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In five years of hosting support, the same three problems come up again and again: DNS misconfiguration, broken SSL, and emails going to spam. Here is how to fix all three.

DNS Basics

Your domain's DNS records tell the internet where to find your website and email. The most important records are:

• A record — points your domain to your server's IP address
• CNAME — creates an alias (e.g. www → yourdomain.com)
• MX records — tell email servers where to deliver your mail
• TXT records — used for verification and email authentication

SSL Installation

Let's Encrypt provides free SSL certificates and is supported by most hosting panels. In cPanel, use AutoSSL. On a VPS, use Certbot. Always force HTTPS by adding a redirect in your .htaccess or Nginx config.

Email Deliverability: SPF, DKIM and DMARC

If your emails are landing in spam, you are almost certainly missing one of these three DNS records:

• SPF — lists the servers authorised to send email for your domain
• DKIM — adds a cryptographic signature to your outgoing emails
• DMARC — tells receiving servers what to do if SPF or DKIM fails

All three are TXT records added in your DNS zone. Get all three right and your deliverability will improve dramatically. Miss any one of them and your emails will likely end up in spam, especially with Gmail and Outlook.

If you need help setting up DNS, SSL or email for your WordPress site, feel free to reach out — this is one of the most common things I fix for clients.