LiveChat
Support
Blog
Affiliates
Why Email Authentication Matters
If your emails are landing in recipients' spam folders, or if people are receiving spam that appears to come from your domain, you likely need to set up or fix your email authentication records. SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are three DNS records that prove to receiving mail servers that your emails are legitimate.
SPF (Sender Policy Framework)
An SPF record tells receiving mail servers which servers are allowed to send email on behalf of your domain. Without SPF, anyone can send email pretending to be from your domain.
Your hosting account should already have a default SPF record. You can check it in cPanel > Zone Editor (or Email Deliverability). A basic SPF record looks like:
v=spf1 +a +mx +ip4:YOUR.SERVER.IP ~all
DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail)
DKIM adds a digital signature to every email you send, allowing the recipient to verify the message was not altered in transit and that it really came from your server. cPanel can generate DKIM records automatically. Go to cPanel > Email Deliverability and click Manage next to your domain. If DKIM is not set up, cPanel will offer to install the records for you.
DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance)
DMARC builds on SPF and DKIM by telling receiving servers what to do when a message fails authentication (reject it, quarantine it, or let it through). It also lets you receive reports about email sent using your domain. A basic DMARC record looks like:
v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; rua=mailto:you@yourdomain.com
Add this as a TXT record for _dmarc.yourdomain.com in cPanel > Zone Editor.
Checking Your Records
Use cPanel > Email Deliverability to see the current status of SPF, DKIM, and PTR records for your domain. Green checkmarks mean everything is configured correctly. If anything shows a warning, cPanel will usually offer a one-click fix.
You can also test your email authentication using external tools like mail-tester.com. Send an email to the address they give you and you will get a detailed report showing whether your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are passing.
Using Google Workspace or Microsoft 365?
If you use an external email provider while hosting your website with us, your SPF and DKIM records need to reference your email provider, not our mail server. Google and Microsoft both provide specific DNS records you need to add. Check their documentation for the exact records, and add them through cPanel > Zone Editor.
If you need help configuring these records, open a support ticket and our team will set them up for you.
