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Domain authentication, available on premium and enterprise Hub subscriptions, allows your team to send participants emails with your domain as the sender. Your domain is the part of your email after the "@", such as @userinterviews.com. Once you've authenticated your domain, create sender profiles so emails come from specific teammates, like Melanie@userinterviews.com. Sending emails from a recognizable email address helps participants trust your emails!
What you'll need to setup a new domain
You’ll need a TXT record added to the DNS for that domain (DKIM). DKIM is an encryption key that modern mail providers use to verify that our servers are authenticated to send emails on your behalf. Adding a DKIM record to the domain's DNS will not affect any other DNS records already in place, nor affect sending from the domain/address using a method other than User Interviews.
For better deliverability, you may choose to set up an additional CNAME record for a custom return-path.
How to authenticate a new domain
1. Log in and navigate to “Team Settings” -> “Advanced options” from the main navigation.
2. Select “Add a domain”.
3. Enter the domain you would like to authenticate.
4. Your domain will appear under “Authenticated domains” in a pending status. To retrieve the relevant DNS records you or your team will need to make, select “Authenticate" for the domain.
5. The authenticate dialog contains details of the DNS records that will need to be made in order for us to authenticate sending on your behalf. Please note record “Type”, “Host name”, and “Required value” and enter this information in the respective fields at your DNS host. The CNAME is currently optional (though recommended) for us to authenticate your domain.
6. Continue to check your domain status until the records come back green. Please note that DNS record changes do not take effect the instant you enter them and need to propagate through a network DNS servers. While we generally expect this propagation to take less than 20 minutes, it can take up to 48 hours in some cases.
7. Your domain has been authorized! You can now set up sender profiles so emails can come from you or your teammates.
FAQ
Why is domain authentication important?
Domain authentication ensures that emails sent from your domain (i.e. for participant recruitment or communication) are verified as legitimate. This helps improve email deliverability and prevents your emails from being marked as spam.
What is required to authenticate a domain on User Interviews?
A TXT record (DKIM) added to your domain's DNS to verify that User Interviews is authorized to send emails on your behalf. Adding a CNAME record is optional, but recommended for better deliverability. Both records are provided in the authenticate modal to add to your domain’s DNS settings.
Do we need an SPF record?
No, we don't directly set up an SPF record. Setting up the CNAME record will handle this. Here is more context from our Hub email distributor about why.
Why is my domain not getting authenticated after 48 hours?
This can happen if the DNS records have not been correctly set up or if the changes have not yet propagated. We recommend double checking the configuration in your DNS host as well as their support documentation about guidelines for entering these records.
Can we authenticate multiple domains?
Yes, multiple domains can be authenticated under one team.
Who should I contact for help with domain authentication?
Your IT team should be able to assist with the configuration within your DNS host (we aren’t able to do this step for you). If there are further questions about the setup, please feel free to email us at projects@userinterviews.com and we’ll be happy to support.
