orders@, shop@ and returns@: Email Addresses for an Online Store

An online store sends more email than it receives: confirmations, shipping notices, receipts, abandoned-cart reminders. Then it receives questions about all of them. The addresses need to be planned around that split, so that automated mail comes from an address that passes authentication and customer replies land with a person. This guide sets out the small set of addresses a store needs, which platform settings make notifications come from your domain, and how to route the rest.

Quick answer

Three addresses cover most stores: orders@ as the sender for order and shipping notifications (and the address replies to them reach), shop@ or hello@ for general questions on the website, and returns@ for the returns process. Make each a group that delivers to the right people, authenticate the platform that sends the notifications, and keep marketing on a separate address such as news@.

The addresses and their jobs

• orders@: the From address on order confirmations, payment receipts and shipping updates. Customers reply to it with "where is my parcel", so it must reach a person; a group with the owner and whoever packs orders works.
• shop@ or hello@: the public contact on the website and social profiles for pre-sale questions. The hello vs info guide helps choose the word.
• returns@: a separate address so returns are not lost among order questions, and so a returns policy page can give one clear instruction.
• news@ or offers@: the sender for newsletters and promotions, kept apart from orders@ so a spam complaint on a promotion never harms delivery of a receipt.
• accounts@ or billing@: for supplier invoices and payment providers, not for customers.

Make platform notifications come from your domain

• Shopify: Settings, Notifications, set the sender email to orders@yourdomain.com, then follow the authentication steps Shopify shows for the domain. Shopify sends the notifications from its own servers, so its records must be added to your DNS (its SPF include and DKIM records) for the From address to pass; the dashboard tells you when they are verified.
• WooCommerce: WordPress sends order emails through the web server unless an SMTP plugin is installed. Install one and send through orders@yourdomain.com on port 587; the WordPress SMTP guide has the settings. Set the From address under WooCommerce, Settings, Emails.
• A custom store or a headless setup: send through the API from orders@; the order confirmation guide covers content and timing.
• Marketplace sellers (Etsy, Amazon, eBay): the marketplace emails the customer; your address is for the seller account and support contact. Use shop@ and keep it monitored.

Keep SPF under control

A store quickly accumulates senders: the platform, a newsletter tool, a helpdesk, a review service. Each wants an include in SPF, and the record breaks at ten lookups. Add only the services that genuinely send as your domain, and prefer those that can also sign with DKIM for your domain. Run the record through the free SPF checker after each addition.

Routing the replies

• Reply-To on notifications should be orders@ (the default when it is also the From). Never a no-reply address; customers reply to receipts with real questions.
• Set an auto-reply on returns@ that states the steps and the time frame; it answers half the questions before anyone reads them.
• Create rules that file marketplace and supplier mail out of the main inbox so customer questions are visible.
• If you adopt a helpdesk tool later, point shop@ and returns@ at it and keep orders@ as the notification sender.

Common questions

Should order emails come from my name or the store name?

The store name as the display name, orders@ as the address. Customers search their inbox for the store, not for you.

Is a noreply@ address ever right for a store?

Rarely. The only case is high-volume system mail that cannot be answered, and even then route replies somewhere; the no-reply guide explains the trade-offs.

How many mailboxes do I need?

Usually one or two real mailboxes for people, with orders@, shop@ and returns@ as groups delivering into them. On OquMail groups are free and do not use a mailbox slot.

Want to see how your own domain is set up? Use the free SPF checker: it runs in your browser and stores nothing.