Setting up domain authentication for use with DomainKeys, DKIM, SPF and SenderID
E-Mail authentication is used by a number of ISPs, large and small, in the fight against spam. E-Mail which has been authenticated ensures that it has been sent from a server which is legitimately allowed to send mail for the sending domain, improving deliverability and sometimes reducing the chance of it being flagged as spam.
For a more in depth look please see our article about e-mail authentication.
Before you start
To ensure your e-mails are sucessfully authenticated when sent from Suite26 you will need to setup an authenticated domain. We recommend using a sub-domain of one of your existing domain names (ie; mailings.mydomainname.com) or alternatively registering a brand new domain specifically for sending your mailings (ie; my-mailings-domain.co.uk).
NOTE: You should not use your existing domain name as an authenticated domain as this will affect any existing mail or web services you have running on that domain.
Add your chosen domain into Suite26
Log in to Suite26 and click on the Options tab followed by the Authenticated Domains link.
Click on the Add New Domain button towards the bottom of the page.
Enter the domain or sub-domain you wish to authenticate and click Continue. On the following page you will be presented with five DNS entries that need to be made for the domain. There are two TXT records, two MX records and an A record that will need to be added.
The company who looks after the registration/renewal should be able to make these DNS changes for you. In most cases you will have a control panel which would allow you to make these changes yourself.
If you do not know who looks after the DNS for your domain, or you find any part of this confusing please e-mail support@26.co.uk and we will help you out.
Verifying the DNS records
Once you have added the required DNS entries you should click the Verify Records button. If you have correctly added the entries you should now see four green ticks on the page and your domain is ready to use.
Sending from the authenticated domain
Once you have verified the DNS records any mail you send from the authenticated domain will be signed with DomainKeys and DKIM as well as validating against SPF and SenderID.
Everytime you create a new e-mail campaign we will show you a list of your authenticated domains. All you need to do is set your from address to be @ one of these domains.
Further options
Once your authenticated domain has been setup you will be able to access further options. These include setting an e-mail address where incoming mail (ie; non bounces) should be forwarded to and a default URL to be used in the event of a user visiting your authenticated domain directly.
