DKIM & SPF Setup for HostGator
SPF Setup for SendGridr
To set up or edit your SPF record, you will need to add: include:sendgrid.net
Edit existing SPF record
- Log in to your DNS hosting provider
- Look for a TXT containing v=spf1
- In your existing SPF record, you will append include:sendgrid.net
- For example, if your existing record looks like v=spf1; mx; ip4:1.2.3.4; you would add the above include as follows v=spf1; mx; ip4:1.2.3.4; include:sendgrid.net
Create a new SPF record
- Follow the instructions from our How to Create a New SPF Record Guide.
- In the Value field, enter: v=spf1 include:sendgrid.net ~all and Save the TXT record.
Records for Subdomains
If you are creating a record for a subdomain, you will want to make sure that you specify the sub part of the domain in the Host/Name/Alias field for most DNS providers.
- Enter the sub part of the domain, for example if the subdomain is mail.mxtoolbox.com you would want to enter mail into that field.
SPF and DMARC Alignment
By default, SendGrid will set you up for sending using one of their domains for the return-path address. This domain will NOT pass SPF Alignment. At this time, this provider does NOT provide any mechanism that will allow SPF Alignment to pass. You need to enable DKIM for this provider to ensure your email will pass DMARC Compliance.
How to Enable DKIM for SendGrid
To set up your DKIM record with Sendgrid or edit your current DKIM record to include Sendgrid, follow the steps below:
Whether you utilize a shared or dedicated IP, SendGrid automatically enables DKIM for all email to improve deliverability. To implement DKIM for the SendGrid platform, follow these steps:
- Publish two CNAME records for your custom domain at DNS host (Note: Sendgrid will provide these records to you).
-
Sendgrid records currently use the following format:
Host name: selector1._domainkey.<domain>
Points to address or value:selector1-<domainGUID>._domainkey.<initialDomain>
TTL: 3600
Host name: selector2._domainkey.<domain>
Points to address or value:selector2-<domainGUID>._domainkey.<initialDomain>
TTL: 3600
- Enable DKIM signing for your custom domain in SendGrid
An example of enabling DKIM signing for your custom domain is as follows: New-DkimSigningConfig -DomainName yourdomain.com -Enabled $true
Moreover, an example of a SendGrid DKIM record with automated security enabled looks like:
subdomain.yourdomain.com. | CNAME | uXXXXXXX.wlXXX.sendgrid.net
s1.domainkey.yourdomain.com. | CNAME | s1.domainkey.uXXX.wlXXX.sendgrid.net.
s2.domainkey.yourdomain.com. | CNAME | s2.domainkey.uXXX.wlXXX.sendgrid.net.
As a user of this outbound email provider, SendGrid customers are afforded DKIM signing because it supports this mechanism. By utilizing SendGrid’s self-service portal, you can manually set up DKIM at your convenience via CNAME records mentioned above. Although this SendGrid product does not allow custom DKIM records to be implemented, it provides other beneficial components (e.g., DKIM signing, self-service set up with CNAME records) that result in a streamlined process.