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Improving Email Deliverability (SPF & DKIM) in cPanel

To prevent your emails from landing in the Spam folder, you must authenticate your domain. The two most important protocols for this are SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail).

Modern versions of cPanel include a tool called "Email Deliverability" to manage this automatically.

Method 1: Automatic Setup (Recommended)

If your domain points its DNS to your cPanel server, you can fix everything with one click.

  1. Log in to cPanel (not WHM).
  2. Navigate to the Email section and click on Email Deliverability.
  3. Locate your domain in the list.
    • If the status is VALID, you are done.
    • If the status is PROBLEMS EXIST (DKIM/SPF), click the Repair button.
  4. The system will automatically generate the keys and update your local DNS zone.

Method 2: Manual Setup (External DNS)

If you do not use the cPanel DNS server (e.g., you manage DNS via Cloudflare, TransIP, or your domain registrar), the "Repair" button above will not work because cPanel cannot update those external records.

You must copy the values from cPanel and paste them into your external DNS provider.

  1. Go to Email Deliverability in cPanel.
  2. Click the Manage button next to your domain.
  3. You will see two sections: DKIM and SPF.
  4. Copy the "Value" (and "Name") fields provided.
  5. Log in to your external DNS provider and create two TXT records using these values.
SPF Syntax Tip:
A basic SPF record looks like this:
v=spf1 a mx ip4:123.123.123.123 ~all

If you use third-party mail services (like Mailchimp or Office365), you must customize this record to include their servers as well.

Method 3: Advanced Customization (Zone Editor)

If you need to manually add IP addresses or third-party includes to your SPF record:

  1. Go to Domains > Zone Editor.
  2. Click Manage next to your domain.
  3. Filter by TXT records.
  4. Find the record starting with v=spf1... and click Edit.
  5. Add your required modifications (e.g., include:spf.protection.outlook.com) before the ~all part.
  6. Click Save Record.