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Adding an SPF Record to a Domain

Emily Hall
Updated

SPF, or "Sender Policy Framework," is a DNS record that can help fend off spam and keep your email address from being used as a cover for spam. Spammers sometimes try to fake the from and reply addresses on emails to make it look like it comes from a reputable address. You can discourage this practice by adding an SPF record. Your SPF record lists all servers that might validly send mail for your domain name. This allows email recipients to verify that a message came from a valid server. 

Not only is SPF a good way to keep spam out of your inbox, it can also help ensure email delivery. Some email services will automatically reject emails with no SPF record. Combat this by enabling an SPF configuration on your account.

There are two methods for adding SPF records in your Account Control Center. There is an easy method that uses a pre-configured SPF record and a more advanced method that allows you to create your own customized SPF record. You can find both tutorials below: 

 

Adding an SPF Record to Your Domain (Beginner)

If you want to use the power of SPF, but aren't very familiar with the aspects of an SPF record, you can use our pre-configured SPF record. 

The pre-configured SPF record is designed based on your account type and our email server configuration. The majority of customers will be able to use this pre-configured SPF record with no problem. However, if you have third-party software installed on your account, you may want to opt for a customized SPF record to ensure compatibility. 

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Pre-configured SPF records may change without notice due to account or email server changes. 

 

Turning On the Pre-configured SPF Record

To turn on the pre-configured SPF record on your domain, follow these steps:

Choose the tutorial that reflects your ACC interface type: 

Not sure what the difference is? See Which ACC Interface Am I Using? 

If you are using the Legacy Interface:

  1. Log in to your Account Control Center (ACC) at my.pair.com
  2. In the left sidebar, click Domains
  3. Click Manage Your Domain Names from the drop-down
  4. In the “Domain Name” column, click the name of the domain where you want to add the SPF record
  5. On the Manage Domain page, find the “Sender Policy Framework (SPF)” section and click Change SPF Settings
    The next page will display the pre-configured SPF record. 
  6. To activate it, click the Activate SPF button

This will turn the SPF record on. 

If you are using the New ACC Interface:

  1. Log in to your Account Control Center (ACC) at my.pair.com
  2. In the top navigation bar, click Domains
  3. Find the domain name that you want to have an SPF record and click its Edit button
  4. In the “Email” section, find Sender Policy Framework (SPF) and click its Edit button
  5. Click the Activate SPF button

This will turn the SPF record on. 

Turning Off the Pre-configured SPF Record

To turn off the pre-configured SPF record on your domain, follow these steps:

Choose the tutorial that reflects your ACC interface type: 

Not sure what the difference is? See Which ACC Interface Am I Using? 

If you are using the Legacy Interface:

  1. Log in to your Account Control Center (ACC) at my.pair.com
  2. In the left sidebar, click Domains
  3. Click Manage Your Domain Names from the drop-down
  4. In the “Domain Name” column, click the name of the domain where you want to add the SPF record
  5. On the Manage Domain page, find the “Sender Policy Framework (SPF)” section and click Change SPF Settings
  6. Click the Deactivate SPF button

If you are using the New ACC Interface:

  1. Log in to your Account Control Center (ACC) at my.pair.com
  2. In the top navigation bar, click Domains
  3. Find the domain name that has the SPF record and click its Edit button
  4. In the “Email” section, find Sender Policy Framework (SPF) and click its Edit button
  5. Click the Deactivate SPF button

SPF Failure Option: Hard Fail or Soft Fail

On the Configure Default SPF Record page, there is a button to change the SPF record to use hard fail or soft fail. These two options are called "qualifiers" and determine how strict your SPF record is on emails that fail to pass the SPF check. Here's the difference: 

Hard Fail

If an SPF record uses a hard fail, the recipients will reject any email from hosts that aren't listed in the SPF record. This means that the email will never be fully delivered and cannot be retrieved by the recipient.

Soft Fail

If an SPF record uses soft fail, then failing emails will still be delivered, but could be considered junk mail by the recipient.

Generally, soft fail is the preferred option because it is more lenient, while still defending against spam and email spoofing.

Adding a Customized SPF Record to a Domain (Advanced)

Choose the tutorial that reflects your ACC interface type: 

Not sure what the difference is? See Which ACC Interface Am I Using? 

If you are using the Legacy Interface:

  1. Log in to your Account Control Center (ACC) at my.pair.com
  2.  Click Domains
  3. Click Manage Your Domain Names 
  4. In the Domain Name column, click the name of the domain where you want to add the SPF record
  5.  Click Manage Custom DNS Records
  6.  Click Add DNS Records
  7.  Next to Type Of Record, click the drop-down and select TXT
  8. Click Proceed
  9.  Next to Hostname, you may either enter a specific hostname or leave the field empty to create the SPF for the entire domain

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    The hostname will be a subdomain of the main domain, such as ns1.example.com.

  10. Next to Text Record, enter the SPF record. See an example of what this might look like below
  11. Click Create Record

If you are using the New ACC Interface:

  1. Log in to your Account Control Center (ACC) at my.pair.com
  2. In the top navigation bar, click Domains
  3. Find the domain you want to add a SPF record to and click its Edit button
  4.  In the “DNS” section, find Name Servers and click its Edit button
  5. Click the Manage DNS Records button
  6. Click the Add New DNS Entry button
  7. Next to Type of Record, select TXT from the drop down
  8. Click the Proceed button
  9. Fill out the the following information: 
    Hostname Enter a specific hostname or leave the field empty to create the SPF record for the entire domain.

    The hostname will be a subdomain of the main domain, such as ns1.example.com.
    Text Record Enter the SPF record.  
    1. Click the Create TXT Record button
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SPF Syntax Breakdown. See What is an SPF Record? for more details.

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