Technically Competent Handling of Website Inquiry Responses
Sure — here’s your prompt rewritten in plain English:
“Can our website send an email that looks like it came from the customer’s email address when they fill out a contact form? Or will that cause problems with email security checks like SPF and DKIM?”
Sending an email “as if from” the customer’s email address (i.e., using the visitor’s email address in the From: header of your server-generated email) does violate SPF and likely DKIM, and can cause your email to be rejected, flagged as spam, or silently discarded.
Here’s why:
1. SPF Violation
SPF (Sender Policy Framework) checks whether the sending server is authorized to send email on behalf of the domain in the MAIL FROM / Return-Path. If your mail server is sending from visitor@gmail.com, but you’re not a Gmail server, SPF will fail.
2. DKIM Violation
DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) ensures the content and sender are authenticated by a cryptographic signature from the sender’s domain. You don’t have the private key for gmail.com, so you can’t sign mail from gmail.com, and any DKIM check will fail.
3. DMARC Consequences
DMARC builds on SPF and DKIM. If either fails (and the From: domain is unauthenticated), and the domain has a DMARC p=reject or p=quarantine policy, the message will likely be blocked or spammed.
Proper Way to Handle This
Instead of spoofing the user’s email, do this:
Correct method:
- From:
inquiry@yourdomain.com - Reply-To:
visitor@example.com← this is the visitor’s email
This allows your server to:
- Authenticate properly via SPF/DKIM/DMARC for
yourdomain.com - Still let your team click “Reply” and respond directly to the visitor
Summary
| Header | Use |
|---|---|
From: | Your authenticated domain (e.g., noreply@yourdomain.com) |
Reply-To: | The visitor’s actual email (e.g., visitor@example.com) |
Return-Path: | Your mail server’s bounce address (same domain as From) |
This approach ensures maximum deliverability, DMARC compliance, and still gives your team the info they need to respond.
