Skip to content

Email Sending Concepts

Welcome to the BlueFox Email Glossary! Here you'll find definitions and explanations for common email marketing, development, and authentication terms organized alphabetically.

B

Bounce Rate

The percentage of emails that failed to reach recipients' inboxes, serving as a critical metric for deliverability and sender reputation.

Read more

Bounces

An email bounce occurs when an email is rejected by the recipient's server and returned to the sender, impacting deliverability and sender reputation.

Read more

C

Complaints

Email complaints occur when recipients mark messages as spam, indicating dissatisfaction with the content or sender, which can harm sender reputation.

Read more

CNAME Record

DNS records that create domain aliases by pointing one domain name to another, simplifying email service management.

Read more

D

DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail)

An email authentication method that adds a digital signature to verify the email hasn't been altered.

Read more

DNS (Domain Name System)

The internet's phone book that translates domain names into IP addresses and stores critical email configuration records.

Read more

DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance)

A protocol that uses SPF and DKIM to protect domains from unauthorized use.

Read more

E

Email Authentication

Methods and protocols used to verify the legitimacy of email senders and messages.

Read more

Email Headers

Hidden metadata that travels with email messages, containing vital information about routing, authentication, and technical properties.

Read more

Email Spoofing

The forgery of an email header to make messages appear to come from a trusted source.

Read more

H

Hard Bounce

A permanent email delivery failure that indicates the email address is invalid or no longer exists, requiring immediate removal from mailing lists.

Read more

I

IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol)

An email retrieval protocol that keeps messages on the server, allowing synchronization across multiple devices.

Read more

M

MX Record (Mail Exchange Record)

DNS records that specify which mail servers are responsible for accepting email on behalf of a domain.

Read more

P

POP3 (Post Office Protocol version 3)

An email retrieval protocol that typically downloads messages from the server to a local device.

Read more

R

Return-Path

The email address to which bounced messages are delivered when an email cannot be delivered.

Read more

S

Soft Bounce

A temporary email delivery failure that may resolve with time, often due to full mailboxes, server issues, or message size limits.

Read more

SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)

The standard protocol used for sending and routing email messages across the internet.

Read more

SPF (Sender Policy Framework)

An authentication method that specifies which mail servers are authorized to send email on behalf of your domain.

Read more

T

TLS (Transport Layer Security)

A cryptographic protocol that provides secure communication over networks for email transmission.

Read more

TXT Record

DNS text records that store email authentication policies like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to enable secure email delivery.

Read more