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Custom email domain
Send your club's emails from your own domain — news@yourclub.org.uk instead of the platform's default address. Members see mail that is unmistakably from your club, and your domain builds its own sending reputation.
Who can do this?
Configuring domains and enabling custom sending: Club Admin, from Settings → Domains in the admin panel. See Roles & Permissions.
How it works
Setting this up has two distinct steps, and the second is always in your control:
- Verify your domain. You add a handful of DNS records at your domain registrar. These prove you own the domain and let receiving mail servers confirm your club's emails are genuine.
- Enable custom sending. Once every required record is verified, you flip the switch. Nothing is sent from your domain until you do — verification alone changes no email.
Once enabled, your club's emails to members — automated messages like welcome emails and renewal reminders, and broadcast messages alike — are sent from your chosen address.
Setting up your domain
- Go to Settings → Domains and choose Set Up Email Domain
- Enter your domain (e.g.
yourclub.org.uk) and the From address you want to send from (e.g.news@yourclub.org.uk— the address must be on that domain) - The page then shows the exact DNS records to add at your domain registrar
The DNS records you'll add
| Type | Name | Value | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| CNAME (×3) | xxxx._domainkey.yourclub.org.uk | xxxx.dkim.amazonses.com | DKIM — lets receiving mail servers confirm messages from your domain are genuine. Required. |
| MX | bounce.yourclub.org.uk | feedback-smtp.…amazonses.com (priority 10) | Return path — points bounce handling at your domain. Required. |
| TXT | bounce.yourclub.org.uk | v=spf1 include:amazonses.com ~all | SPF for the return path — gives email authentication a second way to pass. Required. |
The three DKIM values are unique to your domain, so always copy them from the domains page rather than from this guide. Every record shows its own verification status on the page, so you can see exactly which ones are still outstanding.
The return-path records live on bounce.yourclub.org.uk deliberately — many clubs already use mail. for their existing email, and these records never interfere with mail you already send or receive on your domain.
DNS changes take time
DNS changes can take anywhere from a few minutes to 48 hours to propagate. The platform re-checks pending records automatically every few minutes — use Refresh Status on the page to see the latest.
Optional: DMARC
The page also suggests an optional DMARC record:
| Type | Name | Value |
|---|---|---|
| TXT | _dmarc.yourclub.org.uk | v=DMARC1; p=none |
DMARC tells receiving mail servers what to do with messages from your domain that fail authentication. The suggestion is monitoring-only (p=none) and deliberately has no reporting address. It is not required — your domain verifies and sends without it.
Already have a DMARC record?
Never overwrite an existing DMARC record — a domain must only have one. If _dmarc.yourclub.org.uk already exists, leave it as it is.
Once your DKIM and return-path records are all verified, the page suggests optionally strengthening the policy to v=DMARC1; p=quarantine. Be careful: a DMARC policy applies to every sender using your domain, not just this platform — only tighten it if you know everything else sending as your domain is properly authenticated.
Enabling custom sending
When every required record shows as verified, the Enable custom sending button becomes available. Before you confirm, the dialog spells out exactly what will happen:
- What changes — your club's emails to members, automated and broadcast alike, are sent from your chosen address instead of the platform address.
- What does not change — support and ticket emails keep coming from the platform support address. That address has to receive replies (a member who replies directly must still reach your support queue), and only the platform domain accepts inbound mail. If you'd like members to write to an address on your own domain, set up forwarding from that address to your club's support inbox address instead — see Support Tickets.
- If verification ever lapses — sending falls back to the platform address automatically and your administrators are emailed. No email is ever lost.
After enabling, use Send test email on the page to send yourself a message exactly as members will receive it, and check the From address is what you expect. You can change the From address (on the same domain) or Disable custom sending at any time from the same page.
If your DNS records break
The platform re-checks verified domains every hour. If your DNS records disappear or change — typically after switching DNS providers or rebuilding a DNS zone — the domain loses verification and:
- Your emails keep sending, immediately and automatically, from the platform's default address. Nothing stops; messages just no longer come from your domain.
- Your club's administrators receive an email — "Action needed: your domain is no longer verified for sending" — with a direct link to the domains page.
- The domains page shows which records are missing so you can re-add them at your registrar.
Once the records are back in place, verification picks the domain up automatically and custom sending resumes on its own — you do not need to enable it again.
Troubleshooting
Records stuck on "pending"
- DNS propagation can take up to 48 hours — check back later and use Refresh Status
- Compare each record against the page exactly: a trailing dot, a stray space, or a proxied/"orange cloud" CNAME at some DNS providers will stop verification
- Some registrars automatically append your domain to record names — if the page says the name is
xxxx._domainkey.yourclub.org.uk, you may only need to enterxxxx._domainkey
"Waiting for the return-path (bounce) records"
Your DKIM records are verified but the MX and SPF records on bounce.yourclub.org.uk are not yet. Add or fix those two records — custom sending can't be enabled until they verify.
"Not ready to enable yet"
The page lists exactly what is missing before sending can be enabled — most commonly outstanding DNS records. If everything on your side shows verified and enabling is still unavailable, contact platform support: custom sending may not be switched on for the platform.
The domain shows "verification failed" or was revoked
Re-add the DNS records shown on the page at your registrar. Verification re-checks automatically; once the records are back, the domain verifies again and (if you had enabled it) custom sending resumes without further action.
Members say club emails come from the platform address
- Check the domains page: is the domain verified and is custom sending enabled? Verification alone does not switch sending.
- Support and ticket emails always come from the platform support address by design — see Enabling custom sending.
- If verification recently lapsed, mail falls back to the platform address until your DNS records are restored.