How can I setup a Custom Email Domain?
Custom Email Domain can be used to use your domain branding for all emails that Crisp sends to your users. Also, your users will be able to reply to your emails directly to your domain.
This guide explains you how Custom Email Domain works, and how to setup it. Custom Email Domain is available in Crisp Mini, Essentials and Plus, which comes with a ton of other handy features for your shared inbox .
The Custom Email Domain feature lets you use your own domain for emails sent by Crisp . This way, your it will make your customer support emails and campaigns memorable and easy to find with a branded custom domain.
By default, Crisp sends all emails to your customers with a hosted domain like your company.on.crisp.email .
With the custom domain feature, Crisp will send all emails with your own subdomain like mail.yourcompany.com .
Using your own subdomain, your user can still directly reply to emails, and emails replies will be routed automatically to Crisp.
Your team can get some benefits from using a Custom Email Domain:
You get to manage your own mailing reputation from your own domain name. This means, less chance that your emails go to the spam folder.
The Crisp brand won't be visible through email addresses. Your users see Crisp as fully integrated to your own branding (they have no way to see the Crisp brand in your communication).
The Custom Email Domain you choose to use for Crisp is important, as it will be seen by your users. You will have to consider that it is only possible to use on Crisp a subdomain. It is not possible to use your main domain.
Consider this example scenario:
Your company is named Acme, Inc., and runs acme.com
You are already using an email provider on @acme.com, like Gmail, our Outlook.
So, you cannot use the base acme.com domain, as it is already in use for your internal emails (eg. running employee emails as john.doe@acme.com ), if so, a Crisp custom email domain would conflict with your existing configuration .
Thus, you will need to choose a sub-domain of acme.com, that you will dedicate to Crisp emails.
We recommend the following options if not already in use on your domain:
emails.acme.com
crisp.acme.com
support.acme.com
Or any other custom sub-domain (your choice!)
First, you will have to check that your Crisp website is subscribed to Crisp Mini or Crisp Essentials or Crisp Plus ( see our plans )
Customising Email Domain is technical, and if you are not familiar with DNS, we recommend asking a colleague. Our support can help on this, but will not able to do the DNS setup for you.
The Custom Email Domain feature only requires you to add a few DNS entries to your domain name manager. As this Crisp tutorial is generic, please check the documentation for your own domain provider.
Cloudflare: https://support.cloudflare.com/hc/en-us/articles/200168756-How-do-I-add-a-subdomain-to-my-site-
GoDaddy: https://pl.godaddy.com/help/add-an-a-record-19238
Namecheap: https://www.namecheap.com/support/knowledgebase/article.aspx/319/2237/how-can-i-set-up-an-a-address-record-for-my-domain
Gandi: https://wiki.gandi.net/en/dns/zone/a-record
OVH: https://www.ovh.com/world/g1604.web_hosting_how_to_edit_my_dns_zone
If you are using Cloudflare DNS, make sure the "Cloudflare proxy"/ mode is disabled for all DNS records you added. Ensure the cloud icon is grey (disabled) and not orange (enabled). This prevents Cloudflare from rewriting the DNS records.
On the Crisp Dashboard:
Go to app.crisp.chat
Go to Settings > Website Settings > Pick your website in the list
Scroll down, and open Advanced configuration , then select Custom Email Domain
In the field asking for the domain, enter your desired Custom Email Domain (eg. emails.acme.com )
Click on Use this domain , then instructions will appear
Do not click on verify yet ,
Meanwhile, go to your DNS Manager:
Connect on your DNS Manager (Cloudflare, Namecheap, ...)
Add the DNS records provided by Crisp, one by one.
Make sure not to alter (remove or edit) the DNS records you've configured, as this will cause issues with either receiving or sending emails via your Custom Email Domain.
Go back the Crisp Dashboard:
Now, click on Verify domain setup . Crisp will query your DNS records to ensure they are properly configured. This takes up to 20 seconds
Crisp will acknowledge or reject the domain change. If it rejects the changes, check all records have been added to your DNS manager
Once the Custom Email Domain is active, you will see a green acknowledgement. Try sending emails to yourself using Crisp, eg. send yourself a chat transcript or create a campaign targeting yourself. Check that you receive the emails in your personal inbox. If you do not receive any email, check the following troubleshooting section.
The Custom Email Domain feature can be used across multiple websites, using the same domain.
