How To Set Up SPF, DKIM & DMARC For Squarespace (Step-by-Step)

Key Takeaways

Configuring DKIM and DMARC for Squarespace Email Campaigns authenticates your domain, ensuring your marketing emails aren’t marked as spam.
Squarespace Email Campaigns uses its own domain for the “Return-Path” (SPF), so you will primarily rely on DKIM alignment to pass DMARC checks.
You must grab the specific CNAME records from your Squarespace Email Campaigns settings.
Use PowerDMARC to generate your DMARC record and monitor your deliverability to ensure no legitimate emails are being blocked.

Configuring DKIM and DMARC records for Squarespace email campaigns can improve your domain’s email authentication and reputation. These settings ensure your domain is protected from spoofing while also allowing you to enjoy higher inbox placement and compliance with requirements from Google, Microsoft, and other major email providers.

How to Configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC in Squarespace

Step 1: Access Your Sender Details in Squarespace

Before editing your DNS, you must retrieve the unique authentication records from your Squarespace account.

1. Log in to your Squarespace account.

2. In the Home Menu, click Marketing, then click Email Campaigns.

3. Click Settings, then select Sender Details.

4. Locate the email address you use to send campaigns. If it says “Unverified” or you want to set up authentication, click Verify Domain (or the … icon > View DNS Records).

5. A window will appear displaying CNAME and TXT records.

Disclaimer: The Squarespace screenshots included in this guide were taken from official Squarespace documentation and reflect the standard interface settings.

6. Keep this tab open. You will need to copy these “Host” and “Data” values into your DNS provider.

Step 2: Log in to Your DNS Provider

You need to add these records where your domain’s DNS is managed.

If your domain is hosted by Squarespace: Go to Settings > Domains. Click your domain, then click Edit DNS. Scroll down to Custom Records.
If your domain is hosted elsewhere (e.g., GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare): Log into that provider’s dashboard and go to the Advanced DNS tab, specifically the Host Records section, where you click “Add New Record” to input your CNAME and TXT values.

Step 3: Configure Squarespace DKIM Records

According to Squarespace DKIM configuration guide, Squarespace uses DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) to digitally sign your emails, proving they were sent by you. This is the most important step for Squarespace Email Campaigns.

1. In your DNS provider, create a New Record.

2. Type: Select CNAME.

3. Host: Copy the first “Host” value from the Squarespace Verify Domain window.

- Note: If your DNS provider automatically adds your domain name (like Squarespace or GoDaddy do), verify you don’t paste the domain twice.

4. Data/Value: Copy the “Data” value from Squarespace (usually points to squarespace.com servers).

5. Save the record.

6. Repeat this if Squarespace provides a second CNAME record.

Step 4: Configuring Squarespace SPF Record

As mentioned in Squarespace’s support document, verification previously included adding an SPF record to your DNS settings. However, as verification best practices evolved, their current security features make an SPF record unnecessary. As a result, they have removed the SPF requirement.

Step 5: Create a Squarespace DMARC Record with PowerDMARC

Now that authentication (DKIM) is set up, you need a DMARC policy to tell receiver inboxes what to do with fake emails. Doing this via PowerDMARC helps you monitor your reports directly on our dashboard, with clear failure and misalignment insights.

1. Sign up or Log in to PowerDMARC.

2. Navigate to Analysis Tools > DMARC Record Generator.

3. Policy: Select p=none if you are just starting out in your DMARC journey.

- Important: Once you are confident with your setup, you can gradually move to “Quarantine” or “Reject” to block spoofers while actively monitoring your reports.

4. Reporting: PowerDMARC will automatically provide “RUA” and “RUF” email addresses to route your reports directly to our dashboard so you can monitor them in a parsed, human-readable format.

5. Click Generate.

6. Copy the Host (_dmarc) and the Value (starting with v=DMARC1…).

Add to DNS:

1. Go back to your DNS Management Console.

2. Add a New Record.

3. Type: TXT.

4. Host: _dmarc

5. Value: Paste the string generated by PowerDMARC.

6. Save the record.

Step 6: Validate Your Records in Squarespace

1. Return to the Squarespace Sender Details tab you kept open.

2. Click the Authenticate or Verify button.

3. If your DNS has propagated (this can take from 5 minutes up to 48 hours), the status should change to Verified with green indicators.

Step 7: Verify Your DNS Records with PowerDMARC

1. Log into your PowerDMARC Dashboard.

2. Go to Domain Health

3. Enter your domain name to check all your DNS records in one go with our domain health checker tool. If you get a good score, congratulations – you’re all set!

As you configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for Squarespace email campaigns, you will benefit from:

Enhanced domain protection from phishing and spoofing.
Boosted email deliverability and more emails landed in the inbox.
Better visibility into who’s sending emails on your behalf.

Sign up with PowerDMARC’s DMARC management platform to benefit from automated monitoring, comprehensive report visualization, and complete DMARC policy management.

About
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Yunes Tarada

Domain & Email Security Expert at PowerDMARC

Yunes is an Operations Team Lead at PowerDMARC with expert knowledge in email authentication and security. Yunes is a Microsoft-certified Azure Administrator Associate with certifications in CompTIA A+ and many more.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for Squarespace Email Campaigns