Why Set Up Mailgun?

Mailgun ensures your enrollment emails, tour confirmations, and parent communications reach their inbox—not spam. This guide walks you through setting up Mailgun with your childcare center's domain.

Before You Start

You'll need access to your domain's DNS records. If you're not sure where to find these, we'll show you how to look them up in Step 5.

Step 1: Create Your Mailgun Account

  1. Sign up at https://signup.mailgun.com/new/signup
  2. Check your email inbox and verify your email address

Step 2: Add Your Domain

  1. In Mailgun, click Sending > Add New Domain
  2. Choose between your main domain or a subdomain (see below)

Main Domain vs. Subdomain

Main domain (example.com): Only use this if you're NOT using Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or any other email provider with this domain. Most childcare centers should use a subdomain instead.

Subdomain (recommended): Create a subdomain like:

  • mg.yourchildcarecenter.com
  • mail.yourchildcarecenter.com
  • enrollio.yourchildcarecenter.com
Pro Tip: We recommend using a subdomain so your staff email isn't affected. Your parents will never see this—it's just for technical setup.
  1. Make sure to select US as your region (not EU)
  2. Click Add Domain
[SCREENSHOT: Mailgun add domain screen showing subdomain entry with US region selected]

Step 3: Find Where Your DNS Records Are Hosted

Mailgun will show you 5 DNS records to add. But first, you need to know where to add them.

  1. Go to MXToolbox.com
  2. Enter your domain (just yourchildcarecenter.com—no http://)
  3. Look at the bottom of the results for "Reported by" — this tells you your DNS provider
[SCREENSHOT: MXToolbox results page highlighting the "Reported by" section at bottom]

Common DNS providers for childcare centers include GoDaddy, Namecheap, SiteGround, and HostGator.

Step 4: Add the DNS Records

Now that you know your DNS provider, add all 5 DNS records that Mailgun shows you. Here are setup guides for the most common providers:

If your provider isn't listed, the steps are usually similar—look for a DNS or Domain Management section in your provider's dashboard.

Pro Tip: DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to fully propagate, but usually complete within 15-30 minutes.

Step 5: Verify Your Domain

After adding the DNS records, return to Mailgun and click Verify DNS Settings. Once verified, you'll see green checkmarks next to each record.

[SCREENSHOT: Mailgun DNS verification screen showing all records verified with green checkmarks]

Step 6: Connect Mailgun to Enrollio

  1. In Mailgun, grab your API Key (we'll show you where in this article)
  2. In Enrollio, go to Settings > Email Services
  3. Paste your Mailgun API Key and domain
  4. Click Save
[SCREENSHOT: Enrollio Email Services settings page with Mailgun API key fields]

Step 7: Send a Test Email

Always test your setup before sending to parents:

  1. Go to Conversations in Enrollio
  2. Send yourself a test email
  3. Check that it arrives in your inbox (not spam)

Learn more about sending test emails.

Troubleshooting

DNS records not verifying? Wait 30 minutes and try again. Some DNS providers take longer to update.

Emails going to spam? Make sure all 5 DNS records are verified. The SPF and DKIM records are especially important for deliverability.

Still stuck? Contact our support team—we're here to help!