DKIM, SPF and DMARC are a set of email authentication records used by the email industry to help email recipients identify the authenticity of an email and its origin. When you define these records for your custom domain, you can decrease the likelihood of your email being marked as spam or rejected.

PLEASE NOTE: If you use HoneyBook’s default email sending service, no need to be concerned about DKIM, SPF, or DMARC because HoneyBook handles this for you.

If you integrate your email with HoneyBook and that email uses a custom domain (e.g. @yourbusinessname.com) and not a generic name (e.g. @gmail.com), you may need to define DKIM, SPF and DMARC records with your custom domain provider.

DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM)

This security protocol signs every email sent from your domain with a public key, so that the servers of those receiving your email can validate that the email was sent and authorized by you.

DKIM records are TXT records. A DKIM record includes both a TXT record name and TXT record value that contains the DKIM key. Both the record name and record value should be generated by your email provider and then added to the Domain Name System (DNS) settings of your domain provider.

Here is an example* of a DKIM record name and record value:

Name: mail._domainkey.example.com
Value: v=DKIM1; p=36E374F292D293747382EEEEBF3834720374CKAHEH23JLUHRWORHQ23EERS9FHK

*Do not use the above DKIM record for your domain—this is just an example.

PLEASE NOTE: Defining this record is done entirely outside of HoneyBook. HoneyBook is not able to complete this process for you, and you will not need to enter any information in your HoneyBook account.

Sender Policy Framework (SPF)

This security protocol defines a list of IP addresses that are permitted to send emails from your domain name.

SPF records are TXT records that store information about your domain. SPF records will look different depending on how you configure them to behave.

Here is an example* of what an SPF record can look like:

v=spf1 include:_spf.website.com ~all

*Do not use the above SPF record for your domain—this is just an example.

Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, & Conformance (DMARC)

This security protocol builds upon SPF and DKIM by providing a way for email recipients to determine if an email message is legitimate, fraudulent, or suspicious.

DMARC records are TXT records that incorporate both DKIM and SPF. Prior to setting up DMARC, you will need to make sure DKIM and SPF are set up for your domain.

Here is an example* of a DMARC policy record:

v=DMARC1; p=reject; rua=mailto:[email protected]

*Do not use the above DMARC record for your domain—this is just an example.

Got a handle on what DKIM, SPF, and DMARC are? If you're a Gmail user, you can check if DKIM and SPF are properly defined for your domain right in HoneyBook. Learn more about testing your custom domain's deliverability.

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Still have questions? Feel free to send us a message by clicking the Question Mark icon on any HoneyBook page. Our team is always happy to help!