MXHelper checks everything about your domain's email and DNS setup in one pass and explains the results in plain English. This walkthrough shows you exactly what each part of a domain check means, screen by screen, using example.com as the example. The whole thing takes about ten seconds to run.

Step 1 — Enter a domain and run the check

On the home page, type any domain into the box 1 — your own, a client's, or one you're just curious about — and press Check 2. You don't need to log in or install anything; the lookup runs live against the domain's real DNS.

MXHelper home page check box with a domain typed in and the Check button highlighted — Enter a domain and press Check — no signup required. (click to enlarge)

Step 2 — Read the health score and provider summary

The summary bar gives you the headline at a glance. The health score 1 rates the whole configuration from 0 to 100 against current best practices and the sender rules Gmail, Yahoo, and Microsoft now enforce. MXHelper also auto-detects your mail provider and DNS host 2 from the fingerprints in your records, which is how it can tailor fix instructions to your exact setup.

Summary bar showing domain, registrar, detected mail and DNS provider, and a 100 out of 100 health score — The 0–100 health score, plus your auto-detected mail provider and DNS host. (click to enlarge)

Step 3 — Check your email authentication

This is the heart of the report: your SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and BIMI records. For each one:

1The colored dot tells you at a glance — green means it passes, red means it needs attention.
2The actual published record is shown in full, so you can see exactly what's there.
3Click the ⓘ icon on any row for a plain-English explanation of what that record does and why it matters.
4Flip on Guide me for guided, step-by-step help reading and fixing each record.

Email authentication table showing SPF, DKIM, DMARC and BIMI rows with pass/fail dots, the published record values, info icons, and the Guide me toggle — SPF, DKIM, DMARC and BIMI — each with a pass/fail dot, the live record, and a plain-English explainer. (click to enlarge)

New to these records? Read SPF, DKIM & DMARC explained for the big picture.

Step 4 — Review your DNS records and sender reputation

Below authentication, MXHelper lists your core DNS records 1 — A, MX, and NS — in plain text, so you can confirm your site and mail are pointed where they should be. It also checks your sender reputation 2: the reverse DNS (PTR) of each mail server and whether its IP appears on any major blocklist. (For a domain that sends no mail, like our example, there's nothing to score here.)

DNS records section listing A, MX and NS records, followed by the sender reputation summary — Your A, MX, and NS records, plus reverse-DNS and blocklist reputation for your mail servers. (click to enlarge)

Step 5 — Fix what's flagged

Any record with a red dot is something to fix. Turn on Guide me or open the ⓘ explainer, and MXHelper walks you through the exact record to add and how to add it at your DNS provider — Cloudflare, GoDaddy, Namecheap, and dozens more. For deeper background on each fix, see the focused guides:

How to set up DMARC — the safe, staged rollout to an enforced policy.
SPF records explained — syntax, the 10-lookup limit, and common mistakes.
DKIM explained — selectors, keys, and how signing works.

Re-run the check after you make a change — because the lookup is live, you'll see the result update as soon as DNS propagates.