A legitimate message that ends up in spam is almost never chance. It is a missing signature, a dented reputation, or content that resembles what the filters reject. All three can be fixed.
The three technical checks
The servers that receive your messages check three things before deciding. These three mechanisms are declared in your domain's records.
| Mechanism | What it answers | Without it |
|---|---|---|
| SPF | Who is allowed to send for this domain | Your messages look like impersonation |
| DKIM | Was this message altered in transit | Nothing proves it really comes from you |
| DMARC | What to do if the two above fail | Each server decides alone, often against you |
The exact values to publish are given to you with your service. Do not copy those from a generic guide: an SPF record taken from elsewhere forbids your own sending.
Mistake number one: the contact form
Many forms send the message while pretending to be the visitor: the displayed sender is the address typed into the form. To a receiving server, that looks exactly like identity impersonation, and the message goes to spam — when it is not rejected outright.
The right configuration:
- sender: an address at your own domain, for example
site@yourdomain.com; - reply-to: the visitor's address.
You reply in one click, and the message is authenticated. It is a checkbox in most form extensions, and it alone explains half the cases.
What you control in the message
- A clear subject, without shouting capitals, without multiple exclamation marks, without promises.
- A readable sender name — your name or the activity's, not a string of characters.
- No link shortener. A masked link is the first signal of a fraudulent message.
- No attachment in a first contact.
- Text, not just one big clickable image.
- For a mailing to a list: a real unsubscribe link, one that works.
The case of newsletters
Shared hosting is for running a site, not for sending campaigns. A mass mailing from an ordinary mailbox damages your domain's reputation, disturbs the machine's other customers, and falls under the acceptable use clause of our terms of service.
If you mail a list regularly, plan for a service dedicated to that, and keep the list clean: dead addresses and complaints weigh more than the content.
What does not work
| False solution | Why |
|---|---|
| Writing "this is not spam" | It is a negative signal recognized as such |
| Sending the same message again several times | Volume worsens the reputation |
| Changing the sending address | Reputation follows the domain, not the address |
| Asking the recipient to add you to their contacts | Occasionally useful, with no effect on the cause |
Reporting a case to us
Open a ticket with:
- the sending address and the receiving address;
- the date and time of sending;
- the message's full header as received — every email client can display it, often under "show original" or "message source".
Without that header, a delivery refusal cannot be diagnosed: it is what carries the exact reason for the rejection.