John

Are Your Emails to Gmail Accounts Bouncing?

Customer Service, ecommerce, Email, Google, Marketing, Tips / By /

If you send email to Gmail users, this information is extremely important! It is about getting your email delivered to Gmail users.

Don't think it is important? Consider this: In the United States, Gmail holds a 53% market share for email clients! (Source: TechReport)

While Google has not widely publicized it, they are bouncing legitimate emails regularly. With that in mind, I asked Bard, Google's AI application: "Does google bounce email if the sender account does not have a DKIM record?"

Bard's reply: "Yes, Google will bounce emails from sender accounts that do not have both SPF and DKIM records. This is because SPF and DKIM are two email authentication mechanisms that help to prevent email spoofing and fraud. Spoofing is when someone sends an email pretending to be from a different sender, such as a legitimate company or organization. Fraud is when someone uses email to scam or deceive people.

SPF (Sender Policy Framework) is a DNS record that specifies which IP addresses are authorized to send email from a particular domain. DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) is a cryptographic signature that is added to an email message to verify its authenticity.

When Google receives an email, it checks the SPF and DKIM records for the sender domain. If the email does not pass these checks, it will be bounced back to the sender."

So, NOW you must have a "SPF" and a "DKIM" record in your Domain DNS. If you do not have those records created, email sent to a Gmail account will likely not be delivered.

For many years when most Domain Registrars created a new domain registration, they automatically generated a SPF record, but not DKIM records. That remains true for nearly all domain registrars unless you purchase email services through them.

Ask your email provider if your domain has SPF and DKIM records in your DNS records. It takes time to create any DNS record, so expect to be billed by whoever creates the records for you.

If you are a WebWise Design & Marketing client, and need DNS records created, we will email you about them, and explain what you need to have done.

 

New Website for Collision Specialists

Announcement, Web Development / By /
Collision Specialists SSE, Inc. has been in the collision repair business since 1967, when Jack Slack opened the Livingston location. With ten highly-skilled collision repair specialists at their Fennimore and Livingston facilities, it is the largest collision repairer in the area.

Greg and Sharon Slack decided it was time to refresh their website with a new look that better displays the extent of their services. We also urged them to talk more about their extensive and generous community support initiatives.

The team at Collision Specialists understands how disruptive accidents are for their customers. Their readily available loaner cars and rental cars can help the experience be less of a hassle.

With Master Certified Technicians, your vehicle will be repaired expertly, and an office staff that makes you feel like you are a long-time friend, you will know why you chose Collision Specialists to repair your vehicle.

Check out their new website at thecollisionspecialist.com and bookmark it!

History: It’s 1997 and you want a website!

ecommerce, Internet, Web Development / By /

Since WebWise Design & Marketing was born in 1995 and added two employees in late 1996, and launched our first ecommerce website in February of 1997, we know what it was like to create websites in 1997.

Walsh's logo

In rural, southwest Wisconsin, the first challenge was connecting to the Internet. There were no local ISPs, so it was a long distance call from Fennimore to Madison, Wisconsin to connect via modem

The three of us at WebWise Design & Marketing each had a modem, though they all connected to the same telephone line, so only one of us could be online at a time. In 1996, we were using 28,000 "baud" modems even though a 56k modem had been invented. By June of 1997, we were overjoyed to have one computer with a 56.K modem through which we did all our file uploads.

Using that high-speed connection, we launched of first ecommerce website which you may view on the WayBackMachine.

Enough of that! Here is an excellent post about building a website in 1997 by Jay Hoffman on his History of the Web website.

Enjoy!

Dakota Hillside Inn — New Website!

Announcement, Web Design, Web Development / By /

We at WebWise Design & Marketing recently had the privilege of meeting and working with Barb and Ron Redwing. They are owners of the Dakota Hillside Inn nestled in the hillside along Grant County Road N in southwest Wisconsin, between Cassville and Potosi, WI.

Dakota Hillside Inn

The word unique is often overused, but that is not so when it comes to the Dakota Hillside Inn—built and hand-crafted with love and dedication from reclaimed wood from barns, sheds, homes, and other buildings in the area. The craftsmanship, design, and thoughtfulness provide an experience you will not find in guest houses and rental cabins elsewhere.

The Redwings live here and invite guests to stay with them for a night or two to enjoy this scenic area of southwest Wisconsin. They rent two suites. Each has a private entrance, living/dining area, bedroom, bath, and deck. Guests also have access to and use of their Common Areas.

The Dakota Hillside Inn property is as unique and beautiful as the interior. Barb's flowers and plants are amazing.

And…the Mississippi River and McCartney Landing are only 400 yards from the Dakota Hillside Inn (They have kayaks to rent!)

Do yourself a favor and book a stay at the Dakota Hillside Inn!