How to Configure SPF & DKIM Authentication in Rapidmail?

Rapidmail, a German Newsletter Software, allows you to add an extra layer of security to your newsletters to prevent spamming. It provides SPF and DKIM records for your sender domain so you can add these records to the DNS of your hosting server. 

SPF (Sender Policy Framework) ensures that the emails/newsletters come from a legitimate source and sender's address has not been forged by a third party. Whereas, DKIM  (DomainKeys Identified Mail) adds a signature to an email that is associated with your domain. 

In this article, we'll go through SPF and DKIM configuration on Rapidmail, using Cloudflare as our web host. 

1. Open Rapidmail and Cloudflare in different tabs to easily copy/paste DNS values and create new records. 

2. Open your Rapidmail account and click on Profile icon > Settings in the top right corner.

3. Now select Sender Settings in the left panel. If you have signed up with your webmail, you will see your webmail automatically added to the Sender address. If not, then add your domain here.

   

4. Open the Sender Authentication tab and you’ll find three options: DKIM, SPF, & DMARC. The users who signed up with their webmail will see DMARC already authenticated.

   

5. Click the Eye icon next to DKIM and SPF to copy the Target and Value text.

   

6. Now go to Cloudflare and click on the Website that you have already added. 

7. Click on Overview > DNS > Records > Add Records.

   

8. Here, paste the DKIM target and values, select type TXT, and hit the Save button. 

9. Repeat the same process for adding SPF records but for SPF, choose CNAME type instead of TXT and click Save.

   NOTE: Toggle off the orange button to turn off Proxy for SPF records.

   

10. Once records have been added, go back to Rapidmail and click on the Refresh icon.

    

11. Within 24 hours, you’ll see both DKIM & SPF icons turned green, meaning your authentication has been successful. 

However, if your records are not authenticated after 24 hours, contact your web hosting service provider for detailed analysis. Troubleshooting authentication problems varies depending on the web hosting service you are using. So, there is a unique solution to every hosting platform.