Set Up Your Domain's DNS for Email Deliverability

After you've added your domain to MailAfiniti, the last step is to update your domain registrar's DNS records. This tells the internet that MailAfiniti is authorized to send and receive emails on your behalf, and gets your email into inbox folders instead of spam.

MailAfiniti's onboarding wizard walks new signups through this, and you'll also get an email with all the records you need. This guide is for detailed step-by-step instructions, a reference to come back to, or troubleshooting.

Why this matters: Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, and other providers check SPF, DKIM, and DMARC before accepting your emails. Without them, your emails may be rejected, marked as spam, or blocked entirely.

Before you start, three things worth knowing:

• Nothing here can break your website. You're adding records, not replacing them. Your site keeps running on the records it already has.
• Mistakes are reversible. A wrong value doesn't send email anywhere bad, it just fails verification. Edit it and save again.
• This takes about 15 minutes, plus 5 to 30 minutes of waiting for DNS to propagate. If you've never touched DNS before, budget half an hour and don't rush.

Stuck at any point? Email support@mailafiniti.io and we'll add the records for you. Most people finish this themselves, but nobody should lose an afternoon to it.

Where to find your records, and the shape of the work

In your MailAfiniti dashboard, go to Manage Domains, find your domain, and look at the DNS Records column. You'll see four colored badges, one per record: MX (required, tells the internet where to deliver your mail), SPF (proves you're authorized to send from this domain), DKIM (signs your emails so mailbox providers trust them), and DMARC (sets the policy for anything that fails those checks, and sends you reports). Click "View DNS Records" and you'll see the exact type, name, and value for each one.

From there it's four trips back and forth: copy a value from MailAfiniti, log into your registrar (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare, etc.), paste it in, and repeat for the next record. Once all four are added, come back and verify. MailAfiniti checks automatically, usually within 5 minutes.

Add all four. MX alone gets your email delivered, but SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are what keep it out of spam. If you only have time for some of them now, add MX first so mail starts arriving, then come back for the other three before you send anything important.

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Step 1: Open Your Domain Registrar's DNS Settings

The process is similar across most registrars, but the interface varies slightly. Here's where to find the DNS settings for the most common registrars:

GoDaddy

1. Go to godaddy.com and sign in
2. Click My Products in the top right corner
3. Find your domain and click Manage
4. Click the DNS tab
5. Scroll to Records where you'll add the four MailAfiniti records

Namecheap

1. Go to namecheap.com and sign in
2. Click Manage next to your domain
3. Click the Advanced DNS tab
4. This shows all your DNS records where you'll add MailAfiniti's records

Cloudflare

1. Go to cloudflare.com and sign in
2. Select your domain from the dashboard
3. Click the DNS tab in the left sidebar
4. You'll see a list of your DNS records where you'll add MailAfiniti's records

Other Registrars (1&1, HostGator, Bluehost, DreamHost, etc.)

Look for one of these sections:

• "Domain Management" or "My Domains"
• A DNS, Name Servers, or DNS Management tab
• A section labeled "DNS Records," "Advanced DNS," or "Zone File"

Once you find it, keep this page open. You'll be adding records here in the next step.

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Step 2: Get Ready to Add Your Records

Before you start adding records to your registrar, keep your MailAfiniti dashboard open so you can copy each record's details as you add them. The following steps will guide you through adding all four DNS records (MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC) one by one to your registrar.

Have both tabs open:

• MailAfiniti dashboard (where you'll copy record values from)
• Your registrar's DNS settings (where you'll paste them)

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Step 3: Add the MX Record

The MX record tells the internet where to deliver emails sent to your domain.

Here's what you'll do across all registrars:

1. Create a new record and select MX as the type
2. Set the name/host field to @ (this represents your domain root)
3. Paste the mail server from MailAfiniti into the value field (e.g., mail.mailafiniti.io)
4. Enter the priority number from MailAfiniti (usually 10)
5. Save the record

The exact field names and buttons differ slightly:

MX done. DNS changes usually take effect immediately, but can take up to 48 hours to propagate globally.

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Step 4: Add the SPF Record

The SPF record authorizes MailAfiniti to send emails on behalf of your domain. It prevents others from spoofing your domain.

