SiteWorx’s Bounce Message option determines how mail to nonexistent local recipients is handled. This domain-level decision is separate from a full mailbox, a rejected external message or a website contact-form failure.
IN THIS ARTICLE
01 Information to have ready
Confirm local delivery is intended and inventory valid mailboxes, aliases and groups. Consider the effect on customers who mistype an address before choosing silent deletion.
02 Review SiteWorx mailbox bounce settings
- Open Hosting Features > Email > Overview for the correct domain.
- Find Bounce Message and review the current setting.
- Choose On to return the documented nonexistent-recipient notice, or Off to silently discard such messages. Save the intended policy.
- Test from an address you control using one deliberately nonexistent recipient. Check the expected result without sending bulk tests.
- Send a separate test to a valid mailbox and confirm its delivery. Document the decision so later staff understand why a mistyped address may produce no reply.
03 Confirm the expected result
Unknown-recipient handling should match the chosen policy while valid recipients remain unaffected. A silent discard should be treated as intentional message loss for that unknown address.
04 Troubleshoot unexpected results
If a valid address fails, verify its spelling, existence, aliases, routing and quota. Changing the unknown-recipient policy will not correct a broken mailbox. For unexpected bounce traffic, retain headers and ask the provider to assess the actual mail flow.
05 Use one delivery report to identify the next useful check
A bounce should be read as evidence about a particular delivery attempt. Keep the recipient, approximate sending time and diagnostic code together. Do not assume that every mailbox has the same problem because one destination rejected a message.
| Observation | Next useful check |
|---|---|
| Recipient address rejected | Confirm the exact spelling and whether that mailbox exists |
| Quota or storage error | Check the affected mailbox or account's storage |
| Authentication or policy rejection | Review the actual diagnostic and sending route |
| Temporary deferral | Check the queue and retry status before manually resending |
Do not create a catch-all address or disable spam controls to solve an unrelated authentication problem. Diagnose the reported cause and test one corrected attempt.
What information can I safely send us?
Include the delivery report and redact confidential message content. Preserve the error code and relevant mail-server names because those help us identify the route. Never include the mailbox password. When a customer reports not receiving mail, ask them to check their spam folder, but do not use that as a substitute for investigating a real rejection.
Does Off save rejected messages somewhere else?
The documented Off behaviour silently deletes mail to nonexistent recipients. It is not a quarantine or archive. Use a deliberate monitored catchall only when you actually need to collect those messages.