BIMI Setup — Display Your Logo in the Inbox

What is BIMI?

BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) is an open-source standard that allows domain owners to display their logo directly in recipients' inboxes.

When your customers receive an email from your domain, they see your logo next to the sender's name in:

• 📧 Gmail (next to the avatar/initials)
• 📧 Apple Mail (iOS, macOS)
• 📧 Yahoo Mail
• 📧 Other clients supporting BIMI (Outlook, Thunderbird, etc.)

BIMI Benefits

1. Professional branding — Your logo appears directly in emails
2. Increased trust — Customers recognize your brand at first glance
3. Higher click-through rate — Visually distinct from phishing emails
4. Differentiation — You stand out from competitors
5. Free — No cost, just DNS configuration

Prerequisites

Before setting up BIMI, you must have completed these steps:

✅ 1. Active domain on Smailor

• Verified domain (ownership TXT record)
• MX records configured (email reception)
• SPF configured

✅ 2. DMARC configured

BIMI requires DMARC to work. Without DMARC, mail clients ignore BIMI.

Add this TXT record to your domain:

Host: _dmarc.example.com
Value: v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:[email protected]

Then change p=none to p=quarantine or p=reject once your SPF/DKIM is stable.

✅ 3. VMC Certificate (optional but recommended)

A VMC (Verified Mark Certificate) increases the likelihood that your logo will be displayed.

Options:

• Entrust — ~$249/year, valid 3 years
• DigiCert — ~$99/year
• Free: Some qualified brands can request an exemption

Step 1: Create a compliant SVG logo

Your logo must comply with SVG Tiny 1.2 to be accepted by BIMI.

Requirements

• Format: SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics)
• Dimensions: Square (100x100, 256x256, etc. — same width/height)
• ViewBox: <svg viewBox="0 0 256 256"> (or your dimensions)
• Size: Max 32 KB
• External resources: FORBIDDEN (no fonts, images, URLs)
• Colors: Full support (colors, gradients OK)
• Outlines: Make sure the logo is readable at small size

Minimal example

Optimization

1. Open your SVG in a text editor
2. Remove non-essential attributes (metadata, scripts)
3. Test with SVGOMG
4. Validate with BIMI Validator

Step 2: Host the logo

Your logo must be accessible via a public HTTPS URL.

Options:

• Free CDN: Cloudinary, Imgbb, Imgur
• Your server: Host directly on example.com/logo.svg
• GitHub Pages: Host the SVG in a public repo

Cloudinary example

# 1. Go to https://cloudinary.com
# 2. Sign up (free)
# 3. Upload your logo.svg
# 4. Copy the public URL
# Result: https://res.cloudinary.com/your-account/image/upload/v123456/logo.svg

Step 3: Configure BIMI in Smailor

1. Go to Settings > Domains > [Your domain]
2. Deliverability tab
3. Profile image — BIMI section
4. Paste the HTTPS URL of your logo
5. Click Save

Smailor will automatically generate the BIMI DNS record.

Step 4: Add the DNS record

Copy the DNS value generated by Smailor:

Type: TXT
Host: default._bimi.example.com
Value: v=BIMI1; l=https://your-cdn.com/logo.svg;

Then paste it into your DNS registrar (Cloudflare, OVH, Namecheap, etc.) as you did for SPF/DKIM.

Step 5: Validate and test

Validators

• Postmark BIMI Validator — Free, recommended
• Google Mail Secure — Check DNS
• ZoneFile Checker — Check your DNS

Step-by-step verification

1. Go to the Postmark validator
2. Enter default._bimi.example.com
3. Click Check
4. You will see:
   • ✅ Logo found
   • ✅ Valid SVG
   • ✅ DMARC detected
   • ✅ Ready for Gmail/Apple Mail

Real test

Send an email from your domain to a Gmail/Apple account.

• Gmail: Look next to the sender's name (may take up to 48h)
• Apple Mail: Look in the contact detail view

Troubleshooting

The logo does not appear

Possible causes:

"Logo too small to display"

Gmail/Apple display the logo at ~32-64 pixels. Make sure your logo is readable at this size.

"VMC required for this brand"

Some major brands (Apple, Google, Microsoft) require a validated VMC.
Solution: Purchase a certificate from Entrust or DigiCert (~$100-250/year).

Best practices

✅ Do:

• Use a simple, recognizable logo
• Test the logo at 32x32 and 64x64 pixels
• Keep a margin around the logo
• Update your logo regularly (every 2-3 years)

❌ Avoid:

• Logos with text that is too small
• Complex logos with too many details
• Complex gradients (prefer solid colors)
• Rectangular logos (use square)
• External resources (fonts, images)

Further reading

• BIMI Docs: https://bimigroup.org/
• BIMI Generator: https://bimigroup.org/bimi-generator/
• DMARC Guide: https://dmarc.postmarkapp.com/
• SVG Optimization: https://jakearchibald.github.io/svgomg/

Support

If you encounter any issues:

1. Use BIMI Validator to diagnose
2. Check DNS logs via your registrar's tools
3. Contact Smailor support

Have questions? Join our Discord or contact support.