How to Verify a Shopify Sending Domain

Overview

Verifying a domain means using a subdomain of your business' website to send marketing emails that are identified as coming directly from your brand, without qualifiers such as "via Sendlane" appearing in Contacts' inboxes. Read on to learn how to verify a sending domain and authenticate a Sender Profile!

In This Guide

🚦 Before Getting Started

    Have admin access to your Shopify account. Sendlane cannot adjust your DNS settings.

🚨 Are you setting up a verified sending domain for the first time?

🚨 If you use Shopify's transactional emails, verify a separate subdomain with Sendlane

Check out the video of verifying a Shopify domain below to see the process from start to finish!
1

 Confirm your domain is registered to Shopify

In order for the domain verification method described in this article to work, your domain must be registered to Shopify. To determine whether your domain is registered to Shopify:

  1. Go to Whois.com
  2. Enter your domain (company.com) in the smaller search bar at the top right of the corner where the search button is labeled “WHOIS"
  3. Click WHOIS
  4. Scroll down to the Raw Whois Data section
  5. Find the Reseller field

If the reseller is Shopify, your domain is registered to Shopify!

If the reseller is not Shopify, determine where your domain is hosted and follow the instructions in How to Verify a Sending Domain. Use your hosting provider’s documentation to guide you through adding the required DNS records to your DNS panel.

2

 Create a subdomain in Sendlane

Before starting the process of creating a subdomain, you'll need to decide what you want your subdomain to be and ensure it is not already being used.

Choose a common subdomain like send, mail, or e, or choose a word related to your business. Do not choose a subdomain that could cause inbox providers or Contacts to confuse you with another business. Using another business' name (including Sendlane) will cause deliverability issues.

Once you've selected a subdomain, check that it is not already in use by entering it into MxToolbox. The DNS Record Published test will return “DNS Record not found” if the subdomain is not already in use. To create a subdomain in Sendlane:

  1. Click the Account icon
  2. Click Email
  3. Click Setup Domain
  4. Enter your business’ primary domain in the Domain Name field
  5. Enter the word you’d like to use as your subdomain in the Sending Domain field
  6. Click Save
  7. Your subdomain has now been created!

3

 Add records to Shopify domain settings and verify

After creating your subdomain, you’ll see a list of CNAME, MX, and TXT DNS records appear on the Sending Domain slideout window. These records will authorize Sendlane to use your new subdomain to send Campaign and Automation emails from your account.

Add CNAME records to your Shopify domain

  1. Log in to Sendlane
  2. Click Account > Email > Settings icon to open the DNS records window for the subdomain you created in the steps above
  3. Open another tab or window and log in to Shopify
  4. Click Settings
  5. Click Domains
  6. Select your primary domain
  7. Click the Domain settings dropdown*
  8. Select Edit DNS settings
  9. Click the Add custom record dropdown
  10. Select CNAME
  11. Navigate to the DNS records window in Sendlane
  12. Click the copy icon next to the CNAME record’s Host column
  13. Navigate to your Shopify tab or window
  14. Paste the CNAME Host copied from Sendlane into the Name field
  15. Navigate to the DNS records window in Sendlane
  16. Click the copy icon next to the CNAME record’s Value column
  17. Navigate to your Shopify tab or window
  18. Paste the CNAME Value copied from Sendlane into the Points to field
  19. Click Confirm
  20. Repeat steps 9-19 for the second CNAME record

*If you do not see the Domain settings dropdown, your domain is not hosted by Shopify. Determine your domain's hosting provider and follow the instructions in How to Verify a Sending Domain. Use your hosting provider’s documentation to guide you through adding the required DNS records to your DNS panel.

