Most email deliverability guides are written for Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 users. If your domain is hosted with OVH or Infomaniak, the setup is different, the sending limits are tighter, and the pitfalls are specific to how French shared hosting works.

What Makes OVH and Infomaniak SMTP Different

Both providers are widely used by French freelancers and small businesses. Their shared hosting plans bundle email at no extra cost, which makes them attractive. The downside: shared infrastructure means shared sending limits, and getting authentication records right requires navigating each provider's control panel rather than a single standard interface.

When you connect your OVH or Infomaniak address to a cold email tool, the SMTP connection routes through their relay servers. The emails you send inherit the reputation of that relay, which makes proper SPF and DKIM configuration non-negotiable before you send a single prospecting sequence.

Configuring SPF

SPF (Sender Policy Framework) tells receiving mail servers which hosts are authorized to send email on behalf of your domain. Without a valid SPF record, your emails are likely to land in spam or be rejected outright.

On OVH

Log in to your OVH Manager, go to the DNS zone of your domain, and look for an existing TXT record starting with v=spf1. OVH often adds a default SPF record when you activate email. If one exists, edit it rather than create a second one. Two SPF records on the same domain cancel each other out and break authentication entirely.

The OVH include mechanism for shared hosting is include:mx.ovh.com. A minimal valid record for a domain that only sends through OVH looks like this:

v=spf1 include:mx.ovh.com ~all

If you also send from another tool (a CRM, an invoicing platform), add its include on the same line. One line, one TXT entry.

On Infomaniak

In the Infomaniak Manager, navigate to your domain's DNS settings. The SPF include for Infomaniak is include:mails.infomaniak.com. A basic record:

v=spf1 include:mails.infomaniak.com ~all

The ~all qualifier (softfail) is standard practice. Using -all (hardfail) is stricter but can cause problems if you ever send from an unlisted server, for example when testing a third-party integration.

DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to propagate. Verify with dig TXT yourdomain.com from your terminal once the delay has passed, or use any public DNS checker that shows raw TXT records.

Configuring DKIM

DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) adds a cryptographic signature to each outgoing email, allowing the receiving server to verify the message has not been tampered with. It also ties your emails to your domain's reputation rather than the IP address of the relay.

On OVH

OVH supports DKIM for its email plans. In the OVH Manager, under Emails > your domain, you will find a DKIM configuration option. OVH generates the key pair and displays the exact TXT record to add to your DNS zone. Copy the record name and value precisely.

One common pitfall: if you have both a shared hosting plan and an Exchange plan on OVH, each has its own DKIM configuration. Confirm you are configuring the one that matches the SMTP server you will actually use for sending.

On Infomaniak

Infomaniak supports DKIM and provides DNS records through their Manager. Navigate to your email hosting settings, find the DKIM section, and generate the key. The record name follows the format selector._domainkey.yourdomain.com.

After adding the record and waiting for propagation, verify by sending a test email to a Gmail or Outlook address and inspecting the raw message headers. A successful result shows dkim=pass in the Authentication-Results header.

Sending Limits on Shared Hosting

This is where many freelancers hit a wall. Shared hosting plans at both OVH and Infomaniak are designed for transactional email (invoices, order confirmations, contact form notifications), not outbound prospecting. They enforce per-hour and per-day limits on the number of messages sent through their relay.

These limits are not prominently documented. If you exceed them, emails queue up or are silently rejected, often without a clear bounce notification back to your sending tool. This matters especially for cold email sequences, where a missing bounce can leave an unresponsive contact in an active drip for days.

Infomaniak's business email plans (Mail+) offer higher thresholds than basic shared hosting, but they are still not designed for bulk outreach. OVH Pro and Exchange plans similarly raise the ceiling compared to mutualized hosting, but the same principle applies.

What this means in practice: set a conservative daily cap per account in your sending tool. In Fluenzr's Pro plan, you can configure per-account daily limits and use inbox rotation across multiple addresses to distribute volume while keeping each account within its host's acceptable range.

The Most Common Pitfalls

Duplicate SPF records. As covered above, two v=spf1 entries on the same domain break SPF. Always audit existing DNS records before adding a new one.

DMARC without DKIM. If you add a DMARC policy with p=reject or p=quarantine but DKIM is not configured or not verified, legitimate emails will fail DMARC checks. Set DMARC only after both SPF and DKIM are confirmed to pass.

Using a role address for outreach. Addresses like contact@, info@, or support@ are frequently targeted by spam filters and start with lower trust. Use a personal or professional format (firstname@ or firstname.lastname@) for prospecting.

Launching sequences without a warm-up period. A freshly configured SMTP account has no sending history. Inbox providers treat it as an unknown, which hurts placement from the start. Fluenzr includes built-in email warm-up designed to build reputation gradually before you run your first sequence.

Ignoring bounce management. OVH and Infomaniak relays do return bounce notifications, but not all tools parse them consistently. Fluenzr processes bounces at the sequence level and suppresses contacts automatically to protect your sender reputation.

Connecting Your OVH or Infomaniak SMTP to Fluenzr

Fluenzr natively supports SMTP, which is the primary way OVH and Infomaniak users connect. No need to switch to Gmail or Microsoft. In your Fluenzr account settings, add an email account, choose SMTP, and enter:

OVH: server ssl0.ovh.net, port 465 (SSL/TLS) or port 587 (STARTTLS), with your full email address and account password.
Infomaniak: server mail.infomaniak.com, port 465 or port 587, same credential format.

If your OVH plan is a Pro or MX Plan, the server address may differ; check the "Email" section of your OVH Manager for the exact outgoing SMTP hostname shown for your plan.

Once connected, Fluenzr's sequence automation, reply detection, and deliverability monitoring work the same way as with any other provider. You keep your existing domain and address, and you gain the sending controls that shared hosting alone does not offer.

Create a free Fluenzr account to connect your first SMTP account. Use code FOUNDING50 for 50% off any paid plan for life, available to the first 50 paying users.

Key Takeaways

Always check for an existing SPF record before adding one. Two records break authentication.
OVH shared hosting uses include:mx.ovh.com; Infomaniak uses include:mails.infomaniak.com.
Enable DKIM through each provider's control panel and verify headers before sending sequences.
Shared hosting plans impose per-hour and per-day sending limits that are not designed for prospecting. Set daily caps per account and use rotation if you manage multiple addresses.
Warm up a new SMTP account before starting cold email campaigns.
Role addresses (contact@, info@) underperform personal addresses in outreach contexts.
Fluenzr connects via SMTP natively. No provider switch required.

OVH and Infomaniak SMTP: Email Deliverability Step by Step