Summary: This guide explains how to authenticate your domain within Tithely Sites. This process improves the deliverability of your newsletters and contact form notifications by verifying you as the sender, which helps prevent your emails from being marked as spam. It also removes the "via sendgrid.net" message from your newsletter emails, giving them a more professional look.
Before You Begin
-
You must have Admin access to your Tithely Site.
-
You must have login access to your third-party domain name provider (e.g., GoDaddy, Namecheap, Google Domains, etc.) where you can edit DNS records.
-
❗ DNS Changes are Advanced: Editing DNS records can affect your website and email if done incorrectly. Please proceed with caution and contact your domain provider's support if you are unsure about any steps.
-
You must first activate the Newsletter feature to access the authentication screen (even if you only need this for contact forms). You can disable it again after verification is complete.
Step 1: Activate the Newsletter Feature (If Needed)
-
Log into your Tithely Site and go to Admin > Settings.
-
Click the Features tab.
-
Toggle Newsletter to the On position and wait for the page to refresh.
Step 2: Access the Domain Authentication Page
-
In the Admin menu, select Newsletter.
-
Click the Domain Authentication tab.
-
Click the Start the Process button.
Step 3: Add DNS Records to Your Domain Provider
In this step, you will copy three CNAME records from Tithely and paste them into your domain provider's DNS settings.
-
On the Tithely Domain Authentication screen, you will see three records listed, each with a Host and a Value.
-
In a separate browser tab, log into your domain provider and navigate to the DNS management section for your domain.
-
You will need to create three new CNAME records. For each of the three records from the Tithely screen, do the following:
-
Click the Copy button next to the Host value in Tithely and paste it into the Host (or Name) field in your DNS provider.
-
Click the Copy button next to the Value in Tithely and paste it into the Value (or Points to) field in your DNS provider.
-
Save each CNAME record.
❗ Important Note on Formatting: Some DNS providers (like Squarespace) may automatically add your domain name to the end of the Host field. This can cause the record to be incorrect.
-
Example: If you paste
em1234.yourdomain.com, your provider might save it asem1234.yourdomain.com.yourdomain.com. -
Solution: In such cases, only paste the first part of the host value (e.g.,
em1234). Always double-check that the final saved record in your DNS provider exactly matches what is shown in Tithely.
-
Step 4: Verify the Connection
-
After adding all three records in your DNS provider, return to the Tithely Domain Authentication page.
-
The status for each record will eventually update from "Waiting" to "Verified."
-
This process is not instant. DNS changes can take anywhere from a few minutes to 48 hours to propagate across the internet. You may need to check back later.
Step 5 (Optional): Disable the Newsletter Feature
If you only enabled the Newsletter feature to complete this process for your contact forms, you can now return to Admin > Settings > Features and toggle it back to the Off position.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
Why should I do this? What are the benefits? Authenticating your domain improves email deliverability by verifying your identity, reduces the chance of your emails being marked as spam, and increases recipient trust, which leads to better engagement.
-
My records won't verify after 48 hours. What's wrong? This is almost always caused by a typo or formatting error when pasting the records into your DNS provider. Carefully review each record in your DNS settings to ensure it exactly matches what Tithely provided. Pay close attention to the "Important Note on Formatting" in Step 3.
-
What is a CNAME record? A CNAME (Canonical Name) record is a type of DNS record that maps an alias name to a true domain name. In this case, you are creating aliases on your domain that point to SendGrid (our email partner), which proves to receiving email servers that we are authorized to send email on your behalf.