Simple Explanation of New Google and Yahoo Email Authentication Standards 2024

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You have probably heard something about the new email authentication standards going into effect. This is not to alarm you (it’s all going to work out just fine) but in case you haven’t had time to look into it yet, Here is a last minute explanation of the situation presented in the simplest way I can think of.

What’s it about?

Back in October, Google announced that receiving gmail accounts would require bulk senders to authenticate their emails starting in February. You can read that announcement here. And there are more technical details here. Yahoo made a similar announcement here. And this article is a good overall summation of the changes. (BTW none of these are required reading.)

Who is affected?

This only applies to you if you are sending email from an address with your domain in it. In other words, if you own the domain name, “example.com” and send from an email address, “something@example.com”.

If your email address is something@gmail.com or suchandsuch@aol.com then there is nothing for you to do.

Also, the announcements only talk about changes in bulk emails such as newsletters sent from a newsletter provider like Constant Contact or MailChimp, etc. But if you are just sending single, ordinary emails, it is still recommended that you implement these protocols as they will help your emails arrive in people’s inbox.

Why implement the changes?

If you follow the suggestions there is a better chance that your emails will not end up in spam or worse, not be delivered at all. Again the new requirements apply to bulk emails. But authentication is also recommended for regular email.

What do I need to do to comply?

To comply you need to add DNS records to the domain settings by logging into the registrar where the domain is registered and editing the DNS records for that domain.

  1. Determine where your emails are being sent from, maybe an email provider like Google Workspace or Outlook, a Newsletter platform like Constant Contact or MailChimp, your website contact form (you would talk to your website host for this one), or all three. Also contact your website host if your website sends announcements or automated emails to users or customers.
  2. Obtain recommended settings from each of the senders above and add them to your domain DNS settings. Talk to support for your domain name registrar ask them to help you implement the above recommendations.

What if I don’t do anything?

Your newsletter service may require you implement the changes before you send out your next newsletter. Regular email service might not change much at all but implementing the changes should still improve deliverability to some extent.

What are the protocols called?

The protocols are SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Senders of bulk emails will be required to implement all three: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Google encourages normal email senders to have either SPF or DKIM in place.

How does it work?

Super simple here, only domain owners can add records to their domain settings. The records state which email senders are approved to send from that domain. Receiving email accounts access this information. It helps determine whether the email is valid or not.

Whether you update the DNS records or not…

Over the next month or two, make sure that you are receiving form submission emails from your website. If longer than normal goes by without receiving a form submission email, then test the form by submitting it yourself and seeing if you get the email. Also, if you don’t get a response when you send an email, follow up sooner than normal. Make sure that the email was actually received.

Again, this is not to cause any alarm but instead I hope this email helps you make sense of the situation and helps you know which actions, if any, you need to take.

If you would like me to implement the changes for you, please get in touch.

WordPress Backups & Updates

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Why is it important to update plugins and themes? How often should I do it? What is the safest method and best practice? This video covers it all!

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How to Save and Send Attachments with Mac Mail

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Saving attached files and images

  1. Open the email with the attachment.
  2. Click the “Save” button right under the email header.
  3. Check your “Downloads” or where ever your downloads end up.
  4. Drag the files from the “Downloads” folder to the folder where you want to store them.

OR

 

  1. Open the email with the attachment.
  2. Click AND HOLD the “Save” button right under the email header.
  3. Select “Save All” from the drop-down.
  4. Save the images in the folder of your choice.

Sending attached files and images

  1. Whether you are replying to a message or sending a new message, click the “Attach” paperclip icon at the top.
  2. Find your way to the folder where the file(s) are.
  3. Double click one file OR click multiple files by holding the “Command” Key
  4. When you have selected all the files that you want from that folder, click “Choose File” in the lower left.
  5. Click the “Attach” paperclip icon again to choose more images or files from another folder.
  6. At the very bottom left of the the message you will see the “Message Size.” Try to keep the size below 10 MB. KB’s are smaller that MB so don’t worry if you see any number followed by KB
  7. At the very bottom right of the the message you can choose the “Image Size” if you are sending images. Choosing a smaller image size will resize all the images and make the “Message Size”  smaller.

How to Edit & Add Images to a Basic WordPress Gallery

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  1. Login to your website
  2. Go to the page or post where the gallery is located
    1. Go to the public view of the page or post and click “Edit Post” or “Edit Page” in the black bar at the top OR go to “Pages” or “Posts” in the Admin panel left menu and select the page or post with the gallery.
  3. Make sure you are in the “Visual” editor view rather than the “Text” editor view. (See the tabs at the top right of the editor window.
  4. You can add text or edit existing text above or below the gallery
  5. The Gallery image is below. Click it and it will become highlighted as shown with the two icons on the upper right. Click the left icon to edit the gallery. (The red circle with the line through will delete the gallery.)Screen shot 2013-11-21 at 12.00.49 PM
  6. Drag and drop the images to change order
  7. Click an image and it will be highlighted with a frame around it
  8. Add a title and/or caption in the right column. The title will be shown when the image is enlarged. The caption may be shown in the gallery grid (depending on the them you are using.) The image file title will automatically be displayed as the title. You can change or delete this. “Alt Text” and “Description” can be left blank.
  9.  Click “Update Gallery” in the lower left
  10. To add new images, click “Add to Gallery” on the upper right.
  11. If “Media Library” is highlighted on the top center, you will be able to add images that are already uploaded to your site.
    1. Click an image and a check mark will appear. This means it will be added to the gallery. You can select multiple images. Click the image again to deselect and remove the check mark.
    2. When the images you want to add are checked, click “Add to Gallery” in the lower right.
  12. If you want to add new images from your computer, click “Upload Photos” at the top center.
    1. Click “Select Images” to upload images from folders on your computer (hold the “Comand” key to select multiple images) OR drag one or more images and drop them into the WordPress window.
    2. Make sure the new image(s) you want to add have a check mark next to them, then click “Add to Gallery” in the lower right.
  13. Update the page or post to save changes.