You just need to repeat the setup process for each desired website. You will only need to add one more DNS record per website, to prove the ownership of the Crisp website (namely, the TXT DNS record containing crisp-website-id ). The other DNS records won't change across websites, so you can leave previous ones as-is.
Some users have expressed the need to declare a different RUA or RUF value in the DMARC record we provide by default, they can now do so and handle the reports on their own!
Simply adjust the DMARC and SPF records we provided for them, through their own domain/DNS dashboard, and set their own, with the following caveats:
A custom SPF record MUST contain at least an include:_spf.crisp.email or redirect=_spf.crisp.email in the chain (so that Crisp MTAs are allowed, if you want to define more MTAs eg. their custom SMTP for instance)
A SPF or DMARC record MUST be set, it cannot be removed, and it MUST pass syntax validation (we are strict on this to prevent delivery issues due to user mistakes when playing w/ this customization).
If you had to fix a mistake and clicked on Verify domain setup again, Crisp may not succeed verifying changes immediately, even if all the records are properly setup. This is due to the DNS cache system, which takes time to refresh and propagate.
You may need to wait a few minutes to a few hours and re-enter your target email domain on Crisp, then verify again. In extreme cases, you may need to wait for a few days (if your DNS provider cache expiration values are very high).
DKIM requires underscores in the CNAME file. However, in the past, DNS didn't allow for underscores and some registrars still do not allow them to appear in the CNAME file. If you receive this type of error when you set up DKIM, the issue is on the registrar's side.
We recommend either of these three options:
- contact your registrar for assistance
- set up a secondary custom domain with a registrar that allows underscores
- switch DNS providers. We recommend using Cloudflare.
Your domain may have a CAA record configured, that prevents our SSL certification authority (Let's Encrypt), from issuing certificates for your domain name, and any of its sub-domains. If you are using a DNS CAA record, please add letsencrypt.org to the issue property of your existing CAA entries (you would add this exact CAA value: issue "letsencrypt.org" ).
Note that, while we were able to generate your SSL certificates the first time that you configured your email domain, if you add a CAA entry to your DNS records that would not allow our certification authority to issue certificates, our systems will be thus unable to proceed renewal of your certificate in the future, leading to broken images and links in your emails.
Outbound emails sent by Crisp are secured by SPF and DKIM. SPF specifies which SMTP server is allowed to send emails on your behalf, while DKIM cryptographically signs outgoing emails. DMARC then enforces a policy based on SPF and DKIM for email receivers, telling them to reject all invalid emails from your Custom Email Domain (ie. domains that fail both SPF and DKIM verifications).
In case you and/or your users do not receive emails anymore, check that the SPF, DKIM and DMARC records that Crisp provides are correctly set, and not altered. Feel free to contact us if you have any question; we may have DMARC logs of what happened to your domain regarding DKIM and SPF.
Setting up a custom SMTP is available with the Essentials and Plus Plans, starting at 95$ / mo
You may read this article dedicated to troubleshooting inbound email issues to Crisp Inbox.
Inbound emails sent by your users to Crisp require that the MX record that we provide in the email setup is correctly set. If your users cannot email you anymore, or reply to emails sent by Crisp to them, double check that the DNS MX record is still set, and matches the one provided during the Custom Email Domain setup in Crisp.
Custom Email Domain requires a Crisp Mini, Crisp Essentials or Crisp Plus subscription.
Check your website is still subscribed to Crisp plan, as it will be disabled if you downgraded your plan, or if you didn't renew it.
Too bad! Before contacting us, try reseting the Custom Email Domain to the default one provided by Crisp:
Go to your website settings on your Crisp Dashboard .
Pick the target website you need to use the Custom Email Domain feature on
Scroll down, and open Advanced configuration , then select Custom Email Domain
Reset the field asking for the domain (wipe any value, set it to blank)
Save, and wait for a few seconds. The default Crisp domain will now be used
Now, try the setup process again. Refer to the setup section for instructions.
If you still cannot fix your issue, then contact us . We'll make sure your issue gets sorted out quickly.
This guide explains you how Custom Email Domain works, and how to setup it. Custom Email Domain is available in Crisp Mini, Essentials and Plus, which comes with a ton of other handy features for your shared inbox .
What Custom Email Domain do?
