Use this guide to set up the DNS records your domain needs for reliable email delivery in Squarespace, including MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and a custom tracking domain for lemlist.
By the end of this tutorial, you’ll know how to fully configure your Squarespace domain for sending and receiving email, improve deliverability, and connect a custom tracking domain in lemlist.
Why this matters
Email deliverability depends on your DNS records. If your MX, SPF, DKIM, or DMARC records are missing or incorrect, your messages may bounce, land in spam, or fail authentication checks.
A complete setup helps protect your domain reputation, improves inbox placement, and makes sure both your mailbox and Lemlist tracking work correctly.
Prerequisites
You should already have access to your Squarespace account and the domain you want to configure.
You should already know which email provider you use, such as Google Workspace, Zoho Mail, or Microsoft 365.
You should already have access to your email provider’s admin console so you can copy provider-specific values like MX and DKIM records.
If you’re setting up a tracking domain, you should already have access to your Lemlist account.
Phase 1: Open your Squarespace DNS settings
Open the domain you want to configure.
In Squarespace, go to Domains, then click your domain name to open its overview page. This is where you access the DNS records tied to that domain.
Go to DNS Settings and start adding records.
In the left sidebar, click DNS, then DNS Settings. Scroll to Custom records and click Add Record. This is the section where you’ll create the email authentication and routing records for your domain.
Complete verification if Squarespace asks for it.
In some cases, Squarespace will prompt you to enter an authentication code before you can continue. Enter the code sent to your email address, then click Verify.
Phase 2: Add MX records for your mailbox
MX records tell the internet where incoming email for your domain should be delivered. Without MX records, your inbox won’t receive email.
Create a new custom record row.
After clicking Add Record, Squarespace opens a new row where you can enter the host, type, priority, TTL, and value. This same form is used for MX, TXT, and CNAME records.
Select the record type you need.
Open the Type dropdown and choose the appropriate record type. For mailbox routing, select MX. For SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, you’ll use TXT.
Add your provider’s MX records.
Use @ as the host in most cases. Keep the default TTL unless your provider tells you otherwise. Then enter the mail server and priority exactly as provided by your email provider.Google Workspace: Add all 5 Google MX records. The host is typically @, type is MX, and TTL can stay at 1 hour. Google’s MX records are standard and usually the same for all domains.
Zoho Mail: Add all 3 MX records. Common values are:
Priority 10 → mx.zoho.com
Priority 20 → mx2.zoho.com
Priority 50 → mx3.zoho.com
Some Zoho accounts use region-specific servers, so always confirm the exact values in your Zoho Mail Admin console.
Microsoft 365: Microsoft usually requires 1 MX record. Use host @, type MX, priority 0, and the unique mail server value from the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. This value is different for each domain.
Add each MX record as a separate custom record.
If you need to add more than one MX entry, always click Add Record again in Custom records. Do not overwrite the previous one. This is especially important for Google Workspace and Zoho, which require multiple MX records.
Important: If you use Google Workspace, you must add all five MX records. If you use Zoho, you must add all required Zoho MX records for your region. Missing even one record can affect mail delivery.
Phase 3: Add your SPF record
SPF tells receiving mail servers which services are allowed to send email on behalf of your domain. If your SPF record is missing or incorrect, your messages are more likely to land in spam.
Create a TXT record for SPF.
Add a new record with:Host: @
Type: TXT
TTL: 4 hours
Value: your provider’s SPF string
Use the correct SPF value for your provider.
Your exact value depends on the email services you use. For example, Google, Microsoft, and Zoho each provide their own SPF format. If you use multiple sending providers, you may need to combine them into a single SPF record.Make sure only one SPF record exists.
Never create multiple SPF records for the same domain. If one already exists, edit it instead of adding another. Multiple SPF records break authentication.
Avoid this common mistake: Do not add one SPF record for Google and another SPF record for Microsoft. If you use more than one provider, combine them into a single SPF record.
Phase 4: Add your DKIM record
DKIM adds a digital signature to your emails. It helps receiving servers confirm that your message is authentic and hasn’t been altered in transit.
Generate the DKIM record in your email provider first.
DKIM is not something you invent manually in Squarespace. You need to generate it in your email provider’s admin area first, such as Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or Zoho Mail.Add the DKIM record to Squarespace as a TXT record.
Once your provider gives you the DKIM details, create a new custom record using the exact host and full value they provide.Type: TXT
TTL: 4 hours
Host: provider-specific, often something like a selector followed by ._domainkey
Value: paste the full DKIM string exactly as given
Save the record without changing the provider format.
DKIM values are sensitive to formatting. Copy and paste the record exactly as your provider gives it to you.
Phase 5: Add your DMARC record
DMARC works with SPF and DKIM to tell receiving servers what to do when an email fails authentication. It also helps protect your domain reputation against spoofing.