Add an MX record to your Shopify domain

  1. Click the Add custom record dropdown
  2. Select MX
  3. Navigate to the DNS records window in Sendlane
  4. Click the copy icon next to the MX record’s Host column
  5. Navigate to your Shopify tab or window
  6. Paste the MX record’s Host into the Name field
  7. Navigate to the DNS records window in Sendlane
  8. Click the copy icon next to the MX record’s Value column
  9. Navigate to your Shopify tab or window
  10. Paste the MX record’s Value into the Points to field
  11. Enter 1 in the Priority field
  12. Click Confirm

Add TXT records to your Shopify domain

  1. Click the Add custom record dropdown
  2. Select TXT
  3. Navigate to the DNS records window in Sendlane
  4. Click the copy icon next to the TXT record’s Host column
  5. Navigate to your Shopify tab or window
  6. Paste the TXT record’s Host into the Name field
  7. Navigate to the DNS records window in Sendlane
  8. Click the copy icon next to the TXT record’s Value column
  9. Navigate to your Shopify tab or window
  10. Paste the TXT record’s Value into the TXT Value field
  11. Click Confirm
  12. Repeat steps 1-10 for the second TXT record
4

After your subdomain has been verified, you need to create a new or edit an existing Sender Profile to use your verified subdomain to send from.

Create a new Sender Profile

  1. Navigate to the Sender Profile tab by clicking Manage Sender Profiles on the Sending Domain slideout window or clicking the Audience icon > Sender Profile tab
  2. Click + Sender Profile
  3. Enter the Sender name and Company name
  4. Under Domain, select the Verified radio button
  5. Under From Email, enter a prefix for your new Sender Profile and select your verified subdomain from the dropdown
  6. Enter a Reply to email address
  7. Enter your business’ address in the address fields
  8. Click Save

Edit an existing Sender Profile

  1. Click the arrow icon in the View column next to the Sender Profile you want to edit
  2. Click Edit
  3. Under Domain, select the Verified radio button
  4. Under From Email, enter a prefix for your Sender Profile and select your verified subdomain from the dropdown
  5. Click Save
5

 Warm your verified domain

Both methods of domain verification result in a new or reset sending reputation. After you verify a sending domain for the first time, we strongly recommend that you follow one of the two warm-up plans described below:

One send to engaged Contacts (riskier, faster)

  1. Update all Automation emails to use your new authenticated Sender Profile
  2. If you use 3rd-party data tools to collect leads, pause them
  3. Create a Segment of 30 day clicks (do not include opens)
  4. Create a Campaign (check out Sendlane's guide to evergreen email content for tips and tricks!)
  5. Use the Segment you created in step one as the Audience for your Campaign
  6. Send your Campaign
  7. If you disabled any 3rd-party tools in step two, enable them again
  8. After sending the warm up Campaign to engaged Contacts, send Campaigns as usual.

Five sends to engaged Contacts over ten days (safer, slower)

  1. Update all Automation emails to use your new authenticated Sender Profile
  2. If you use 3rd-party data tools to collect leads, pause them
  3. Create Segments for:
    1. 7, 14, and 30 day clickers 
    2. 7, 14, and 30 day openers 
  4. Create or update evergreen content for five sends 
  5. On Day 0, send to 7 day clickers and keep the volume of the audience between 500 and 3,000 
  6. On Day 1, send to 14 day clickers and keep the volume of the audience between 2,500 and 7,500 
  7. On Day 2: 
    1. Before continuing with the next send, pause to review reporting from the previous sends. Pay close attention to the Email Providers & Devices section of your Campaign report to confirm that emails are being accepted appropriately. Gmail, Yahoo, and AOL should show 15-20% open rates. 
    2. Send Day 2's Campaign to your 30 day clickers Segment and keep the volume of the audience between 3,500 and 10,000 
  8. On Day 3, send again to your 30 day clickers Segment and increase the audience to between 7,000 and 20,000 
  9. On Day 4: 
    1. Send again to your 30 day clickers Segment and increase the audience to between 14,000 and 40,000 
    2. Pause to review reporting again 
  10. For Days 5-10, repeat steps 5-9 using the opener Segments you created in step 3b in addition to the clicker Segments as the audience for your Campaigns. Continue to monitor reporting during these sends and aim to double the size of your audience with each send. 
  11. If you disabled any 3rd-party tools in step two, enable them again

Troubleshooting

I don't see the option to select Edit DNS settings in Shopify!

If you do not see the domain settings dropdown and cannot select Edit DNS settings in Shopify, your domain is not hosted by Shopify. Determine your domain's hosting provider and follow the instructions in How to Verify a Sending Domain. Use your hosting provider’s documentation to guide you through adding the required DNS records to your DNS panel.

Additional Resources

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