MailChannels failing SPF

A new source popped up recently for a customers domain, it’s MailChannels. The MailFrom is coming from wpengine.com which is a Word Press Hosted site and they in turn use MailChannels for sending out emails from a contact form on their Word Press site. I spoke with my customer and this is a valid Source. So I did some looking and Mail Channels has info on how to add the SFP record which I did last weekend but it’s still not showing SPF being in alignment. Mail Channels doesn’t really have any info on DKIM, they say it’s not necessary for them, they say we can setup SMTP Auth on the wpengine.com site.

I’m using v=spf1 include:servers.mcsv.net include:_spf.google.com include:relay.mailchannels.net ~all so seems like my SFP record is setup right.

Any thoughts on how to get the SPF record showing correctly?

Separate question, do you think I should setup SMTP Auth as well? This is just a WordPress site with a simple contact form for my customer, they get 4-7 emails a week through this form.

Thanks in advance for any info and insights you can share.
RG

Hi Ryan,

When a source is not aligned, meaning the domain of the return-path is not the same as the From header, simply adding content to the from header domain will not automatically change the way to source sends emails.

3rd party providers commonly will provide what to add to an SPF record, but without confirming if they support alignment to begin with. Not all providers do, and there is a lot of bad advice on the internet regarding SPF.

I recommend you speak to the hosting provider and confirm if they support a custom return-path and DKIM. Be clear with you requirements, as they simply may tell you to add the same to SPF again. It is important that you communicate the need for alignment.

I hope this helps!

1 Like