NOTE: Custom Email Domain is available as an optional feature. To have it enabled for your site, create a case.
IMPORTANT: The local address portions (e.g., Mail and donotreply shown below) used with custom email domains cannot be customized currently. Future development will allow for these to be customized.
Mail@[your_domain].com
donotreply@[your_domain].com
NOTE: Custom Email Domain functionality applies to outbound mail only; it does not affect a community's address or any of its associated inbound mail. For example, when a user replies to a post in a Real-Time digest email, the reply will go to [Community_Name].connectedcommunity.org and process into the community database accordingly.
Email notifications from your site's account use connectedcommunity.org as the root domain for the visible from, reply, and bounce addresses. If you have requested (and been approved) to use your organization's domain, then your from domain can be used — instead of connectedcommunity.org — for all email messages that are sent from your Community account.
Setup process
The setup process begins with DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) authentication, which requires your domain administrator to have access to add Domain Name System (DNS) records and receive emails at donotreply@[your_domain].com for verification.
To complete the email domain change:
- Create a case containing the from domain you want to use for your sent messages. Be sure to include the DNS admin or IT professional from your organization who will create the proper DNS records for your domain
- The Higher Logic Deliverability team will verify whether your sending email domain has a good reputation and is in good standing (i.e., is not listed on any major blocklists).
- If it is, the Deliverability team will send an email message to your donotreply@[your_domain] email address for verification.
- The verification link in the email message must be clicked within 24 hours.
- The Deliverability team will create records for DKIM authentication of your custom from domain (TXT and CNAME records) and provide them to your DNS admin or IT professional for deployment.
- As an additional option, you can create a subdomain to be used as your custom bounce/envelope domain (e.g., mail.your_domain.com). This will help with deliverability and allow-listing for strict spam filters and will require a TXT and MX record to be added.
- Once the records have been deployed and tested, the domain in your site will be updated in our database to your custom domain.
- A final test email message will be sent from your site to verify authentication and headers.
Importance of DMARC implementation and recent updates
Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) is crucial for email security. It helps prevent your domain from being used in phishing and spam attacks, ensuring that only legitimate emails are sent from your domain.
Implement DMARC in order to:
- improve email deliverability,
- protect your brand reputation, and
- gain valuable insights into email traffic.
New bulk sender requirements
Starting February 1, 2024, Google and Yahoo introduced significant updates to their email authentication and spam prevention policies. These updates require all bulk email senders to use DMARC in order to enhance email security and prevent spoofing.
Additionally:
- unsubscribe options must be easy to use and
- spam complaint rates must be kept low to maintain email deliverability.
Links to the announcements are provided below.