The Custom Email Domain feature lets you use your own domain for emails sent by Crisp . This way, your it will make your customer support emails and campaigns memorable and easy to find with a branded custom domain.
By default, Crisp sends all emails to your customers with a hosted domain like your company.on.crisp.email .
With the custom domain feature, Crisp will send all emails with your own subdomain like mail.yourcompany.com .
Using your own subdomain, your user can still directly reply to emails, and emails replies will be routed automatically to Crisp.
Benefits of using a Custom Email Domain
Your team can get some benefits from using a Custom Email Domain:
You get to manage your own mailing reputation from your own domain name. This means, less chance that your emails go to the spam folder.
The Crisp brand won't be visible through email addresses. Your users see Crisp as fully integrated to your own branding (they have no way to see the Crisp brand in your communication).
Which email domain should I use?
The Custom Email Domain you choose to use for Crisp is important, as it will be seen by your users. You will have to consider that it is only possible to use on Crisp a subdomain. It is not possible to use your main domain.
Consider this example scenario:
Your company is named Acme, Inc., and runs acme.com
You are already using an email provider on @acme.com, like Gmail, our Outlook.
So, you cannot use the base acme.com domain, as it is already in use for your internal emails (eg. running employee emails as john.doe@acme.com ), if so, a Crisp custom email domain would conflict with your existing configuration .
Thus, you will need to choose a sub-domain of acme.com, that you will dedicate to Crisp emails.
We recommend the following options if not already in use on your domain:
emails.acme.com
crisp.acme.com
support.acme.com
Or any other custom sub-domain (your choice!)
How to setup Custom Email Domain for my website?
Video tutorial
Requirements
First, you will have to check that your Crisp website is subscribed to Crisp Mini or Crisp Essentials or Crisp Plus ( see our plans )
Customising Email Domain is technical, and if you are not familiar with DNS, we recommend asking a colleague. Our support can help on this, but will not able to do the DNS setup for you.
The Custom Email Domain feature only requires you to add a few DNS entries to your domain name manager. As this Crisp tutorial is generic, please check the documentation for your own domain provider.
Cloudflare: https://support.cloudflare.com/hc/en-us/articles/200168756-How-do-I-add-a-subdomain-to-my-site-
GoDaddy: https://pl.godaddy.com/help/add-an-a-record-19238
Namecheap: https://www.namecheap.com/support/knowledgebase/article.aspx/319/2237/how-can-i-set-up-an-a-address-record-for-my-domain
Gandi: https://wiki.gandi.net/en/dns/zone/a-record
OVH: https://www.ovh.com/world/g1604.web_hosting_how_to_edit_my_dns_zone
If you are using Cloudflare DNS, make sure the "Cloudflare proxy"/ mode is disabled for all DNS records you added. Ensure the cloud icon is grey (disabled) and not orange (enabled). This prevents Cloudflare from rewriting the DNS records.
Now you are good to proceed
On the Crisp Dashboard:
Go to app.crisp.chat
Go to Settings > Website Settings > Pick your website in the list
Scroll down, and open Advanced configuration , then select Custom Email Domain
In the field asking for the domain, enter your desired Custom Email Domain (eg. emails.acme.com )
Click on Use this domain , then instructions will appear
Do not click on verify yet ,
Meanwhile, go to your DNS Manager:
Connect on your DNS Manager (Cloudflare, Namecheap, ...)
Add the DNS records provided by Crisp, one by one.
Make sure not to alter (remove or edit) the DNS records you've configured, as this will cause issues with either receiving or sending emails via your Custom Email Domain.
Go back the Crisp Dashboard:
Now, click on Verify domain setup . Crisp will query your DNS records to ensure they are properly configured. This takes up to 20 seconds
Crisp will acknowledge or reject the domain change. If it rejects the changes, check all records have been added to your DNS manager
How to test your setup
Once the Custom Email Domain is active, you will see a green acknowledgement. Try sending emails to yourself using Crisp, eg. send yourself a chat transcript or create a campaign targeting yourself. Check that you receive the emails in your personal inbox. If you do not receive any email, check the following troubleshooting section.
How to use the same Custom Email Domain for multiple websites?
The Custom Email Domain feature can be used across multiple websites, using the same domain.
You just need to repeat the setup process for each desired website. You will only need to add one more DNS record per website, to prove the ownership of the Crisp website (namely, the TXT DNS record containing crisp-website-id ). The other DNS records won't change across websites, so you can leave previous ones as-is.