Here's what you'll do across all registrars:

1. Create a new record and select TXT as the type
2. Set the name/host field to @
3. Paste the SPF record from MailAfiniti into the value field (it looks like v=spf1 include:mailafiniti.io ~all)
4. Save the record

The exact field names and buttons differ slightly:

Important: If you already have an SPF record from another service, don't replace it. Instead, add the MailAfiniti include: to your existing record. For example, change v=spf1 include:other.com ~all to v=spf1 include:other.com include:mailafiniti.io ~all.

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Step 5: Add the DKIM Record

The DKIM record adds a cryptographic signature to your emails so mailbox providers know they really came from you (not a spammer).

Here's what you'll do across all registrars:

1. Create a new record and select TXT as the type
2. Paste the name from MailAfiniti into the name field (usually default._domainkey or selector1._domainkey)
3. Paste the full DKIM record from MailAfiniti into the value field (it's a long string starting with v=DKIM1)
4. Save the record

The exact field names and buttons differ slightly:

Important: DKIM records are long (200+ characters). Copy the entire value from MailAfiniti exactly. Every character, space, and underscore matters. Don't truncate or edit it.

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Step 6: Add the DMARC Record

The DMARC record tells mailbox providers what to do if an email fails SPF or DKIM checks. It also sends you reports about suspicious emails.

Here's what you'll do across all registrars:

1. Create a new record and select TXT as the type
2. Set the name/host field to _dmarc
3. Paste the DMARC record from MailAfiniti into the value field (it looks like v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; rua=mailto:dmarc@yourdomain.com)
4. Save the record

The exact field names and buttons differ slightly:

All four records added. Move to the next section to verify they're live.

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Step 7: Verify Your DNS Records in MailAfiniti

After adding all four records to your registrar, you can verify they're live in MailAfiniti.

How to Verify

1. Go to your MailAfiniti dashboard
2. In Manage Domains, find your domain in the list
3. Click the three dots menu (⋮) next to your domain
4. Click View DNS Records
5. Click Verify DNS Records to check your records
6. MailAfiniti will check your registrar and show the status:
   • ✓ MX Verified: emails can be delivered to your domain
   • ✓ SPF Verified: MailAfiniti is authorized to send from your domain
   • ✓ DKIM Verified: emails are cryptographically signed
   • ✓ DMARC Verified: you're receiving DMARC reports

All four records typically verify within 5-15 minutes after you add them to your registrar.

Verify records yourself (optional)

Want to check before MailAfiniti does? Run your domain through our Email Health Check tool and you'll see your DNS records and email configuration directly, the same data your registrar has on file.

If a record won't verify

Amber or red after 15-30 minutes is normal more often than it's a mistake. Before you change anything, check the three things that account for most failures:

1. Your registrar added your domain to the name field. You typed _dmarc, it saved _dmarc.yourdomain.com. Namecheap and GoDaddy both do this. If the record shows your domain twice, delete the duplicate part.
2. An old SPF record is still there. Two SPF records fail both. Merge them into one line with both include: values.
3. It just hasn't propagated. Some registrars take the full hour despite what their UI says.

Still stuck after that, our Still says "Not Verified"? guide goes through the rest in order. Or email support@mailafiniti.io with your domain name and we'll look at it directly, usually within a few hours.

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Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Copy record values exactly: Every character, dot, and underscore matters. Copy straight from MailAfiniti without editing.
2. Forgetting underscores: DKIM needs _domainkey and DMARC needs _dmarc. Missing these will cause verification to fail.
3. Using wrong record types: MX must be type MX (not TXT). SPF, DKIM, and DMARC must all be type TXT.
4. Adding extra spaces: When pasting long DKIM values, make sure no spaces get added at the beginning or end.
5. Replacing existing DNS records: If you have other DNS records (for your website hosting, CNAME records, etc.), don't delete them. Add MailAfiniti's records alongside them.
6. Expecting instant verification: DNS propagation typically takes 5-30 minutes, but can be up to 48 hours globally.

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What's Next After Verification?

Once all four records are verified (✓ MX, ✓ SPF, ✓ DKIM, ✓ DMARC), your domain is ready:

• Getting Started covers creating email accounts and connecting your email client.
• Send and read your email covers everyday use once you're set up.

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Need Help?

If you run into problems or have questions:

• Email: support@mailafiniti.io (we respond within 2-4 hours)
• Help & Support: Go to Help & Support for FAQs and more guides