When you email contracts, invoices, and proposals to your clients, you want those emails to land in your client's inbox, not their spam folder. Setting up DKIM and SPF records tells your clients' email providers that messages sent through Dubsado are legitimate, which improves your email deliverability.
What are DKIM and SPF records?
Both DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) and SPF (Sender Policy Framework) help your email provider recognize that emails sent through Dubsado are legitimate. In other words, both help reduce your emails from going into spam and improve your email deliverability. This matters most if you send from an email address with a custom domain name.
The difference between DKIM and SPF is how they improve deliverability. DKIM uses a digital signature that matches an encrypted key at your domain host, while SPF authorizes specific email hosts to send emails on behalf of your domain.
Do I need to set up SPF and DKIM?
Google and Yahoo introduced sender standards that require SPF and DKIM for anyone sending them mail, as part of a broader effort to improve email security and reduce spam. Whether you need to take any action depends on the type of email address you send from.
If your email address is not a custom domain email (for example, it ends in @gmail.com, @outlook.com, or @icloud.com), you don't need to do anything. SPF and DKIM are set up automatically through your email provider.
If your email address is a custom domain email, such as hello@yourwebsite.com, you'll need to set up both SPF and DKIM for your domain.
If you use a free consumer email address, you don't need to set up SPF or DKIM. Your provider handles it automatically.
Set up SPF and DKIM by provider
If you're setting up a custom domain email, follow the steps for your email provider below.
Set up SPF: Follow Google's help article to create or update an SPF record. If you run into an SPF verification error in Dubsado, follow our help article on setting up SPF records.
Set up DKIM: Follow Google's help article to configure and enable DKIM. Setting up DKIM is done solely through your Google account, so Dubsado won't prompt you to set up DKIM.
Microsoft or GoDaddy
Set up SPF: Follow Microsoft's help article to create or update an SPF record. If you run into an SPF verification error in Dubsado, follow our help article on setting up SPF records.
Set up DKIM: Follow Microsoft's help article to configure and enable DKIM. Setting up DKIM is done solely through your Microsoft account, so Dubsado won't prompt you to set up DKIM.
All other providers
Set up SPF: Follow your email provider's help article to create an SPF record, or see setting up SPF records for more guidance. If you run into an SPF verification error in Dubsado, follow our help article on the SPF verification error.
Set up DKIM: Follow our help article to set up DKIM with your domain host.
For Google and Microsoft accounts, DKIM is set up entirely in your email provider's admin console. Dubsado will not prompt you to generate a DKIM record.
Where to verify SPF and DKIM in Dubsado
Once you've started setting up SPF and DKIM with your provider, Dubsado gives you a place to generate keys and confirm your records are recognized. Navigate to Messages ➔ Settings ➔ Emails, or Settings ➔ Emails, then scroll to the Email Deliverability section. This section is only available to Admin and Owner roles.
The Email Deliverability section appears once you've connected an email account. It can contain a DKIM subsection and an SPF subsection, depending on how your account is connected.
Generating a DKIM key
The DKIM subsection appears for connected email accounts that use SMTP and aren't connected through Gmail OAuth.
Choose a Key size, either 1024-bit or 2048-bit. 2048-bit is recommended.
Click Generate DKIM Keys.
Add the displayed record to your domain host's DNS settings, using the Type, Host / Name, and Value shown.
Click Verify.
Verifying your SPF record
The SPF subsection appears whenever you have an email account connected, and Dubsado checks your SPF status as soon as you open the page. For SMTP-connected accounts, Dubsado suggests a record using the Type, Host / Name, and Value fields.
Add the suggested record to your domain host's DNS settings.
Click Verify.
DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to propagate, so give it time before checking again if verification doesn't succeed right away.
DKIM tools in Dubsado only appear for accounts connected by SMTP. If you connected your account through Google or Microsoft directly, set up DKIM in that provider's console instead.
FAQ
What if I added Dubsado IP addresses to my domain host in the past?
At one point, Dubsado provided IP addresses to add to your SPF records. Check your domain host's DNS settings for the Dubsado IP addresses.
If you see Dubsado IP addresses in your record, remove them and replace the IP addresses with a:spf.dubsado.com. Your record should then read:
v=spf1 a:spf.dubsado.com ~all
This value is easier to maintain than IP addresses, since you won't need to update your DNS settings every time Dubsado's email servers change.
I set these records up and my emails to clients are still going to spam.
Spam filters change frequently, even after your SPF and DKIM records are set up correctly. Check out prevent emails from going to spam for more tips on keeping your emails out of spam folders.
What's the difference between my email host and my domain host?
A custom domain, like yourdomain.com, needs a host. Your email host is the provider for your email address at that domain, such as hello@yourdomain.com. Your email host and domain host might be the same company, or they might be different. For example, your domain could be hosted through Cloudflare while your email runs through Google.
Your email host provides the SPF record value, which you then add to the DNS records at your domain host. If you need help, start by reaching out to your domain host's support team.
If I change domain hosts, do I need to update my DKIM and SPF records?
Yes. If you move your domain to a new host, you'll need to repeat the SPF and DKIM setup process.
I don't feel comfortable making these changes in my domain. Can you help me?
Dubsado isn't able to provide support for setup questions specific to your domain or email host. Contact your domain host for assistance.