How to setup custom RUA or RUF value for DMARC value?
Some users have expressed the need to declare a different RUA or RUF value in the DMARC record we provide by default, they can now do so and handle the reports on their own!
Simply adjust the DMARC and SPF records we provided for them, through their own domain/DNS dashboard, and set their own, with the following caveats:
A custom SPF record MUST contain at least an include:_spf.crisp.email or redirect=_spf.crisp.email in the chain (so that Crisp MTAs are allowed, if you want to define more MTAs eg. their custom SMTP for instance)
A SPF or DMARC record MUST be set, it cannot be removed, and it MUST pass syntax validation (we are strict on this to prevent delivery issues due to user mistakes when playing w/ this customization).
Troubleshooting common issues
My DNS setup cannot be verified
If you had to fix a mistake and clicked on Verify domain setup again, Crisp may not succeed verifying changes immediately, even if all the records are properly setup. This is due to the DNS cache system, which takes time to refresh and propagate.
You may need to wait a few minutes to a few hours and re-enter your target email domain on Crisp, then verify again. In extreme cases, you may need to wait for a few days (if your DNS provider cache expiration values are very high).
My DNS provider is rejecting DMARC/DKIM records
DKIM requires underscores in the CNAME file. However, in the past, DNS didn't allow for underscores and some registrars still do not allow them to appear in the CNAME file. If you receive this type of error when you set up DKIM, the issue is on the registrar's side.
We recommend either of these three options:
- contact your registrar for assistance
- set up a secondary custom domain with a registrar that allows underscores
- switch DNS providers. We recommend using Cloudflare.
My DNS is validated, but images and links are broken with an HTTPS error
Your domain may have a CAA record configured, that prevents our SSL certification authority (Let's Encrypt), from issuing certificates for your domain name, and any of its sub-domains. If you are using a DNS CAA record, please add letsencrypt.org to the issue property of your existing CAA entries (you would add this exact CAA value: issue "letsencrypt.org" ).
Note that, while we were able to generate your SSL certificates the first time that you configured your email domain, if you add a CAA entry to your DNS records that would not allow our certification authority to issue certificates, our systems will be thus unable to proceed renewal of your certificate in the future, leading to broken images and links in your emails.
My users do not receive emails anymore
Outbound emails sent by Crisp are secured by SPF and DKIM. SPF specifies which SMTP server is allowed to send emails on your behalf, while DKIM cryptographically signs outgoing emails. DMARC then enforces a policy based on SPF and DKIM for email receivers, telling them to reject all invalid emails from your Custom Email Domain (ie. domains that fail both SPF and DKIM verifications).
In case you and/or your users do not receive emails anymore, check that the SPF, DKIM and DMARC records that Crisp provides are correctly set, and not altered. Feel free to contact us if you have any question; we may have DMARC logs of what happened to your domain regarding DKIM and SPF.
Setting up a custom SMTP is available with the Essentials and Plus Plans, starting at 95$ / mo
My users cannot email me anymore
You may read this article dedicated to troubleshooting inbound email issues to Crisp Inbox.
Inbound emails sent by your users to Crisp require that the MX record that we provide in the email setup is correctly set. If your users cannot email you anymore, or reply to emails sent by Crisp to them, double check that the DNS MX record is still set, and matches the one provided during the Custom Email Domain setup in Crisp.
The Custom Email Domain was properly setup, but emails still come from default domain
Custom Email Domain requires a Crisp Mini, Crisp Essentials or Crisp Plus subscription.
Check your website is still subscribed to Crisp plan, as it will be disabled if you downgraded your plan, or if you didn't renew it.
I cannot find a fix for my issues
Too bad! Before contacting us, try reseting the Custom Email Domain to the default one provided by Crisp:
Go to your website settings on your Crisp Dashboard .
Pick the target website you need to use the Custom Email Domain feature on
Scroll down, and open Advanced configuration , then select Custom Email Domain
Reset the field asking for the domain (wipe any value, set it to blank)
Save, and wait for a few seconds. The default Crisp domain will now be used
Now, try the setup process again. Refer to the setup section for instructions.
If you still cannot fix your issue, then contact us . We'll make sure your issue gets sorted out quickly.
Updated on: 04/11/2024
Thank you!