Send from your own domain#
By default, Karla email flows are sent
from the Karla default sender. On the enterprise email tier you can send
from your own domain instead, so customers see an address like
[email protected] in their inbox and your emails are authenticated
under your name.
You'll find the Custom sending domain card in the Karla Portal under Notify → Email templates → Settings. On other tiers the card shows an Enterprise badge and a Contact us button.
The custom sending domain only changes the sender of emails Karla itself sends — your email flows. Emails sent by an integrated tool like Klaviyo or Brevo are configured in that tool, not here.
Before you start, make sure:
- You have the shop admin role in the portal — registering, activating, and deactivating the sender are admin-only.
- You can edit your domain's DNS records at your domain provider.
1. Register your domain#
Enter your domain in Your domain — the domain your customers know,
without @ or https://, for example yourshop.com — and click
Register domain. Karla confirms with "Domain registered. Add the DNS
records below." and generates the DNS records for you to publish.
2. Publish the DNS records#
Each record is listed with its purpose, type, name/host, and value, ready to copy into your DNS provider:
| Record | Type | Requirement | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| DKIM authentication | CNAME | Required | Signs your emails so inbox providers can verify them — records like <token>._domainkey.yourshop.com → <token>.dkim.amazonses.com |
| Bounce handling (MX) | MX | Recommended | Routes bounce reports back to Karla — mail.yourshop.com → feedback-smtp.<region>.amazonses.com, priority 10 |
| Bounce handling (SPF) | TXT | Recommended | Authorizes the bounce subdomain — a TXT record on mail.yourshop.com with v=spf1 include:amazonses.com ~all |
| Ownership verification | TXT | Required | Proves you control the domain — a TXT record on _karla-sender.yourshop.com with a karla-verification=… value unique to your shop |
Keep in mind:
- Activation only needs the Required records — the recommended ones improve deliverability once verified.
- No changes to your domain's existing SPF record are needed — the SPF
record above lives on the
mail.subdomain. - Using Cloudflare? Set these records to DNS only (grey cloud) so verification can see them.
- Keep the records published for as long as your custom sender is active.
3. Check the verification status#
DNS changes can take up to a few hours to propagate. Click Check status to refresh — Karla reads the state live on every check. Three badges track progress: DKIM, Bounce handling, and Ownership, each shown as Pending, Verified, or Failed.
Registered the wrong domain? Use a different domain resets the form so you can start over.
4. Activate your sender address#
Once DKIM and Ownership are verified, choose the address your emails
are sent from: type the part before the @ into Send emails from (for
example shipping) and click Activate sender. The portal confirms with
"Custom sender activated." — from now on, your email flows are sent from that
address.
While your sender is active#
The card shows "Emails are sent from [email protected]" with an
Active badge and the verification badges. View DNS records reopens
the record list — useful when moving DNS providers, since the records must
stay published while the sender is active.
To switch back to the Karla default sender, click Deactivate custom sender and confirm. Karla confirms the deactivation and your emails use the Karla default sender again.