Introduction
Remove Rivo's sending domain from your automated emails and send them from your own instead! Read on to learn how to add your store domain to Rivo's mails for a truly branded email experience!
✨ Custom domain is available on the Premium and Enterprise plans
Add a custom domain to your outgoing referral emails
Just using Rivo Referrals? Follow the exact same steps below as this will apply to both Loyalty and Referrals emails.
Adding your domain to Rivo
When you set up our app's automated email feature to send messages from your custom domain, you'll need to create some special entries, called DNS records, in the settings of the company where you registered your domain (like GoDaddy, Bluehost, or others). This process tells the rest of the internet that our app is allowed to send emails on your domain's behalf.
Important: When adding your domain, do not include www.
To add your custom domain to Rivo:
From the Rivo dashboard, go to Settings > Email > Custom Email Domain.
Enter your store's domain and click Save.
You will be provided with a set of 3 DNS records that you need to add to your domain's records:
CNAME hostname & CNAME value
SPF hostname & SPF value
DKIM hostname & DKIM value
Add these records according to your domain provider's process.
When you have added the DNS records, click Verify Domain.
💡 The CNAME will be added as a CNAME record type and the SPF & DKIM are added as TXT record types.
Custom domain configuration
There are three types of DNS records you will need to create: CNAME, SPF, and DKIM records. When creating these records, you'll input certain pieces of information, called hostnames. Most domain providers automatically append the domain name to DNS record names, so you will need to modify the hostname we provide before entering it into your domain provider's DNS settings. Here's what you need to do:
CNAME Record: Take out your domain from the hostname. So, if we provide you with "email.example.com", you'll simply enter "email".
SPF Record: Replace your domain with the "@" symbol. For instance, instead of entering "example.com", you'll just put "@".
DKIM Record: Remove your domain so that the hostname ends with "domain key". So if we provide "smtp._domainkey.example.com", you'll input "smtp._domainkey".
To illustrate, if your domain is "example.com", here's what you'll enter
Type of record | Hostname we provide | Hostname you'll enter |
CNAME Record | email.example.com | |
SPF Record | example.com | @ |
DKIM Record | smtp._domainkey.example.com | smtp._domainkey |
📝 Important Note: Only make these adjustments when entering information in your domain provider's DNS settings. Do not modify the hostnames in this way in the fields within our app. Once you've updated your DNS records with your domain provider, our app will automatically recognize the changes.
Updating an existing SPF record
If you already have an SPF record for your domain, don't create a new one. Instead, you should update the existing record to include our provider's information. Having multiple SPF records can cause verification issues and can affect your email deliverability. Here's how to update your SPF record:
If your existing SPF record is:
v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all
And you want to add our provider to your SPF record, you will update the record to:
v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:mailgun.org ~all
In this updated record, you are authorizing both Google and our provider Mailgun to send emails on behalf of your domain. Please make sure that your updated SPF record doesn't exceed the limit of 10 DNS lookups. If it does, you may need to simplify your SPF record.
Once you've updated your SPF record in your domain provider's DNS settings, the changes will automatically be recognized by our app.
Setting up a subdomain for email delivery
If you're looking to use a subdomain, such as "rewards.example.com", for your email delivery, the process is slightly different. You will still create CNAME, SPF, and DKIM records, but the adjustment to the hostnames we provide will include your subdomain.
Here are the modifications you need to make:
CNAME Record: Keep the subdomain in the hostname. For example, if we provide "email.rewards.example.com", you'll enter it as "email.rewards".
SPF Record: Add the subdomain as the Hostname. If we provide "rewards.example.com", you will input "rewards".
DKIM Record: Exclude the domain but keep the subdomain. So, if we give you "smtp._domainkey.rewards.example.com", you'll put in "smtp._domainkey.rewards".
Type of Record | Hostname We Provide | Hostname You'll Enter |
CNAME Record | email.rewards.example.com | email.rewards |
SPF Record | rewards.example.com | rewards |
DKIM Record | smtp._domainkey.rewards.example.com | smtp._domainkey.rewards |
Adding MX records for your subdomain
If you're using a subdomain for your email delivery and there aren't any existing MX records for it, you'll need to create them. MX records are crucial for routing your emails correctly. They tell email servers where to deliver emails for your domain or subdomain.
In this case, you'll need to add two MX records. Here's how:
MX Record 1: The hostname for this record is your subdomain (e.g., "rewards"). For the value, you'll enter "mxa.mailgun.org". Set the priority to 10.
MX Record 2: Similarly, the hostname for this record is your subdomain (e.g., "rewards"). For the value, you'll enter "mxb.mailgun.org". Set the priority to 10.
Here's an illustration of how you should input these records, using the subdomain "rewards" as an example:
Type of Record | Hostname | Value | Priority |
MX Record | rewards | mxa.mailgun.org | 10 |
MX Record | rewards | mxb.mailgun.org | 10 |
External help articles on adding DNS records
Provider | Article |
Shopify | |
GoDaddy | |
Bluehost | |
Cloudflare | |
Google Domains | |
DreamHost | |
Namecheap | |
HostGator |
Remember, each provider's DNS management system might work a bit differently, and these guides should help you understand the specific steps for each one. If you can't find the information you need, or if you're using a different provider, we recommend reaching out to your provider's support for help.
Common Questions
I already have a CNAME record with the hostname your app provided, what can I do?
Message us at [email protected] and we will configure a new one for you.