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Add SPF records to increase email deliveries

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Malene Tidemann
Updated

Some nShift Ship customers are using nShift's SMTP server along with their own email server on their own domain to send i.e. track & trace e-mails. To increase the delivery reliability, an SPF record needs to be added to the DNS settings. 

 

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What is an SPF record and why add it?

It is easy to send an email on behalf of someone else. This leads to a lot of fraudulent spam emails and because of this mail servers often mark emails as spam, even when they are not. An SPF (Sender Policy Framework) is a text record added to your domain's DNS and helps solve this problem. It allows domain owners to specify which mail servers are authorized to send emails on behalf of their domain. This makes it harder for others to send fake emails pretending to be you. 

 

Example:

  • nShift sends emails on behalf of johndoe@webshop.com to customers.
  • The customers' mail server requests the SPF record that has been added to the DNS of @webshop.com.
  • When nShift is not in the SPF record as an authorized sender, the emails will end up in the spam folder.
  • When nShift is in the SPF record as an authorized sender, the emails will reach the customer's inbox.

 

How to check if your SPF record includes nShift

Go to https://mxtoolbox.com/spf.aspx, fill in the domain from where the emails will be sent, and click SPF Record Lookup. "Consignor" must be mentioned in the record, otherwise the record must be created and added. (Consignor is the legacy name still to be used in this case)

 

 

Create and add an SPF record

It is recommended to add an SPF record to your domain to avoid emails sent through nShift’s SMTP server being classified as spam. Usually, your DNS or network administrator will know how to create an SPF record. 

 

Example of an SPF record including nShift's SMTP servers:

v=spf1 mx include:spf.protection.outlook.com include:_spf.consignor.com ~all


You should add "include:_spf.consignor.com" to your domain if you send e-mails from our solution.

 

There are many resources on the Internet with more in-depth information about SPF records.

More information about SPF records:

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