Delegated Domains

Delegated domains are an opportunity for you to select a custom domain name for use in your campaigns, rather than a generic one we provide.

By delegating your domain to us, Adestra can use it for hosting your images and gathering reporting data. You will also have an opportunity for additional branding throughout your campaigns, as your domain will be used for URLs in images, form actions, click-tracking, etc.

As domain delegation also helps your recipients to identify and verify where the email has come, it can assist with deliverability.

Once a domain is delegated, add your domain to Adestra to use it in your campaigns.

Selecting your Domain

Before a domain can be delegated there are a couple of things you need to confirm:

• You must own the domain and any subdomains you intend to use, for example: the domain adestra-demo.com and a subdomain marketing.adestra-demo.com.
• You must be sure that the domain is not in use for something else, so it won't cause problems with your infrastructure if you change anything.

The next step is then to decide on your subdomain. Using a subdomain rather than the domain itself allows you to continue using the domain for other things.

Typically we recommend using 'email' as your subdomain, for example email.adestra-demo.com, but you can use whatever suits your purpose for example 'newsletter' or 'marketing' etc.

Delegation Methods

We support two different methods of delegation; using CNAME records or NS records.

CNAME Delegation

CNAME is the easiest method of delegation. To do this you need to create a CNAME record for the subdomain you wish to use, to point it at a subdomain of msgfocus.com. In order to determine the correct CNAME domain, replace the dots in your complete domain with hyphens, and add it to ".msgfocus.com". Contact Adestra Customer Support (adestra-support@uplandsoftware.com) for help with which one to use. The CNAME record should look like:

email.yourdomain.com  CNAME  email-yourdomain-com.msgfocus.com.

We would recommend talking to your account manager before and after set up to check everything is as it should be.

NS Delegation

It is also possible to use NS records, which should look like:

email  NS  dns-1.adestra.com
email  NS  dns-2.adestra.com

If you want to set up NS delegation, you will need to communicate with us once you have set up the NS record, so that we can complete the configuration on our side.

There are other delegation methods that we do not support, including using A records because if any changes are made to our infrastructure, the A records would need to be updated each time.

Delegate a Domain

Third party DNS providers will vary, but below is an example of a typical interface, and how a CNAME record might be set up.

Note: Even though the DNS server says it's working, if the domain has been looked up prior to set up, there may be a delay before it will actually work. Generally speaking this could take 24 to 72 hours.

Adding Domains to Adestra

Once you have set up your domain with either a CNAME or NS record in your DNS provider, you will need to add the domain to the 'Domains' interface of Adestra.

You can access the 'Domains' section of Adestra via the 'Admin' tab in the header bar at the top of the screen, and then the 'Delegated' tab.

Any existing delegated domains will be displayed in the domains list. Each domain will show the delegation method, whether that domain is correctly configured, and the last time this was checked. You can click on the domain name to access more information about that particular domain.

To add a new domain, select the 'Create Domain' link.

Enter the domain name, for example 'example.adestra-demo.com'.

You have the option to disable conversion tracking cookies for this domain.

Note: Conversion cookies track behaviour and, therefore, fall under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations.

Click 'Save' and you will be directed to the overview for that domain which, if everything has been set up correctly, will display the delegation method for the domain.

However if the domain has been set up incorrectly a warning will be displayed, with advice on how the record should be added to your DNS provider. If you require additional help, contact Adestra Customer Support (adestra-support@uplandsoftware.com).

If you need to delete the domain you can select the 'Delete Domain' link.

Once a domain has been saved it will be displayed in the domains list.

You can test the domains list to make sure that all of your domains have been correctly configured using the 'Test Domains' link in the side bar.

If a domain is working as it should, the delegation method will be displayed with 'Yes' in the 'Valid Auth' column. Any that are not configured correctly will be flagged with crosses, and the 'Valid Auth' column will display 'No'.

Campaign Options

Once a domain has been set up in both your DNS provider and the 'Domains' interface, it will be available to select in the Campaign Options when creating a campaign.

FAQ

Can I use the root domain instead of a subdomain for delegation?

Although this is possible, we do not recommend it or officially support it.

Do I need to add MX/TXT/SPF/Sender-ID records?

No, if you are using CNAME or NS delegation, these records will be served by our DNS server, adding extra records will cause problems.

Isn't delegating domains to a third party a security risk?

No, all you need to do to disable it is to remove the NS or CNAME record from your DNS server.

Can I delegate domains with foreign characters?

We strongly discourage using internationalised domain names in email, as significant deliverability problems are likely.

Once I've delegated my domain can I set up an email address for it too?

No, you will not be able to set up an email address for a delegated domain, for example replies@email.my-domain-name.com. Once the domain is delegated, you will lose the control of that domain and we are unable to provide email inboxes for it. In this scenario, we recommend you use the root domain, for example replies@my-domain-name.com.