Ensuring Your Emails Land in the Inbox A Guide for Gmail and Yahoo Users, and other FREE email address providers Email deliverability is a common issue faced by many email users, especially when the emails end up in the spam folder instead of the inbox. This article provides a step-by-step guide on how to ensure your emails get delivered to the inbox of Gmail and Yahoo type email accounts. STEP 1: Craft Your Email Carefully The content of your email plays a significant role in determining whether it lands in the inbox or the spam folder. Here are some tips: Avoid spam trigger words: Certain words and phrases, such as “free”, “guarantee”, and “no obligation”, can trigger spam filters. Try to avoid using these in your subject line and email body. Use a reputable email service provider (ESP): ESPs like Mailchimp, Sendinblue, or Constant Contact have built-in features to help improve your email deliverability. STEP 2: Authenticate Your Emails Email authentication helps mail servers verify that an email actually comes from where it claims to be from. This can be done through the following methods: SPF (Sender Policy Framework): This is a DNS text entry that shows a list of servers that should be considered allowed to send mail for your domain. DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): This lets a domain associate its name with an email message by affixing a digital signature to it. DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance): This is an added authentication method that uses both SPF and DKIM to verify whether an email is authentic. STEP 3: Maintain a Healthy Email List A healthy email list is crucial for improving your email deliverability. Here’s how to maintain one: Regularly update your email list: Remove inactive subscribers and those who have not engaged with your emails for a long time. Use double opt-in: This method requires new subscribers to confirm their email address before they start receiving emails. This ensures that your email list only contains valid email addresses. STEP 4: Monitor Your Sender Reputation Your sender reputation, or sender score, is a score that an Internet Service Provider (ISP) assigns to an organization that sends email. It’s a crucial part of your email deliverability. The higher your sender score, the more likely ISPs will deliver your emails to the inbox. STEP 5: Test Your Emails Before Sending Finally, consider using email testing tools to see how your email will appear in different email clients. Some tools can also test whether your email is likely to be marked as spam. By following these steps, you can significantly improve the chances of your emails landing in the inbox rather than the spam folder. Remember, email deliverability is an ongoing process that requires regular monitoring and adjustment. Happy emailing!
My website does not load. What can I do? DNS (Domain Name System) issues can prevent your website from loading properly. DNS is like the internet’s address book, translating human-friendly domain names (e.g., www.example.com) into IP addresses that computers use to locate and communicate with web servers. When you encounter DNS problems, it usually falls into one of the following categories: STEP 1: Incorrect DNS Configuration This can happen when the DNS records associated with your domain are not set up correctly. Ensure that your domain’s DNS records, including A (Address) records, CNAME (Canonical Name) records, and MX (Mail Exchange) records, are configured accurately. STEP 2: DNS Propagation Delay When you make changes to your DNS records, it can take some time for these changes to propagate across the internet. This delay can result in temporary unavailability of your website. Typically, DNS changes may take anywhere from a few minutes to 48 hours to propagate fully. STEP 3: DNS Server Issues The DNS servers responsible for resolving your domain’s name to an IP address may experience problems or outages. You can check if the DNS server is down by testing other websites and trying a different DNS server, like Google’s (8.8.8.8). STEP 4: Expired Domain or Hosting If you forget to renew your domain registration or hosting service, your website may become unreachable. Ensure your domain registration is up to date and that your hosting subscription is active. STEP 5: Firewall or Security Settings Sometimes, security or firewall settings can block DNS requests or restrict access to your website. Check your security settings and ensure that your hosting provider’s firewall isn’t blocking legitimate traffic. STEP 6: Internet Service Provider (ISP) Issues Your ISP may experience DNS issues or outages. You can try accessing your website through a different ISP or by using a VPN to check if the problem is with your current ISP. If you suspect ISP-related issues, contact your internet service provider for assistance. STEP 7: Browser Cache Sometimes, your browser may cache outdated DNS information, preventing it from loading the latest version of your website. Clear your browser’s cache to ensure you’re not viewing an old, cached version of the site. STEP 8: To resolve DNS issues Double-check DNS Configuration. Ensure your DNS records are correctly configured with your domain registrar or hosting provider. STEP 9: Wait for DNS Propagation If you’ve made recent changes to your DNS records, be patient. Wait for DNS propagation to complete. STEP 10: Contact Your DNS Provider If you suspect an issue with your DNS provider, contact them for support and assistance in troubleshooting the problem. STEP 11: Check Domain and Hosting Status Ensure that your domain registration and hosting accounts are active and in good standing. STEP 12: Test with a Different DNS Server Try using an alternative DNS server, such as Google’s DNS, to see if the problem is specific to your current DNS provider.
How to clear your DNS cache This article explains in general a couple of different options for clearing your DNS cache, which are different depending on your operating system. These are just sample procedures. For 100% accuracy, please double check your operating system version, and check on the exact commands you can use to clear your DNS cache. Windows based computers For Windows 8 and later versions Close your email client, and any other browsers tabs (or browsers completely) so that the DNS changes can take place. Click on the Windows Logo + R keys at the same time. Type in cmd in the text box, and then click OK. At the new black screen enter the following command and then press the ENTER key: ipconfig /flushdns Now you can start your email client, and any other browsers you have previously stopped. In combination with the above – you may need to reboot your computer and/or clear your browser cache. For Windows 7 and Vista Close all Internet applications that you are using, such as email client, and web browsers. Click on the Start button (circle) and then “All Programs”, and then go under “Accessories”, and click on the black icon form the top called “Command Prompt”. This will open a new black window. In the new black window enter ipconfig /flushdns and then hit the ENTER button on your keyboard. Now you can start your email client, and any other browsers you have previously stopped. In combination with the above – you may need to reboot your computer and/or clear your browser cache. For Windows XP Close all Internet applications that you are using, such as email client, and web browsers. Click on the Start button and then select “Run”. Enter in the text field, the command “cmd” and hit ENTER (Select OK). In the new black window enter ipconfig /flushdns and then hit the ENTER button on your keyboard. Now you can start your email client, and any other browsers you have previously stopped. In combination with the above – you may need to reboot your computer and/or clear your browser cache. Mac OSX based computers We provide very basic sample of how to flush your DNS cache under Mac. The Mac OS X releases are changing constantly, and the DNS flush methods are changing constantly. Please, review the following article from Apple on how to flush your DNS for your specific Mac OS X version: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202516 Mac OSX Leopard You can use the command dnscacheutil -flushcache to flush the DNS resolver cache: bash-2.05a$ dscacheutil –flushcache Mac OSX versions 10.5.1 and before The command lookupd -flushcache performed the same task: bash-2.05a$ lookupd -flushcache In combination with the above – you may need to reboot your computer and/or clear your browser cache. Linux based computers The exact steps on how to flush DNS under Linux really depend on the installed Linux distribution, and installed system packages. Please check with your distribution documentation on the exact steps you need to take to Flush your DNS cache. Please note that some distributions by default do not install DNS caching service, so flushing the DNS cache might not be required or possible without further package manipulation. Normally you will need to restart the caching service, or if you have local name server by using commands such as: /etc/init.d/nscd restart /etc/init.d/named restart or nscd -I hosts In combination with the above – you may need to reboot your computer and/or clear your browser cache. If the above do not help, please allow 24-72 hours for the new DNS change to take place. If after this time you still cannot access your new account – please contact our support.
Choosing the right top-level domain (TLD) for your website is an important decision, as it can impact your site’s branding, search engine optimization (SEO), and overall perception by users. Here are some tips for selecting the right TLD.
