How to authenticate your domain name on Cloudflare

This article explains how to authenticate your domain name on Cloudflare.

What you will need:

• A systeme.io account

• A domain name on Cloudflare

Case 1: Sending emails via systeme.io

Step 1: Log in to your systeme.io account

Hover over your profile picture, then click Settings (1). In the settings menu, click Emails (2).

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

In the popup that appears, enter your domain name (without the "www") (4).

Next, click Save (5) to generate the three CNAME records and one TXT record. You will need to add these to your host's DNS settings.

In this example, we entered test-sio.org

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 a "DMARC" record. To learn more about how to add a DMARC record, click here.

IMPORTANT:

1. Authentication of a domain name is mandatory to send emails from systeme.io.

2. The domain you want to authenticate must have an active website linked to it. If the domain leads to a 404 error page, email providers may block your emails.

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

3. You cannot authenticate domains from personal email providers (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo, ProtonMail). Only custom domains can be authenticated.

Step 2: On your Cloudflare account:

Copy these CNAME records and add them to the DNS settings in your Cloudflare account.

To do this, 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, select the domain you want to authenticate, then click on Records (1), in the DNS tab, and then click Add record (2).

2. Select the CNAME option for adding the first three records (3).

Important: Make sure the "DNS only" option is enabled (the proxy must be disabled, indicated by a gray cloud icon).

If the proxy is enabled (orange cloud), it may prevent the DNS record from functioning properly and block the validation of your domain.

To ensure the configuration is correct:

• The status must be set to DNS only

• No redirects or proxies should interfere with this record

An incorrect configuration at this stage may prevent domain authentication and directly affect the deliverability of your emails.

3. Fill out the form fields by copying the CNAME records generated in your systeme.io account (shown below).

4. In your host's Name field, paste the value from systeme.io.

Important: Enter only the part before your domain name (e.g., if the value is si942517.test-sio.org, enter only si942517).

In our example, we need to copy "si942517".

5. In the Target (or Content) field, paste the value provided by systeme.io.

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

Here is how the records should look in your provider's DNS zone (these values are examples):

Name: si942517 (4)    Value : inbound.systeme.io (5)

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

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

6. Click on Save to validate (6).

Notes:

• Make sure the "DNS only" option is enabled (the proxy must be disabled, indicated by a gray cloud icon).

• You must repeat this process for all three CNAME records.

7. Select the TXT option to add the DMARC record (7).

8. Return to the list of records in systeme.io to copy the generated TXT record.

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

Name: _dmarc (8)

Value: v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:example@gmail.com (9)

9. Click on Save to validate (10).

10. Check that your CNAME records are correctly configured using this site: DNS checker

Note: To check your records, you must enter the full CNAME name (including your domain name) into the search bar.

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. You can also contact the support team here for a verification on their end.

CNAME verification 1:

CNAME verification 2:

CNAME verification 3:

However, if any CNAME records appear in red, check your DNS settings for errors. If you cannot resolve the issue, please contact support and include a screenshot of your DNS records.

Note: In any case, you must contact support here after performing the action.

11. Check that your DMARC record has been added by searching with your domain name using this site: DMARC checker

IMPORTANT: To send emails using your authenticated domain, you must confirm the sender email address associated with that domain following the steps outlined in the article "How to confirm your email sender address".

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, we recommend contacting SendGrid support for instructions on authenticating your domain in Cloudflare to improve deliverability.