WEB.DE is committed to secure, reliable, and trustworthy email communication. To ensure this, certain technical, organizational, and content guidelines apply when sending emails to WEB.DE.
These guidelines, as well as further recommendations, are aimed at the administration and operation of mail servers.
The delivering server must have a static IP address.
IP addresses from dial-up ranges or dynamically assigned addresses are not accepted.
The IP address of the mail server must have a valid reverse DNS entry (PTR-RR) that refers to a fully qualified domain name (FQDN). Which should belong to your own domain.
Recommended: mail.yourdomain.tld
Generic default entries (e.g. 123-123-123-123-static.ihrprovider.tld
) usually result in rejection.
Make sure that neither the IP address nor the domain is listed on known block lists (e.g. Spamhaus.org).
The domain must have valid MX or A resource records in the DNS that specify email servers for receiving, in order to enable an email response.
The mail server must send a valid HELO/EHLO when establishing a connection - as an FQDN, e.g. host.yourdomain.tld.
Emails must comply with the standards set out in RFC 5321 and RFC 5322. This includes:
To ensure the security and confidentiality of messages, the use of a valid DKIM signature is mandatory. An essential component is DKIM alignment. The DKIM domain must match the sender domain (RFC 5322.From
) - at least in “relaxed” mode.
Examples of valid DKIM alignment:
DKIM domain | From domain | Modus |
---|---|---|
example.com | child.example.com | relaxed |
child.example.com | example.com | relaxed |
example.com | example.com | strict |
child.example.com | child.example.com | strict |
An SPF record in the DNS is recommended. It defines which servers are allowed to send emails on behalf of the domain.
Support DMARC to prevent spoofing and phishing of your domain and to maintain the authenticity of your emails.
DMARC enables you to give the receiving system clear instructions on how to handle emails that were not sent by you and could therefore be fake. For example, you can specify that such emails should be moved to quarantine or rejected outright.
Make the necessary DNS entries and sign your emails in accordance with DMARC requirements. Please note that we require DKIM as a minimum requirement; SPF alone is not sufficient.
Only use domains for which you are authorized as the sender. This will help you protect the integrity of your email communications overall.
In order to protect inboxes from unwanted bulk communications, additional requirements apply to the sending of newsletters and promotional emails. These apply in addition to the general guidelines for senders.
Emails that do not comply with recognized standards such as those of the Messaging, Malware and Mobile Anti-Abuse Working Group (M3AAWG) or the Certified Senders Alliance (CSA) are not automatically classified as desired. Delivery to the inbox only takes place if receipt is clearly desired.
Only send bulk emails to people who have expressly agreed to receive them. Consent should ideally be obtained via a double opt-in procedure.
ollow the guidelines of the M3AAWG and the CSA. These contain best practices for technical authentication, sending practices, formatting, and unsubscribing.
The Certified Senders Alliance offers advantages in terms of deliverability and cooperation with email providers. For more information, visit the CSA Webiste.
The sender must be clearly and unambiguously identifiable. Service providers or third parties who handle sending on behalf of the sender must also be clearly identifiable to the recipient group.
Every email must contain an easily accessible and understandable unsubscribe option. Ideally, the newsletter should comply with the RFC 8058. standard. If this is the case, an unsubscribe button can be displayed automatically. If the standard is not met, a valid reply address must be provided as an alternative for unsubscribing.
Avoid sending to invalid, inactive, or outdated addresses. Regularly remove undeliverable contacts. If many messages are sent to unknown or deactivated addresses, this can lead to the temporary suspension of the mailing system. In severe cases, we reserve the right to permanently reject the system.
Ensure that your content is relevant and that your sending frequency is appropriate. This will help you avoid complaints and protect your domain reputation.