Setting Up Your Domain for Email Sending with Cavaco

To ensure reliable email delivery and maintain your brand's identity, Cavaco requires you to configure a verified sending domain. This setup improves email deliverability, authentication, and customer trust by establishing your brand as a verified sender.

Why Setting Up a Sending Domain Matters

Modern email systems like Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo rely on domain authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to determine whether incoming emails are legitimate. Without these protocols in place, your messages are more likely to be marked as spam or rejected entirely.

✅ With Cavaco, authenticated domains improve open rates, reduce bounce rates, and allow full branding of your messages.

Key Terminology:

Root Domain: Your brand's primary domain (e.g., yourbrand.com).
Sending Domain: A subdomain used only for sending emails (e.g., mail.yourbrand.com).
DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): Authenticates that your email hasn’t been tampered with.
SPF (Sender Policy Framework): Tells receiving servers which IPs are allowed to send mail for your domain.
DMARC: Builds on SPF and DKIM, helping email providers decide what to do with unauthenticated mail.

For more on how DKIM works: DMARC Overview

Step-by-Step: Domain Setup in Cavaco

Go to Settings > Domains
Click "New Domain" in the top-right corner
Enter your Root Domain (e.g., yourbrand.com)
Enter your Sending Domain (e.g., mail.yourbrand.com)
Click Next

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Cavaco will generate a set of DNS records to add to your domain registrar. These include:

CNAME records for DKIM
TXT records for SPF and DMARC
MX records for message routing validation

Step-by-Step: Update DNS Records at Your Domain Host

Log into your DNS host (e.g., GoDaddy, Cloudflare, Namecheap)
Navigate to your domain’s DNS or Zone Editor
Add the following records exactly as provided:

Example of DNS records generated by Cavaco with placeholders

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You can verify DNS propagation using tools like https://mxtoolbox.com or https://www.whatsmydns.net

What Happens Next

Once DNS changes propagate (typically within a few minutes to 24 hours):

Cavaco will verify your domain
You can begin sending branded, authenticated emails
Your emails are less likely to be flagged as spam

If issues arise, Cavaco will notify you under the "Domains" settings panel. You can also reach out to support for troubleshooting.

Need Help? Use Cavaco's Setup Agent

Don't want to handle DNS records yourself? Cavaco offers an Onboarding Agent who can:

Recommend the best sending domain
Configure the domain on your behalf (with access)
Test and verify successful delivery

This white-glove setup ensures you're ready to launch campaigns without getting lost in technical steps.

Resources

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