How to Configure an SPF Record for Zoho Mail

Email is still cyber criminals’ favorite fraud vehicle.

But times are changing…

While it used to be easy to pretend to be sending from a trusted domain…

You can now use several authentication methods to prevent someone from abusing yours.

One of those is called SPF, which stands for Sender Policy Framework.

We’ll show you how to set it up for your Zoho Mail account.

SPF Explained

SPF is an authentication protocol that ensures emails are sent exclusively from the email servers of your choice.

SPF’s goal is to prevent cyber criminals from launching phishing attacks.

Here’s how it works:

For your Zoho Mail account, for example, you’ll create an SPF record that includes Zoho Mail’s email server.

Let’s say you only use Zoho Mail for sending emails and have included their mail server in your SPF record.

Now, if somebody claims to be sending email from your domain with a different server, emails can be rejected.

It helps all good parties involved!

Setting up SPF is highly recommended, but it’s not mandatory.

Even so, SPF is a must if you’re serious about email outreach and landing in the inbox!

How to Set Up an SPF Record for Zoho Mail 📝

To use an SPF record with Zoho Mail, you need to add it to your domain provider’s DNS settings.

A SPF record is a DNS record, which is basically a line of text like the one below:

v=spf1 include:spf.protection.somesendingdomain.com -all

The first step is checking if you already have an SPF record set up for your domain.

Multiple SPF records can cause complications.

If you need to add multiple servers, you can do so using the same SPF record.

Compare the SPF record above with the one below:

v=spf1 include:spf.protection.somesendingdomain.com include:one.zoho.com -all

Did you notice that the only change is an extra “include” tag? We’ve only added a server! You can add many more servers in the same way.

Setting up SPF for Zoho Mail on any domain provider

If you didn’t find any SPF record in your domain’s DNS, let’s set one up.

We’ll start with a list of steps that should work for any provider.

However, we also have instructions for specific providers lower down the page.

1. ➡️ Log in to your domain provider’s account
2. ➡️ Navigate to your domain’s DNS settings
3. ➡️ Add a new record
4. ➡️ Choose TXT for the Type
5. ➡️ Add a @ symbol to the Name or Host field
6. ➡️ In the Value field, paste the following record: v=spf1 include:zoho.com -all
7. ➡️ Click save, and you’re done!

How to set up a Zoho Mail SPF record on GoDaddy

1. ➡️ Log in to GoDaddy
2. ➡️ Click on My products and select your domain
3. ➡️ Click on DNS
4. ➡️ You’re now on the DNS management page. Click on Add to add a new record.
5. ➡️ For Type, choose TXT
6. ➡️ In the Name field, add a @
7. ➡️ In the value field, copy and paste the following record: v=spf1 include:zoho.com -all
8. ➡️ Save the record

How to configure a Zoho Mail SPF record on Namecheap

1. ➡️ Log in to your Namecheap account
2. ➡️ Click on Domain list
3. ➡️ Choose your domain
4. ➡️ Click on Advanced DNS
5. ➡️ Create a new DNS record
6. ➡️ For Type, choose TXT
7. ➡️ In the Host field, type @
8. ➡️ In the Value field, add the following record: v=spf1 include:zoho.com -all
9. ➡️ Click on the checkmark to save your SPF record

How to add a Zoho Mail SPF record to Cloudflare

1. ➡️ Go to your Cloudflare account
2. ➡️ On Cloudflare’s dashboard, select your domain
3. ➡️ Click on the DNS button
4. ➡️ For Type, select TXT
5. ➡️ In the Name field, type an @
6. ➡️ The Value field is where you’ll add the Zoho Mail SPF record: v=spf1 include:zoho.com -all
7. ➡️ Now save your SPF record

How to configure an SPF record for Zoho Mail on Bluehost

1. ➡️ Log in to your Bluehost account
2. ➡️ Go to My domains
3. ➡️ Select your domain
4. ➡️ Go to DNS
5. ➡️ Click on Add new record
6. ➡️ For Type, choose TXT
7. ➡️ In the Name or Host field, enter @
8. ➡️ Finally, in the Value field, paste this record: v=spf1 include:zoho.com -all
9. ➡️ Now save your record

What’s Next? ⏭️

Well, a potential 48-hour waiting period! 😁

DNS changes need a little while to be activated.

Don’t worry; usually, it’s a matter of a few hours.

You can use our free email deliverability tool to check your DNS records. It will tell you when your record is active.

Additionally, there are some other components of your technical setup you need to take into account.

There are three additional DNS records that you must set up, they are your MX, DKIM, and DMARC records.

When doing email outreach, you should also use your own Custom Tracking Domain instead of the one your ESP offers, which everybody uses, including some spammers.

Lastly, remember to warm up your email.

If you don’t know what that is, it’s simply the process of gradually increasing sending volume and frequency while also getting replies to your emails.

lemwarm, which won a Reddit poll for best email warm-up service, can do this daunting job for you on autopilot.