Subdomains vs root domains
Why you should send email from a subdomain instead of your root domain.
We recommend sending marketing email from a subdomain (e.g., mail.yourcompany.com) rather than your root domain (yourcompany.com).
Why subdomains
Reputation isolation
Your root domain's reputation affects everything — your website, transactional emails, employee emails, and marketing. If a marketing campaign damages your domain reputation, it can affect all of these.
A subdomain has its own reputation. If mail.yourcompany.com takes a hit, yourcompany.com and app.yourcompany.com are unaffected.
Common practice
Major email platforms (Loops, Mailchimp, Sendgrid) all recommend or require subdomains. Inbox providers expect marketing email to come from subdomains.
Easy setup
Setting up a subdomain in Sendra is the same process as setting up a root domain — add the DNS records and verify.
Choosing a subdomain
Common patterns:
mail.yourcompany.comhey.yourcompany.comnews.yourcompany.comupdates.yourcompany.com
Keep it short and recognizable.
When root domains are fine
If you're a small team sending low volume to an engaged list, sending from your root domain is acceptable. The risk of reputation damage is lower when your list is small and healthy.
Setting up
- Verify your subdomain in Sendra
- Add the DNS records to your DNS provider
- Set the subdomain as your default sending domain in workspace settings