Create a TXT record for DMARC.
Add a new record with these general settings:Host: _dmarc
Type: TXT
TTL: 4 hours
Value: your DMARC policy string
Choose the right DMARC policy.
If you actively monitor DMARC reports and your domain is fully aligned, p=reject gives the strongest protection. If you want a safer starting point with less overhead, p=quarantine is often a practical choice.Keep only one DMARC record.
Like SPF, DMARC should exist only once per domain. If you already have one, update it instead of creating another.
Phase 6: Add a custom tracking domain for Lemlist
A custom tracking domain helps align your sending setup and branding. It can also support better deliverability than using a shared tracking domain. You can now set it up directly from an email address’s Sending settings in lemlist.
Open the sending settings for the email address you want to configure.
In lemlist, click your profile icon, then Settings. From there, open Sending settings, find the email address you want to use, and click Settings for that mailbox.
Open Custom tracking domain and copy the CNAME details.
Inside that email address’s settings, expand Custom tracking domain. Then copy the record details shown by lemlist and prepare to add them in Squarespace:Type: CNAME
Host: the subdomain shown by lemlist, such as omega
Value: the target shown by lemlist, such as custom.lemlist.com
Add the tracking CNAME record in Squarespace.
Back in Squarespace, create a new custom record for the tracking subdomain. Use the host and value exactly as shown in lemlist, keep TTL at 4 hours, and choose CNAME from the record type dropdown.
Use manual configuration if you want a custom subdomain.
If you want to use your own tracking subdomain instead of the suggested one, click Configure manually in lemlist and enter your preferred custom subdomain, such as track.domain.com. Lemlist will then generate the exact records needed for that custom setup.
Add the TXT verification record in Squarespace if lemlist provides one.
For manual configurations, lemlist may also generate a TXT verification record. Create another custom record in Squarespace using the exact host and TXT value provided by lemlist, then save it. When selecting the record type, choose TXT.
Check the setup in lemlist.
Return to the same email address settings in lemlist and click Check setup. If everything is correct and DNS has propagated, the tracking domain status should turn green.
Practical example
Here’s what a typical complete DNS setup might look like for a domain that uses Google Workspace for email and Lemlist for outreach:
Five MX records for Google Workspace
One TXT record for SPF that includes Google
One TXT record for DKIM generated in Google Admin
One TXT record for DMARC
One CNAME record for the Lemlist tracking subdomain
One TXT record for Lemlist verification
If you use Microsoft 365 instead, you’ll usually replace the Google MX entries with Microsoft’s single MX record and use Microsoft’s SPF and DKIM values instead.
Troubleshooting and common pitfalls
Issue: Emails are not being received
Root cause: MX records are missing, incomplete, or entered incorrectly.
Check that the host, priority, and mail server values match your provider exactly.
If you use Google Workspace, confirm all five MX records were added.
Wait for DNS propagation before testing again.
Issue: SPF fails or messages go to spam
Root cause: Multiple SPF records exist, or the SPF value is incomplete.
Search your existing TXT records for other SPF entries.
Keep only one SPF record for the domain.
If you use multiple senders, merge them into one valid SPF string.
Issue: DKIM won’t validate
Root cause: The selector host or DKIM value was copied incorrectly.
Regenerate or recopy the DKIM record from your email provider.
Make sure the host and full TXT value are pasted exactly as given.
Do not shorten or reformat the value.
Issue: DMARC shows errors
Root cause: More than one DMARC record exists, or the policy string is malformed.
Keep only one TXT record at _dmarc.
Check the DMARC syntax carefully.
Edit the existing record instead of adding a second one.
Issue: Lemlist tracking domain stays unverified
Root cause: The CNAME or TXT verification record is missing, the custom subdomain was entered incorrectly, or DNS has not propagated yet.
Recheck the host and value in both records.
If you used manual configuration, confirm the custom subdomain in lemlist matches the DNS record you created in Squarespace.
Make sure you used CNAME for the tracking subdomain and TXT for verification when required.
Wait a few minutes and try Check setup again.
Propagation note: DNS changes do not happen instantly. Updates may appear in a few minutes, but in some cases they can take up to 72 hours to fully propagate.
Best practices
Always copy provider values exactly as shown.
Use @ for root-domain records unless your provider specifies something else.
Keep only one SPF record and one DMARC record.
Add all required MX records for your email provider, not just the first one.
Double-check region-specific values in Zoho or domain-specific values in Microsoft 365.
Use a DNS lookup tool such as MXToolbox to confirm records after saving them.
What to do next
After your DNS records are saved, monitor the setup until all records validate successfully in your email provider and in Lemlist. If anything still looks wrong after propagation, contact your domain provider or use a DNS checker such as MXToolbox to inspect the live records.