How to authenticate your domain name on Cloudflare

In this article, we will see how to set up the authentication of your domain name on Cloudflare.

What you will need:

  • a systeme.io account
  • a domain name on Cloudflare

Case number 1: You send your emails with systeme.io

Step #1: Log in to your systeme.io account

Go to your "Profile image" and click on "Settings" (number 1 in the image), then "Emails". (number 2 in the image)

Go to the "Domains" section, then click on "Click here to authenticate your domain and display its information in your email header, which will help you improve your email delivery rates". (number 3 in the image)

A pop-up will appear where you need to enter your domain name without the three (3) "www". (number 4 in the image)

Once the domain name is entered, click on "Save" to generate three (3) CNAME records + (1) TXT record (number 5 in the image). These records will appear in a new pop-up.

Example: test-sio.org

Then, to display the list of DNS records, simply click on the eye-shaped icon.

You will see three (3) CNAMEs and one (1) TXT record that must be entered for your domain to be authenticated.

The TXT record is called a "DMARC" record. To learn more about the DMARC addition procedure, click here.

IMPORTANT:

1) Domain name authentication is mandatory to send emails from systeme.io.

2) The domain name you want to authenticate must redirect to an active website, meaning that when you click on it, you will be redirected to a working page, instead of an error page, otherwise, the receiving servers may block the sending of your emails.

Example: the website test-sio.org must be functional; otherwise, when you send emails using the email address of this domain name (example@test-sio.org), your contacts may not receive your emails due to server blocking.

3) It is not possible to authenticate a domain name from a personal email address like Gmail, Yahoo, ProtonMail, etc.; you can only authenticate a custom domain name.


Step #2: On your Cloudflare account:

You need to copy these CNAME records to integrate them into the DNS Settings of your domain name in your Cloudflare account.

To do this, please go to the DNS Settings to edit the DNS zone of your domain name.

Note: if you cannot find the settings on your hosting provider, you need to contact their support to show you the steps to follow.

Log in to your Cloudflare account by clicking here

  1. Once logged in, redirect to the domain you want to authenticate, then click on "Records", in the "DNS" tab, and then click on "Add record". (numbers 1 & 2 in the image)

  1. Select the "CNAME" option for adding the first 3 records. (number 3 in the image)

You will have form fields to fill out:

  1. Go back to the list of CNAME records that you generated on your account systeme.io to copy what is shown in the screenshot below.
  2. In the field "Name" of your host, enter what is written in "Name" in systeme.io, but not the whole thing, just the numbers and the letters that are placed before your domain name. 

In our example, we need to copy "si942517"

  1. In the "Value" field of your hosting provider, put what is written in "Value" and add a period "." at the end.

In our example, we need to enter "inbound.systeme.io.

Here is how each line to be added to your hosting provider's DNS zone will appear (these values are always examples):

Name : si942517 (number 4 in the image)    Value : inbound.systeme.io. (number 5 in the image)

Name : systemeio1._domainkey                    Value : key1.systeme.io. 

Name : systemeio2._domainkey                    Value : key2.systeme.io. 

  1. Click on "Save" to validate. (number 6 in the image)

Note: Since there are three (3) CNAME records, you need to perform the operation three (3) times for each CNAME to be registered.

  1. Select the "TXT" option for adding the DMARC. (number 7 in the image)

  1. Return to the list of records to add the generated TXT to your account systeme.io to copy what is indicated in the screenshot below.

Here is how each line to be added to your host's DNS zone will look (these values are always examples):

Name: _dmarc (number 8 in the image)

Value (content): v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:example@gmail.com (number 9 in the image) 

  1. Click on "Save" to validate. (number 10 in the image)

  1. Check that your CNAME records are correctly configured on this site: DNS checker

If you see a green check next to the exact value for your three CNAME records, it means that your domain name has been successfully authenticated. If you wish, you can also contact the support team for a verification on their end: https://systeme.io/en/support/contact-us

CNAME verification 01 :

CNAME verification 02 :

CNAME verification 03 :

If, on the contrary, one or more of your CNAME records are indicated in red, you need to review the procedure and check that there are no errors in your DNS records with your hosting provider. 

In this specific case, if you are unable to resolve the issue yourself, you should also contact support, including a screenshot of your DNS records from your host to guide you in repeating the procedure.

Note: In any case, you must contact support after performing the action: https://systeme.io/en/support/contact-us.

  1. Check that your DMARC record has been added by searching with your domain name on the site https://mxtoolbox.com/dmarc.aspx

IMPORTANT NOTE: in order to send emails with the domain name you just authenticated, it's essential to confirm the sender email address of your domain by following the steps described in the article "How to confirm the sender email address of your emails".


Case number 2: You are using your own SendGrid account

If you are using your own SendGrid account to send emails and are not using the autoresponder from systeme.io, it is recommended to contact SendGrid support for instructions on the authentication process of your domain name on Cloudflare to improve the deliverability of your emails.

Additional help pages :

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