Where can I find it?
Configuration > System Setup > Email Health
What does it mean?
From 1 February 2024, both Gmail and Yahoo will implement changes that may affect your emails' deliverability to customers, suppliers, or agents. These changes bring Gmail and Yahoo in line with rules already applied today by many other email hosts.
If you have configured TourCMS to send email via your mail server (in Configuration > System & Setup > Sendgrid), the advice in this article does not apply to you, except in the case there is an issue with sending mail via your mail server, in which case TourCMS will fall back to sending your emails via its mail provider (Sendgrid).
If you have NOT configured TourCMS to send emails via your mail server, then all of the emails generated by your TourCMS account will be sent by TourCMS' mail provider (Sendgrid). Some changes may need to be made to ensure deliverability to contacts with Gmail and Yahoo addresses in future, along with many other email providers today.
The below changes may include changing your DNS (Domain Name System). Often, this is managed by the same company that collects your website.
The "Email Health" page provides a comprehensive list of domains from which your TourCMS account has recently sent emails, accompanied by a concise overview of their email configurations. This resource is invaluable in guiding you through the necessary actions required to ensure the accurate setup of email transmissions. Such diligence is crucial, given the growing trend among receiving mail servers to categorize messages from inadequately configured email domains as spam or outright reject them. By leveraging the insights offered on this page, you can proactively address potential issues and enhance the deliverability of your emails.
What should I do?
You can check the status of the domains your TourCMS account has recently used for sending email by logging into your TourCMS account and heading to Configuration > System Setup > Email Health.
Example
What is an SPF Record?
An SPF (Sender Policy Framework) record is a specially formatted DNS entry that tells email providers which email servers you have permitted to send emails to on your behalf. Increasingly, email providers are checking for an SPF record and verifying that the sending server is on the allowed list before delivering mail to their users.
In the same way, an “A” DNS record tells web browsers which web server to send a customer to when they click a link to www.example.com, and an “SPF” DNS record speaks to email providers which email servers to accept email from @example.com. A lack of an SPF record, or an SPF record, can result in mail not reaching the recipient's mailbox.
You can use a tool like MXToobox to check if you have an SPF record already:
SPF Check & SPF Lookup - Sender Policy Framework (SPF) - MxToolBox
If you already have an SPF record
Find the existing SPF DNS record in your DNS provider site/app and add sendgrid.net to the list of allowed servers.
For example, if your current SPF record looks like this:
v=spf1 include:secureserver.net -all
You would add an include entry for sendgrid.net (TourCMS' email provider) like so:
v=spf1 include:secureserver.net include:sendgrid.net -all
If you do not already have an SPF record
You will need to go to the web interface of your DNS provider and create a new DNS entry of type TXT (or "Text") with the following format:
v=spf1 include:sendgrid.net -all
Take care to include any other servers your company uses to deliver email on the domain. Most services your business uses to send email will have a help page or other; otherwise, be able to advise what to place in your SPF record to allow them to continue sending on your behalf.
For example, if your company primarily uses Gmail to send emails, your new SPF entry could look something like this:
v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:sendgrid.net ~all
You can use an online tool to validate your SPF record:
SPF Check & SPF Lookup - Sender Policy Framework (SPF) - MxToolBox
SPF Record Checker and Lookup Tool | EasyDMARC
What is a DMARC Record?
A DMARC record is a specially formatted DNS entry that tells email providers what to do if they receive an email sent by a server that doesn't pass SPF and/or DKIM checks.
If you send over 5,000 emails per day from your domain (across any email service), it may be beneficial to configure a DMARC record. However, suppose you forward email via mailing lists. In that case, this can cause deliverability issues if you do not also have DKIM configured on your sending server (talk to the provider of the email service you use to send to mailing lists in this case).