Welcome to MailChannels
What is MailChannels and why are we implementing it?
MailChannels is an industry-leading outbound spam filtering service used by some of the biggest names in the business, giving them a great reputation and great deliverability to external mail providers such as Hotmail, Gmail, and Yahoo.
Emails sent on our servers will be routed through IP Addresses of the MailChannels platform, rather than the server’s own IP address. This provides two main benefits:
1. MailChannels maintain a large pool of IP addresses, which can be rotated if they become blacklisted - meaning blacklisting IPs can be removed and replaced quickly.
2. Due to the reputation of MailChannels, many providers trust the messages to have already undergone additional checks for spam and will score messages more favorably. This means more mail will go into the inbox rather than be filtering into a junk folder.
We have put together a series of FAQs that you might have regarding the service and for those who just want a little bit more information!
What we need from you!
In order for us to roll out MailChannels, we need your help in applying the DNS changes (where necessary) to ensure that mail for your domain remains uninterrupted.
All mail sent through our platform whether it be PHPMail or SMTP mail will be directed through MailChannels after the Go Live date for your server - failure to make the changes before the switchover may result in a failure to send emails correctly.
Customers using our Nameservers:
If you use any combination of our nameservers (For example, ns1.krystal.uk/ns1.uksrv.co.uk/ns1.cloudhosting.co.uk) for your services with us, then no changes should need to be made and we should be able to add the DNS entries which will enable MailChannels to work with your domain automatically.
Customers using 3rd Party Nameservers:
If your domain name uses 3rd party nameservers to handle the DNS queries, you will need to include the following entry on your domain names SPF record to allow MailChannels as an authenticated sender:
include:relay.k.io
If you already have an SPF record set up on your domain name, you can simply amend it to include the MailChannels entry.
Here is an example of an SPF record before the additional entry:
v=spf1 +mx +a +ip4:77.72.3.179 ~all
And here is the same record with the added entry:
v=spf1 +mx +a include:relay.k.io +ip4:77.72.3.179 ~all
The entry can be added anytime AFTER the v=spf1 and BEFORE the ~all with spaces between each entry and that concludes the changes that need to be made to allow MailChannels to work as intended.
What else we need from you!
To ensure you get the most out of MailChannels, there are certain changes that should be done to create a best practice environment that is not done out of the box on a standard install of popular CMS platforms such as WordPress. This will not only reduce the chances of your emails being rejected but will also appear more professional to your clients.
More information regarding best practices for mail, can be found in the following article: What is PHP mail and how does it differ from SMTP?
If you continue to use PHPMail, you will need to locate and monitor the Default Mailbox for any failed deliveries on a regular basis. We have an article on where to find the mailbox and how to check the emails here: What is the default mailbox and how do I check it?
