Hey folks, I've got a web app built with React, hosted on Digital Ocean and using Google Workspace and GitHub. The app is supposed to send users custom reminders for upcoming bills, but I stopped receiving those email reminders back in March. When I approached my development team about it, they told me that the SMTP service they were using had blocked our server's IP, which is why the emails aren't being sent. They offered two solutions: 1) Change servers completely and migrate everything to a new one, or 2) Switch email providers, which they claim would take about 1.5 days to implement. I'm skeptical since we faced a similar issue a few months ago and they managed to resolve it then. Are they being truthful about the problem, or do you think they're just trying to cover up a mistake?
2 Answers
Honestly, the email game is pretty controlled by major players like Google and Microsoft now. If you're trying to send from your own server, there's a good chance your emails are getting blocked simply because they're perceived as untrustworthy. Your devs are probably right about needing to pay for a service like SendGrid or Mailgun that knows how to get emails delivered.
It sounds like they are saying you need to stop using your own servers for email and switch to a verified email service that guarantees delivery. I'd recommend going with their Option 2. Changing the server completely seems drastic, and you might be paying for unnecessary downtime. Try asking them for recommendations on reliable email services, and see if you can negotiate how long the transition will take. If all goes well, switching providers shouldn't take more than a few hours if their code is solid.
That's not entirely true. If you set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC on your domain, you should be fine. If things are getting blocked even after setting those up, you might have a different issue like poor email content or flooding the service.