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Improving Email Delivery When Using a Custom Domain

What to Set Up to Prevent Emails Going to Spam for Custom Email Domains

If you’re sending emails from Class Manager Classic using your own email domain (for example, info@yourschool.com), some email providers may flag your messages as spam unless your domain is properly authorised.

This article explains why this happens and what needs to be set up to help your emails land safely in inboxes.

✅ If you’re using the default @classmanager.com sending domain, you don’t need to do anything - this already includes the correct setup.

Why Custom-Domain Emails Can End Up in Spam

When an email is received, the recipient’s mail server checks several things to decide whether it’s legitimate, including:

  • The reputation of the sending service
  • The reputation of the email domain
  • The email content and subject line

In addition to these, there are important DNS-based checks that help email servers confirm whether an email is being sent by an authorised service.

SPF and DKIM (In Simple Terms)

To prove that Class Manager is allowed to send emails from your domain, two DNS records are commonly used:

SPF (Sender Policy Framework)

SPF tells email servers which services are allowed to send emails using your domain.

Because Class Manager sends emails via Amazon SES, your SPF record must explicitly allow this.

Your domain’s SPF record needs to include:

include:amazonses.com

An example of a complete SPF record might look like:

v=spf1 include:_spf.yourhost.com include:amazonses.com -all

If Amazon SES is missing from your SPF record, emails sent from Class Manager are much more likely to be marked as spam.

DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail)

DKIM adds an extra layer of verification by attaching a digital signature to your emails.

When DKIM is enabled:

  • Class Manager generates three DNS records for your domain
  • These records must be added to your domain’s DNS settings
  • Once verified, email providers can confirm the email is genuine and untampered with

DKIM works together with SPF, and having both properly configured is strongly recommended for reliable delivery.

What You Need to Do

If you’re using a custom sending domain:

  1. Update your SPF record to include Amazon SES
  2. Add and verify DKIM records provided by Class Manager

Why This Matters

If SPF or DKIM aren’t set up correctly:

  • Emails may land in spam or junk folders
  • Messages may bounce or fail silently
  • Parents and customers may never see important communications

Setting these up helps protect your domain’s reputation and improves email reliability long-term.

Correctly authorising Class Manager as a sender helps email providers recognise your messages as legitimate and improves the chances of them reaching inboxes.

If you need help understanding or updating your domain’s DNS records, you may need to pass this information to your IT provider or domain administrator.