Your emails landing in spam?

Why your emails go to spam

Spam filters at Gmail, Outlook and everywhere else ask one core question about every message: can I prove this really came from the domain it claims to be from? If your domain has no SPF, DKIM and DMARC records — or they're set up wrong — the answer is "no", and the safest thing the inbox can do is drop your mail in the spam folder. This is true whether the mail comes from a contact form, an order confirmation, or your normal day-to-day email.

The usual causes

• No SPF record, or one that doesn't list your actual sender — so the receiving server can't confirm the message is allowed to come from your domain.
• No DKIM signing — messages aren't cryptographically signed, so inboxes can't verify they weren't tampered with in transit.
• No DMARC policy — nothing tells inboxes what to do when SPF or DKIM checks fail, so they default to suspicion.
• The website sending via PHP mail() from a shared server IP instead of authenticated SMTP — unauthenticated mail from a noisy shared IP is treated as spam.
• A sender domain that doesn't match the From address — a mismatch is a classic spoofing signal.
• A blacklisted IP — your host or shared IP has a poor reputation from other senders.
• Spammy subject or content, or no unsubscribe link — trigger words, all-caps subjects, or bulk mail with no opt-out.

How to fix it yourself

1. Check current records. Look up your domain with a tool like MXToolbox to see whether SPF, DKIM and DMARC exist and what they currently say.
2. Publish an SPF record. Add an SPF TXT record that includes every service that sends for you — your host, your ESP, and Google or Microsoft if you use them.
3. Enable DKIM. Turn on DKIM at your mail provider or ESP and publish the public key it gives you as a DNS record.
4. Add a DMARC record. Publish a DMARC TXT record — start with p=none to monitor what's happening, then tighten the policy once SPF and DKIM pass reliably.
5. Move website mail off PHP mail(). Send contact-form and WooCommerce mail through authenticated SMTP via your ESP or an SMTP plugin instead of raw mail().
6. Test it. Run the domain through mail-tester.com and send real test messages to a Gmail and an Outlook address to confirm inbox placement.

When to get a developer on it

DNS and SMTP configuration is fiddly, and a wrong record can stop all your mail — not just the bit that was going to spam. It's quick and cheap to get a pro to set it right the first time. I check what's missing, publish correct SPF, DKIM and DMARC records, wire your website mail through authenticated SMTP, and test it into real inboxes. You get a free 15-minute diagnosis and a fixed price before any work starts — no surprises.