Choose a good sender name and From address

What it means

Every email shows a From line made of two parts: a display name and an address. For example:

From: Anna from Example Shop <anna@example.com>

The display name is "Anna from Example Shop". The address is anna@example.com. Mailboxes show the name in the inbox list, and many people decide in one second whether to open, ignore or report the email based on it.

Why it matters

• Readers report emails as spam when they do not recognise the sender. Complaints damage your reputation with Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo.
• Receivers build a reputation for your domain over time. Changing the From address often means starting again.
• A From address on a free mailbox such as @gmail.com or @outlook.com, sent through another service, fails DMARC and is often rejected.
• A display name that pretends to be someone else (a bank, a big brand) looks like phishing and is filtered hard.

How to check

• Send a test email: on the home page, copy your unique test address, send it a normal email from the mailbox or tool you want to check, then open the report. The report shows the From address and checks that SPF, DKIM and DMARC pass for its domain.
• Use the Domain scanner: type the domain of your From address at /domain-scanner to see if it has SPF, DKIM and DMARC records.

How to fix it

Choose the address

1. Use your own domain, the one of your website: hello@yourdomain.com, not yourshop@gmail.com.
2. Authenticate that domain in every tool that sends for you, so SPF or DKIM passes for it and DMARC passes.
3. Keep it stable. Use the same address for the same kind of email: for example news@yourdomain.com for newsletters and orders@yourdomain.com for receipts.
4. Make it a real mailbox that can receive replies. Replies are a good signal for receivers, and they tell you what readers think.

Choose the display name

• Use the name people know you by: your brand, or "First name from Brand".
• Keep it short, around 20 to 30 characters, so it is not cut on phones.
• Do not put sales words, emojis or capitals in it ("BEST DEALS!!!").
• Do not put an email address inside the display name, such as "support@bank.com" <x@yourdomain.com>. Filters treat this as a spoofing trick.
• Keep the same name from one email to the next.

Good and bad examples

Good: Example Shop <news@example.com>
Good: Paul at Example <paul@example.com>
Bad:  FREE GIFT <promo123@example-mail.biz>
Bad:  Example Shop <exampleshop@gmail.com>

If you change brand or domain, warm up the new address slowly instead of moving all your sending at once.

Check that it is fixed

Send a new test email from the home page with your new From line. The report should show your own domain and SPF, DKIM and DMARC passing for it. Then send yourself a copy in Gmail and Outlook and look at how the name appears in the inbox list, on a phone and on a computer.