Set up a custom email sending domain in Photeria

By default, emails sent from Photeria (delivery notifications, invoices, and other messages to your clients) come from a photeria.io address with your reply-to address attached. Setting up a custom email sending domain lets you send emails from your own domain instead (for example, notify@yourdomain.com), which looks more professional and improves deliverability.

Before You Start

You will need:

• A domain you own (for example, yourdomain.com)
• Access to your domain's DNS settings through your registrar or DNS provider (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare, etc.)

The setup involves adding DNS records to your domain, so you should be comfortable editing DNS or have someone on your team who can help.

Adding Your Domain

1. In Photeria, go to Settings from the left sidebar.
2. Scroll down to the Email Sending Domain card (this is on the main Company tab of Settings).
3. Type your domain into the text field (for example, yourdomain.com). Do not include "www" or "https://".
4. Click the Add Domain button.

Photeria will register your domain and generate the DNS records you need to add. The domain status will show as "Pending Verification."

Adding DNS Records

After adding your domain, Photeria displays the DNS records you need to configure. There are two records to add:

Record 1: TXT (DKIM Signature, Required)

This record enables DKIM signing, which proves to email providers that messages from your domain are legitimate and have not been tampered with.

1. Copy the Name / Host value using the copy button next to it.
2. Copy the Value / Content using the copy button.
3. Log in to your domain registrar and go to your DNS settings.
4. Add a new TXT record with the name and value you just copied.

Record 2: CNAME (Return-Path, Recommended)

This record sets up a custom return-path, which further improves email deliverability and helps your domain build a good sender reputation.

1. Copy the Name / Host value.
2. Copy the Value / Points to value.
3. In your DNS settings, add a new CNAME record with these values.

Verifying Your Domain

After adding the DNS records at your registrar, come back to Photeria and click the Check DNS & Verify Domain button. Photeria will check whether the records have propagated and are configured correctly.

• If everything is set up correctly, the status will change to Verified and you are all set. Emails will now be sent from your domain.
• If the records have not propagated yet, you will see a message saying "DNS records are still propagating. Please wait." DNS changes typically take 1 to 5 minutes, but can take up to 48 hours in some cases.
• If verification fails, double-check that you entered the DNS records exactly as shown (including the full hostname). Common mistakes include adding extra spaces or missing part of the TXT value.

You can click Check DNS & Verify Domain as many times as you need while waiting for propagation.

Domain Statuses

Your email domain will show one of these statuses:

• Pending Verification - DNS records have been generated but not yet verified. Add the records and click verify.
• Verified - Everything is working. Emails are being sent from your domain.
• Failed - DNS verification did not pass. Review your DNS records and try again.

Sending Paused Warning

If Photeria detects a high bounce rate or complaint rate on your domain, email sending may be automatically paused to protect your domain's reputation. You will see a red warning banner that says "Sending paused" with details about the reason. If this happens, review your email lists and contact patterns, then reach out to support for help re-enabling sending.

Disconnecting Your Domain

1. Go to Settings and find the Email Sending Domain card.
2. Click the Disconnect button.
3. In the confirmation dialog, click Disconnect to confirm.

After disconnecting, emails will be sent from photeria.io again with your reply-to address. You can reconnect the same domain (or a different one) at any time.

Troubleshooting

Verification keeps saying "still propagating"

DNS propagation can take up to 48 hours, though most changes apply within a few minutes. If it has been more than 48 hours, verify that the records are present by using a tool like dnschecker.org. Make sure you added the records to the correct domain (not a subdomain or a different domain in your account).

I added the records but verification failed

Double-check that you copied the full TXT value without any extra spaces or line breaks. Some DNS providers require you to wrap the value in quotes. Also confirm that the hostname matches exactly, as some registrars automatically append your domain name to the hostname you enter.

Can I use a subdomain instead of my root domain?

The domain field expects a root domain like yourdomain.com. The DKIM and return-path records are created as subdomains of whatever domain you enter, so using your root domain is the standard approach.

Emails are going to spam

Make sure both DNS records (TXT and CNAME) are in place and verified. The CNAME record for the return-path is especially important for deliverability. Also check that your domain does not have a restrictive SPF or DMARC policy that might block the sending service.