When you send email from your website, such as via a contact form,. you want to prevent messages from not being sent or not arriving. To achieve this it is important to configure all settings correctly.
The main reason for not being able to send email is incorrectly configured DNS settings. In addition, it is also necessary that your mail is sent from the correct domain name.
DNS settings
Incorrect or incomplete DNS settings for outgoing email is the most common cause of a contact form not sending mail. Therefore, always check first whether your SPF, DKIM and DMARC records are present in your DNS settings.
Do you use the TransIP settings? Then you do not have to worry about this, the records will be added automatically.
You can check if the TransIP settings are activated for a domain name by visiting your control panel. Inside the control panel, click 'Domain' and select your domain name on the left hand side (don't check the box). Now scroll down to '(Advanced) domain settings'.
If you see 'Domain settings' here, that means the TransIP settings are enabled. This means your domain name will automatically use the correct DNS and nameserver settings for Web Hosting, Email Only and Forwarding services.
SPF record
SPF stands for Sender Policy Frame and is used to check whether the sending mail server is allowed to send mail for that domain. It is therefore necessary that you include the sending mail server in your SPF record to prevent the email message from being marked as spam.
For Web Hosting packages, the correct SPF record is:
- Name: @
- Type: TXT
- Value: v=spf1 include:_spf.transip.email ~all
More information on how to configure an SPF record can be found in the article 'Setting an SPF record'.
DKIM records
DKIM stands for DomainKeys Identified Mail and is used to check the validity of the email sender. This is done by including a signature in sent emails, which is then verified against the key in the DKIM record.
So make sure you include our DKIM records in your DNS settings when you use a Web Hosting package:
- Name: transip-A._domainkey
- Type: CNAME
- Value: _dkim-A.transip.email.
- Name: transip-B._domainkey
- Type: CNAME
- Value: _dkim-B.transip.email.
- Name: transip-C._domainkey
- Type: CNAME
- Value: _dkim-C.transip.email.
More information on how to set a DKIM record can be found in the article 'Setting a DKIM record'.
DMARC-record
DMARC stands for "Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance". A DMARC record specifies, among other things, what an email server should do when SPF or DKIM fails. You can therefore see it as an extra security measure.
- Name: _dmarc
- Type: TXT
- Value: v=DMARC1; p=none;
A DMARC record falls under the TXT records type. More information on how to configure a TXT record can be found in the article 'Setting a TXT record'.
TransIP-mail-authentication-records
When you use a web hosting package on the new web hosting platform, you need to TXT records with thich you validate that you are sending via our mail servers. The Values of these records are different for everyone.
You can check the values via the email you received titled 'DNS settings for yourdomainname.com', or via your control panel if you use 'Advanced domain settings':
Step 1
Inside the control panel, click the 'Domains & Hosting' tab at the top and select your domain name on the left hand side (don't check the box). Now scroll down to '(Advanced) domain settings'.
Next to the header 'DNS' are the 'Bulk options'. Click it, followed by Copy from -> default TransIP DNS settings.
Step 2
Copy the values of both 'x-transip-mail-auth' records and save them (for instance in Notepad) and refresh the page afterwards so you will see your own DNS settings again.
Please note that you do not accidentally overwrite your own DNS settings with the TransIP settings. In the event that this happens, you can aalways go back to the previously saved DNS settings via 'Bulk options' -> Restore a previous version.
Step 3
Create the records in your DNS settings and paste the saved values in both 'Value' fields:
- Name: x-transip-mail-auth
- Type: TXT
- Value:
- Name: x-transip-mail-auth
- Type: TXT
- Value:
Please note that it can take up to 24 hours for changes to DNS settings to be implemented worldwide. This is due to how external systems handle this. Unfortunately we have no influence on this. Usually you will see the changes well within 24 hours.
From address
Are all DNS settings correct? Check whether your email is sent from an email address that contains your domain name.
To guarantee the security and stability of our web hosting platyform, it is only possible to send mail from your website if the 'From' address of your contact form contains your domain name. This prevents third parties from sending spam via your website.
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Do you use a WordPress plugin for sending emails? Then check in the settings of your plugin whether the From address ends with @yourdomainname.com.
- Do you use a PHP script to send emails? Then check in your PHP settings whether sendmail_from is configured correctly. This setting should contain an email address ending in @yourdomainname.com.
To change your webhosting's PHP settings, log in to the control panel and click 'Shared Hosting' in the menu. Next, select your domain below 'Products'.
Click 'Advanced' at the top, followed by 'PHP settings'. Scroll down to 'Miscellaneous', where you will find the 'sendmail_from' setting:
In case of using your own PHP scirpt, make sure that the from parameter is present in the header of the PHP script.