Have you ever opened an email and noticed the "On Behalf Of" in the sender's address? This is a common issue with a simple explanation. Continue reading to learn why it happens and how to fix it.
Why 'On Behalf Of' Appears
Every email you send has two key addresses:
Sender address – what the receiving email server sees when the email is sent.
'From' address – what your recipients see in their inbox.
For better email deliverability, use the same domain for both addresses. The "On Behalf Of" appears when there's a mismatch between the sender domain and the 'from' address domain. This means the email is sent from one domain (the sender's email) but appears to be coming from another (the 'from' sender domain).
Some email clients display this discrepancy more prominently than others. Outlook and Hotmail, in particular, show the technical sender address when domains don't match exactly.
In Omnisend, you can find the settings for the sender's and 'from' addresses here:
'From' address (domain) is selected in Store settings → Domains.
Sender's email is selected in Store settings → Email addresses.
Example
Here's what the raw sender and 'from' addresses look like:
Sender: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
In this case, the sender email is on mail.example.com, while the 'from' domain is example.com. This discrepancy triggers the "On Behalf Of" in some email clients.
While this setup works well with most major email providers, Outlook displays the sender's address as [email protected] on behalf of Info <[email protected]> instead of using only the display name and address from the 'From' header.
How to Fix It
To eliminate the "On Behalf Of" notation, ensure that the sender and 'from' addresses use the exact same domain.
In the example above, change the 'from' (sender) domain to mail.example.com. This removes the notation.
💡 Practical example: If your store domain is shop.example.com and your sender email is [email protected], change your sender email to [email protected] to align the domains.
Important: Subdomains and root domains are separate. If you verified mail.myshop.com, your sender email must be [email protected]. To use [email protected], verify the root domain (myshop.com) separately in Store Settings → Domains.
DKIM Verification Issue
In rare cases, the "On Behalf Of" can also occur when your emails are DKIM-signed with a domain that differs from the sender and 'from' address domains.
To resolve this, follow the DKIM verification instructions in Omnisend Store settings → Domains.
Technical Considerations
When configuring your email settings, pay close attention to the SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) records for your domain. These records help verify the authenticity of your emails and can impact how they are delivered and displayed by email clients.
While sometimes unexpected, the "On Behalf Of" is nothing to worry about. By understanding why it occurs and aligning your domains, you can ensure your emails display correctly.
FAQ
Does "On Behalf Of" affect email deliverability?
No. "On Behalf Of" is a cosmetic issue that affects how the sender's name appears in some email clients. Your emails will still be delivered. However, proper domain alignment improves overall deliverability and trust.
Why does Outlook still show "on behalf of" after I verified my domain?
Outlook and Hotmail require exact domain alignment. Check:
Sender email domain (Store Settings → Email Addresses) exactly matches verified domain (Store Settings → Domains). Subdomains and root domains are NOT interchangeable.
DNS changes have propagated (allow 24–48 hours).
Domain Warm-up is disabled if you want all emails from your custom domain.
For any additional help, reach out to our award-winning Support Team using the in-app chat or by sending an email to [email protected].