Whitelisting allows you to mark a sender as trusted, helping to ensure that their email messages are delivered to your mailbox and are less likely to be treated as spam.
This guide explains how to whitelist an email address in DirectAdmin.
What Is Email Whitelisting?
A whitelist is a list of trusted email addresses or domains.
When a sender is added to your whitelist, the spam filtering system will give their messages special consideration before classifying them as spam.
Examples include:
- Important customers
- Suppliers
- Staff members
- Accounting systems
- Website contact forms
Before You Start
Before creating a whitelist entry, make sure:
- You can log into DirectAdmin
- You know the email address or domain you want to trust
- The sender is legitimate
If you have not logged in yet, please see:
- How to Log Into DirectAdmin
Common Reasons to Whitelist a Sender
You may wish to whitelist:
- A customer whose emails keep going to spam
- A supplier sending invoices
- Automated notifications
- Website enquiry forms
- Payment gateway notifications
How to Whitelist an Email Address
Step 1 — Log Into DirectAdmin
Open your browser and visit: https://cp.yourdomain.co.za (replace yourdomain.co.za with your own domain name)
Enter your hosting username and password.
Step 2 — Open Spam Filter Settings
From the DirectAdmin dashboard:
Click: Extra Features
Then click: Configserver MSFE
Step 3 — Open the Whitelist Section
Click : Email Blacklist/Whitelist settings
Step 4 — Add the Email Address
Enter the sender's email address in the whitelist section.
Example: john@example.com
Step 5 — Save the Changes
Click: Change
The sender is now added to your whitelist.
Whitelisting an Entire Domain
You may also whitelist an entire domain.
Example: example.com or *@example.com
Note: One per line !!!
This will trust email originating from that domain.
⚠️ Only whitelist entire domains if you trust the organisation sending the email.
Important Notes
Whitelisting Does Not Guarantee Delivery
Although whitelisting improves delivery, messages may still be affected by:
- mailbox rules
- forwarding rules
- mailbox quotas
- email client filtering
Only Trust Known Senders
Do not whitelist:
- unknown senders
- suspicious domains
- unsolicited marketing senders
Review Whitelist Entries Periodically
Remove entries that are no longer required.
Troubleshooting
Email Still Going to Spam
Check:
- spam folder
- mailbox filters
- email client rules
- spelling of the whitelisted address
Whitelist Entry Not Working
Verify:
- email address entered correctly
- domain spelling correct
- settings saved successfully
Messages Still Missing
Check:
- mailbox quota
- spam folder
- forwarding settings
- server delivery logs
Too Many Senders Whitelisted
Excessive whitelisting can reduce the effectiveness of spam filtering.
Only whitelist trusted senders.
Helpful Tips
Whitelist Important Business Contacts
Useful examples include:
- suppliers
- customers
- payment providers
- hosting notifications
Use Domain Whitelisting Carefully
Whitelisting:
example.comtrusts all users from that domain.
Only do this when appropriate.
Combine With Good Email Security
Whitelisting works best when combined with:
- SPF
- DKIM
- strong passwords
- sensible spam filtering
Security Tips
- Only whitelist trusted senders
- Review whitelist entries regularly
- Keep mailbox passwords secure
- Monitor spam activity
- Remove unnecessary entries
