Managing domains

Every address in a from field must be on a domain you have verified with Rovela. This page explains what that involves, why each DNS record matters, and what to do when verification fails.

Adding a domain

Open Domains in the sidebar and click Add domain. Enter the domain you want to send from — for example yourdomain.com or a subdomain likemail.yourdomain.com. Rovela generates four DNS records you need to publish at your DNS provider.

The four DNS records

SPF

An SPF TXT record at your domain root declares which mail servers are allowed to send on your behalf. Rovela gives you a record that includes its sending infrastructure. If you already have an SPF record, add Rovela's include: mechanism to it rather than replacing it — a domain can only have one SPF record.

DKIM

DKIM adds a cryptographic signature to every outgoing message. Receiving mail servers check this signature against a public key published in DNS to confirm the message wasn't altered in transit. Rovela generates a key pair for your domain and gives you the TXT record containing the public key — you publish it, Rovela holds the private key and signs your mail.

DMARC

A DMARC policy tells receiving servers what to do when SPF or DKIM fails: deliver anyway, quarantine to spam, or reject. It also sets up aggregate reporting so you receive daily digests of how your domain is being used. Start with p=none to collect data without affecting delivery, then move to p=quarantine orp=reject once you are confident all legitimate mail passes.

Return-path (MAIL FROM)

The return-path record is a CNAME that delegates bounce handling to Rovela. Bounces — delivery failures — arrive at Rovela's infrastructure, which processes them and records the result under the originating message. Without this record, bounces go back to the sending domain with no one to catch them.

Verifying

Click Verify in the Domains page after publishing the records. Each record is checked independently; the dashboard shows which are verified and which are pending. Propagation can take a few minutes to a few hours depending on your DNS provider and TTL settings — a failure immediately after publishing usually means the change hasn't propagated yet rather than something being wrong.

Sending from a subdomain

Using a subdomain like mail.yourdomain.com instead of the root domain keeps its reputation separate from your main domain. If a bulk campaign causes a spike in complaints, the subdomain's reputation is affected, not the root. The DNS records are published under the subdomain rather than the root — your DNS provider will show where each record goes.

Multiple domains

You can add as many domains as your plan allows. Each domain is verified independently. When sending, the from address determines which domain's DKIM key signs the message.

DNS sync check

The dashboard re-checks your domain records periodically. If a record is removed or modified after initial verification, the domain status changes back to pending. A domain that loses verification cannot send mail until the records are restored and re-verified.

See Domain verification in the Guides section for a step-by-step walkthrough with screenshots.