/search?q=domainkey.yourdomain.com and a long string of characters as its value. This process is usually straightforward and provided by your email service, like Mailgun, SendGrid, or your web host's email service. Once added, it can take some time for the DNS changes to propagate, so be patient.

3. DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance)

DMARC is a policy that tells receiving email servers what to do with an email that fails SPF or DKIM checks. It also provides a way for you to receive reports on email authentication failures. This allows you to monitor your email traffic and identify potential issues or malicious activity, such as someone trying to spoof your domain.

How to Set Up: Like SPF and DKIM, DMARC is a TXT record in your DNS. A basic DMARC policy might look like this: v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:[email protected]. The v=DMARC1 part indicates the protocol version. The p=none policy tells recipients not to take any action on failed emails, but to send an aggregate report to the specified email address. This is a good starting point for monitoring before moving to stricter policies like quarantine or reject. The rua tag is for sending aggregate reports, which provide an overview of your email traffic. For an issue like this, it is similar to other common website errors to watch out for.

Proper Mailer Configurations and Tools

Once your DNS records are in place, you need to ensure your website is configured to send emails correctly. Many websites use the default PHP mail() function, which is often unreliable and lacks proper authentication, leading to emails being flagged as spam. The best practice is to use an authenticated SMTP server, which is far more reliable.

Using an Authenticated SMTP Server

An SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) server sends emails on your behalf using a username and password for authentication. You can use a third-party email service provider like SendGrid, Mailgun, or Amazon SES, which are specifically designed for high-volume, reliable email delivery. They manage all the technical complexities of email delivery, giving you a much higher success rate.

Configuration Steps:

1. Sign up for a reliable SMTP service.
2. Install and configure a mailer plugin or library on your website (e.g., WP Mail SMTP for WordPress).
3. Enter the SMTP host, port, username, and password provided by your service provider.
4. Enable SSL/TLS encryption to secure the connection.

Leverage Email Testing Tools

To verify that your configurations are working correctly, you should use online email testing tools. Services like Mail-Tester.com or MXToolbox allow you to send a test email to a unique address and receive a detailed report on its deliverability. The report will analyze your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records, check for blacklisting, and provide a score that indicates the likelihood of your emails reaching the inbox. This is a crucial step to confirm that all your hard work on DNS records has paid off.

When to Call the Experts

While setting up these records might seem straightforward, a single typo or misconfiguration can cause email deliverability to fail completely. If you are not comfortable making changes to your DNS records or your website's core files, or if you are dealing with persistent issues, it's a clear sign that you should call a professional. Complex server environments, hosting provider restrictions, or ongoing blacklist issues are also strong indicators that expert help is needed. In such cases, attempting DIY fixes could lead to more significant problems and extended periods of email failure, causing serious business disruptions. This is a scenario where DIY website fixes can make things worse, and it's one of the 5 signs you need professional help to fix your website.

If you’re still having trouble, don’t worry! WebCare SG is here to help. Contact us today for fast and reliable website fixes.

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