DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) proves to email providers that WithWine emails sent from your own email address really come from your domain. Setting up DKIM helps keep your emails out of spam and stops Outlook showing "Unverified" next to your winery's name.
You set up DKIM in two parts. First, WithWine generates DNS records for your domain on the Configure DKIM page. Then you copy those records into your domain's DNS settings. If you're not sure what DKIM is, read What is DKIM and why should I set it up? first.
Before you start
Your From Email Address must be verified. In Settings > My Brand > Brand Details, both Amazon Web Services Verified and WithWine Verified must show. The Configure DKIM button only appears after both are verified. See How to send WithWine emails from your own email address.
You need to be able to change your domain's DNS settings, or have the person who manages your website or IT do it for you. To find out which company manages your DNS, see How to find out which company manages your domain's DNS.
Allow about 15 minutes to add the records, and up to 72 hours for the records to take effect.
How to generate your DNS records in WithWine
Go to Settings > My Brand > Brand Details.
Under From Email Address, click Configure DKIM. The Configure DKIM page opens in a new tab.
Check the Domain name. The domain is taken from your From Email Address. For example, if your From Email Address is orders@[yourdomain], the domain name is [yourdomain].
Click Generate DNS records for [your domain].
WithWine then shows three sections, each with its own records:
DKIM Configuration: three CNAME records. Status Pending.
Mail From Configuration: one MX record and one TXT record. Status Pending.
Example DMARC Record Configuration: one example TXT record.
You only need to generate the records once. The records stay on the Configure DKIM page, so you can come back and copy them at any time. To use a different domain, change your From Email Address.
The records you add to your domain
Your records look like the example below. The codes before ._domainkey are different for every domain. Words in square brackets in this article are placeholders, not text to type. [yourdomain] means your own domain: for example, if your From Email Address is orders@mywinery.com.au, your domain is mywinery.com.au. [code] means the long string of random letters and numbers that WithWine shows at the start of each DKIM record. Each of the three DKIM records has a different code. Always copy and paste the real values from your Configure DKIM page, and never type the square brackets. Copy your own records from the Configure DKIM page.
DKIM Configuration (add all three) Name: [code]._domainkey.[yourdomain] Type: CNAME Value: [code].dkim.amazonses.com Mail From Configuration (add both) Name: withwinemail.[yourdomain] Type: MX Value: 10 feedback-smtp.us-west-2.amazonses.com Name: withwinemail.[yourdomain] Type: TXT Value: "v=spf1 include:amazonses.com ~all" Example DMARC Record Configuration (only if you have no DMARC record) Name: _dmarc.[yourdomain] Type: TXT Value: v=DMARC1;p=quarantine;sp=quarantine;pct=100;aspf=r;adkim=r;
How to add the records to your domain
Step-by-step guides for the most common domain providers: GoDaddy, Cloudflare, Namecheap, Squarespace, VentraIP and Crazy Domains. For any other provider, follow these steps:
Log in to your domain provider and open the DNS settings (sometimes called DNS records, DNS management or Zone Editor).
Add the three DKIM records. For each one, choose the type CNAME, copy the Name and copy the Value.
Add the Mail From MX record. Choose the type MX, copy the Name, and enter the value. If your provider has a separate Priority field, enter 10 as the priority and feedback-smtp.us-west-2.amazonses.com as the value.
Add the Mail From TXT record. Choose the type TXT, copy the Name and copy the value v=spf1 include:amazonses.com ~all.
Add a DMARC record if your domain doesn't have one yet (see below).
Save your changes.
Tip: most domain providers add your domain to the end of the name automatically. If your provider does, enter only the part before your domain, for example [code]._domainkey or withwinemail. Otherwise the name ends up doubled, such as withwinemail.[yourdomain].[yourdomain], and the record won't work.
Important: the Mail From records go on the withwinemail sub-domain only. Don't change the MX or SPF records on your main domain, because those records control your normal email inbox.
How to add a DMARC record
A DMARC record tells email providers what to do with emails that fail SPF and DKIM. A domain can only have one DMARC record, so first check whether your domain already has a TXT record named _dmarc. If one already exists, don't add another, and ask your IT provider before changing it.
The example on the Configure DKIM page uses p=quarantine;sp=quarantine;. As the warning on that page explains, WithWine recommends starting with p=none;sp=none; instead, so you can check that emails from WithWine and from your usual email system still arrive. Add this TXT record named _dmarc:
v=DMARC1;p=none;sp=none;pct=100;aspf=r;adkim=r;
After a few weeks with no delivery problems, you can change the record to p=quarantine;sp=quarantine; or p=reject;sp=reject;. The Example DMARC Record Configuration section has no status, because WithWine doesn't check the DMARC record.
How to check DKIM is working
Wait at least 15 minutes after adding the records. DNS changes can take up to 72 hours.
Go back to the Configure DKIM page and click Refresh.
Check the status next to DKIM Configuration and Mail From Configuration. The status changes from Pending to Success when WithWine finds the records.
What happens next
Once DKIM Configuration shows Success, every email WithWine sends from your From Email Address is signed with DKIM for your domain.
Customers' email providers can verify your emails, so your emails are less likely to go to spam, and Outlook stops showing "Unverified" next to your name.
Leave the DNS records in place. If the records are deleted, DKIM stops working.
Troubleshooting
The Configure DKIM button isn't showing. Your From Email Address isn't fully verified yet. Check Amazon Web Services Verified and WithWine Verified both show in Settings > My Brand > Brand Details.
The status still shows Pending after a day. Check each record in your DNS settings: the type is right, the name isn't doubled (see the tip above), the value has no extra spaces or a full stop at the end, and all three DKIM records exist. Check you added the records at the company that manages your DNS. Then click Refresh again.
DKIM Configuration shows Success but Mail From Configuration shows Pending. Check the MX and TXT records use the name withwinemail (not mail or your main domain), and the MX priority is 10.
My domain provider won't accept the underscore in the name. Underscores are allowed in DKIM records. Check you've chosen the CNAME type, not an A record. If your provider still refuses, contact your domain provider's support.
Emails from my normal inbox stopped arriving after I changed DNS. The MX or SPF record on your main domain may have been changed by mistake. The Mail From records belong on the withwinemail sub-domain only. Restore your main domain's records or ask your IT provider.
I use a Gmail, Hotmail, Outlook.com or iCloud address. You can't add DNS records to those domains, so you can't set up DKIM. Use an address on your own domain, or leave the From Email Address blank so WithWine sends from contact@withwine.com.