Use your own Domain for Helpdesk (tickets) and Campaigns – Tidio

It is possible to add your very own domains in Tidio, and use them for the Helpdesk as well as the Campaigns tool. This feature can help your emails look more professional in general, but also allow to avoid common issues with deliverability to your customers and subscribers.

In this guide, you will learn:

How to add your domains for use in Tidio
How to configure DMARC (if you send 5k+ emails per day)
How to configure Campaigns and Helpdesk

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Starting June 17th 2024, the Campaigns tool is available exclusively to Tidio+ subscribers and to users with active Campaigns subscriptions. If you belong to either group, you will need to connect your own business domain in order to keep using Campaigns.

Adding and verifying your own domain

This setting allows you to specify a domain that you own, and configure your own DNS records. For each domain you add and successfully verify, you can add custom aliases as well.

You get the option to connect your domain automatically or manually, whichever works for you best.

Head over to Settings > Domains:

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... and use either the Connect automatically or Connect manually button there:

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Connect automatically

The automatic method may be much smoother for you, so it's a good option to try first. This method is powered by Entri, which can assist you in connecting your domain in a few simple steps (as long as your domain provider is supported by Entri, which you can check here).

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Once you select this method, you will be asked to provide the domain you'd like to connect:

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Next, the domain will be analyzed for all the relevant details - all in order to allow a secure and smooth connection:

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During this process you will be asked to input your provider login details, in order to properly allow Tidio to connect with your domain. You will most likely need to confirm the connection request with a security code sent via email.

Once you successfully verify everything that's necessary, you will see a confirmation screen:

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You will then see your domain listed in the Domains section, with the appropriate Status label showing you the current state of the connection:

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Of course, there you can try to reconnect if any errors take place, remove the domain connection request, or use the Open instructions option to see the exact DNS records needed for your connection - which allows you to connect your domain manually if you prefer.

Connect manually

By selecting the manual method, you will get a set of instructions: the DNS records necessary to connect your domain with Tidio.

In the first popup window, provide the domain you'd like to use:

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In the next step, you will see your unique DNS records - use them in your domain provider's DNS settings as instructed, and that's it!

As in the example below, you should see two TXT records and one CNAME record:

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Once you've added your domain in Tidio, you will see it listed in the Domains section, along with its current status and DNS instructions for reference. You can also remove any added domains from the list, as well as try the Reconnect automatically option if you'd like to try the automatic method (described in the section above):

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Please note that some domain providers require a different format for the hostnames. Let's use an example to clarify. If you are trying to connect the domain example.com with Tidio, you will get three hostnames (one for each record) for your DNS setup as follows:

```
mailo._domainkey.example.com 
```
(this can be different for your domain!)
```
example.com
```
```
email.example.com
```

It is possible that these hostnames will not work correctly with your provider. By default, the first hostname always includes your domain (in this case it's example.com). If you encounter any issues, please try three slightly different hostnames instead - remove your domain from the first and last hostname, and entirely replace the second hostname with just the @ symbol, as shown below:

```
mailo._domainkey
```
```
@
```
```
email
```

Of course, the value fields for both hostnames should remain unchanged.

Please see another example of DNS records below, with the domains themselves highlighted in each hostname field:

Implementing a DMARC record into your DNS settings

There is one more DNS record that you may need to implement into your DNS settings. It is a mailing security standard that Google and Yahoo started to require in early 2024, and it applies to large-scale email senders.

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This is only required if you send more than 5,000 emails a day.

What is DMARC?

DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) is an authentication method for outgoing emails. By implementing DMARC, you enhance your email security, protect your sender identity, and contribute to improved deliverability.

In the short guide below, we will only focus on the most basic form of DMARC implementation. If you are interested in the details or more advanced configuration, please see external guides like this one.

How to add your DMARC record

Similarly to the DNS records covered in the first section of this article, DMARC should be added as a TXT record into your DNS settings. Below is the basic form of a DMARC record:

Hostname:
_dmarc.example.com

Value:
v=DMARC1; p=reject; rua=mailto:john@example.com

Of course, the hostname should be using your domain instead of example.com.

In the value, make sure you use a working email address (instead of john@example.com). We strongly recommend that you do not use your official business email, or even your personal email, as this address will be used to receive XML reports from various mailing providers. It would be best to have a dedicated mailbox just for this purpose, as you can expect to receive many such reports once you start sending campaigns.

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There is an easy practical way to create a dedicated mailbox for your XML reports - dmarcian.com offers a free service for aggregating and analysing such incoming emails. You would be able to use the generated address inside your DMARC record, and receive regular reports on your security.

In general, the value is something you can modify to an extent - but we will not be covering these options here. If you'd like to learn more, feel free to check out Mailgun's guide (as linked earlier).

By implementing DMARC, you ensure that you comply with the latest security measures and meet the standards that apply to higher-traffic email senders.

Configuring your Campaigns and Helpdesk tools

Once the domain is verified, it will become available in a dropdown menu in your Settings > Helpdesk > Sender address section. It will also become available in the Settings > Campaigns > Sending Domain section. Once a verified domain is selected, your emails will be sent directly from your own domain.

Please see the articles below for more details on each tool's setup: