Summary
Setting up DMARC for Shopify users involves several critical steps. It's essential to first ensure SPF and DKIM are correctly configured for all email sources, including third-party apps and Shopify transactional emails, potentially using SPF flattening to avoid DNS lookup limits. Start with a 'p=none' DMARC policy to carefully monitor email traffic and analyze aggregate reports, identifying legitimate sources and unauthorized use. Monitoring setup should be done with an appropriate email address, avoiding support addresses due to spam issues. Gradually increase the policy to 'p=quarantine' and then 'p=reject'. Subdomains require separate DMARC records, and testing DMARC, SPF, and DKIM is crucial. The DMARC record, which can be generated and validated using online tools, must be added through your DNS provider. Remember, potential issues might stem from DNS provider setups, not directly from Shopify.
Key findings
- Initial Monitoring: Begin with a 'p=none' DMARC policy to monitor email traffic and gather data from DMARC reports before enforcing stricter policies.
- SPF/DKIM Setup: Ensure correct SPF and DKIM configuration for all email sources, including third-party apps and Shopify transactional emails.
- Report Analysis: Carefully analyze DMARC reports to identify legitimate email sources and unauthorized use of the domain.
- Phased Implementation: Gradually increase the DMARC policy from 'p=none' to 'p=quarantine' and then 'p=reject' for full protection.
- Testing: Test DMARC, SPF, and DKIM records frequently with monitoring tools.
Key considerations
- Monitoring Address: Avoid using support email addresses for DMARC reports to prevent spam complaints and unwanted support tickets.
- SPF Flattening: Consider SPF flattening to avoid DNS lookup limits, particularly if SPF records become long.
- Third-party Apps: Ensure third-party apps sending mail on your behalf are configured with your DMARC, SPF and DKIM.
- Subdomain Handling: Ensure proper DMARC configuration for subdomains if used for marketing campaigns, using seperate DMARC records.
- DNS setup: Be aware that potential issues may stem from configurations in your DNS provider's settings, not directly from Shopify.
What email marketers say
13 marketer opinions
Setting up DMARC for Shopify users involves several key steps and considerations. It's crucial to ensure proper SPF and DKIM configuration, especially when using third-party email apps. Start with a 'p=none' DMARC policy to monitor email traffic and analyze DMARC reports to identify legitimate sources and potential issues. Monitoring also includes setting up separate DMARC reports and using SPF flattening to avoid DNS lookup limits. After thorough monitoring, gradually increase the policy to 'p=quarantine' and then 'p=reject' for full protection. Regularly test DMARC, SPF, and DKIM records and ensure correct handling of subdomains. Avoid using support email addresses for DMARC reports, as this can lead to spam complaints.
Key opinions
- Initial Monitoring: Begin with a 'p=none' DMARC policy to monitor email traffic and gather data from DMARC reports.
- Third-Party Apps: Ensure third-party email apps are correctly configured with SPF and DKIM records.
- DMARC Reports: Monitor all email sources and set up separate DMARC reports for each.
- SPF Flattening: Flatten SPF records to avoid exceeding DNS lookup limits.
- Phased Implementation: Gradually increase DMARC policy from 'p=none' to 'p=quarantine' and then 'p=reject'.
Key considerations
- RUA Tag: Avoid using support email addresses for the 'rua' tag in DMARC records to prevent spam issues.
- Subdomain Handling: Ensure proper DMARC configuration for subdomains if used for marketing.
- Testing: Regularly test DMARC, SPF, and DKIM records with monitoring tools.
- DNS Provider: Remember that problematic DMARC configurations may arise from DNS provider setups, not Shopify itself.
- Report Analysis: Analyze aggregate reports to identify legitimate email sources and unauthorized use of domain.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Cloudflare shares that a DMARC policy tells email providers what to do with messages that fail authentication. The options are 'none' (monitor), 'quarantine' (mark as spam), and 'reject' (block). For Shopify users, starting with 'none' to monitor the traffic is a good first step, then gradually moving to 'quarantine' or 'reject' once you are confident in your email authentication setup.
19 Jul 2022 - Cloudflare
Marketer view
Email marketer from Mailjet advises users to flatten their SPF records to avoid exceeding DNS lookup limits, ensuring email deliverability. Shopify users should be aware of this since SPF records can get very long.
8 Jun 2025 - Mailjet support
What the experts say
3 expert opinions
Setting up DMARC for Shopify users requires careful monitoring and a phased approach. DMARC reports should be diligently reviewed to identify legitimate email sources and unauthorized use of the domain, though they may generate unwanted support tickets. Starting with a 'p=none' policy is essential for gathering data before enforcing stricter policies. Ensuring all Shopify-related email services, particularly transactional emails, are properly authenticated with SPF and DKIM, including DKIM signatures or configuring the Return-Path domain, is critical for effective DMARC deployment.
Key opinions
- Monitoring is Key: Carefully monitor DMARC reports to identify legitimate email sources and unauthorized use of your domain.
- Phased Approach: Implement DMARC deployment in stages, starting with a monitoring phase (`p=none`).
- Authentication: Ensure all Shopify-related email services (transactional, marketing) are properly authenticated with SPF and DKIM, with emphasis on proper DKIM signature and Return-Path configuration.
Key considerations
- Support Tickets: DMARC reporting may generate support tickets, potentially creating extra noise.
- Initial Policy: Start with a 'p=none' policy to gather data before enforcing stricter policies.
- Transactional Emails: Pay close attention to ensuring proper authentication of Shopify transactional emails.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks asks if the DMARC reporting email is getting support tickets from these setups, resulting in extra noise.
10 Mar 2022 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Spam Resource explains that the best practice for DMARC setup involves carefully monitoring DMARC reports to identify legitimate email sources and unauthorized use of your domain. They recommend starting with a 'p=none' policy to gather data before enforcing stricter policies like 'quarantine' or 'reject'. For Shopify users, ensuring that all Shopify-related email services (e.g., transactional emails, marketing emails) are properly authenticated with SPF and DKIM is crucial before enforcing DMARC.
27 Jan 2022 - Spam Resource
What the documentation says
5 technical articles
Setting up DMARC for Shopify users involves adding a DMARC record to your domain's DNS settings, defining how email receivers handle emails failing SPF or DKIM checks. Utilize DMARC record generators and ensure the generated TXT record is added to your domain's DNS. Monitoring DMARC reports, both aggregate and forensic, is crucial for identifying email authentication results and issues. This process includes setting up SPF and DKIM, creating the DMARC record, and publishing it to DNS. Understanding the technical specifications of DMARC record syntax (e.g., tags like `v`, `p`, `rua`, `ruf`) aids in validation. The process must be performed within the DNS settings of choice.
Key findings
- DNS Record: DMARC setup requires adding a DMARC record to your domain's DNS settings.
- Record Generation: Use DMARC record generators for initial setup and validation.
- Report Monitoring: Monitoring DMARC reports is vital for understanding email authentication results.
- Implementation Steps: Implementing DMARC includes setting up SPF and DKIM, creating DMARC record, publishing to DNS, and report monitoring.
- DNS Provider: Adding the DNS records must be done in the settings of the chosen DNS provider.
Key considerations
- SPF/DKIM: Ensure SPF and DKIM are properly configured before enabling DMARC.
- Record Syntax: Understand DMARC record syntax, including tags like `v`, `p`, `rua`, and `ruf`.
- Email receivers: DMARC record needs to consider how email receivers should handle emails failing SPF or DKIM checks
Technical article
Documentation from Shopify Help Center explains that setting up DMARC involves adding a DMARC record to your domain's DNS settings. This record defines how email receivers should handle emails that fail SPF or DKIM checks. They recommend using a DMARC record generator and then adding the generated TXT record to your domain's DNS settings.
20 Jan 2024 - Shopify Help Center
Technical article
Documentation from Google Workspace Admin Help shares step-by-step instructions for implementing DMARC. This includes setting up SPF and DKIM, creating a DMARC record, publishing the record to DNS, and monitoring DMARC reports. Shopify users can follow these steps to ensure their emails are properly authenticated and protected from spoofing.
4 Oct 2024 - Google Workspace Admin Help
Are DMARC RUA and RUF tags mandatory for compliance and what are their benefits?
Are SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records necessary for transactional email servers not used for marketing?
Can I set DMARC to reject if my domain doesn't send email?
Do I need DMARC for transactional emails from a small website, and what are the best low-cost alternatives for sending emails if my IP is blocked?
Do Yahoo and Gmail require DMARC authentication for senders?
How do I properly set up DMARC records and reporting for email authentication?
