As part of enabling HTTPS for click and open tracking within your email environment, this guide outlines the technical requirements and available implementation options. Once configuration is completed on your side, Structured will finalize activation in our system (via our ESP, SendGrid).
Please review the options below and let the Structured Support Team know which implementation path you plan to use.
Structured can answer general questions about the process and requirements. However, the technical configuration must be managed by your team, and Structured cannot provide support for the specific CDN or proxy solution selected.
Background
By default, click and open tracking links generated by our platform use HTTP.
If your organization requires HTTPS for security, compliance, or internal policy, the tracking domain must be served over HTTPS using infrastructure you control.
Structured cannot provide SSL certificates for partner-owned domains. If HTTPS is enforced by your environment, users may experience browser warnings unless routing is properly configured.
Required Work on Your Side
To enable HTTPS tracking, your tracking domain (e.g., urlXXXX.partnerdomain.com) must route through a CDN or reverse proxy managed by your team. This service must:
Present a valid SSL certificate for the tracking domain
Forward requests to Structured’s tracking endpoint (via SendGrid)
Preserve the original Host header so tracking data resolves correctly
Any enterprise-grade CDN or reverse proxy solution is acceptable.
Implementation Options
Option A: Use a CDN (Recommended)
Examples: Cloudflare, Akamai, Fastly, Azure Front Door, AWS CloudFront
The CDN should:
Terminate HTTPS for the tracking domain
Forward traffic to Structured’s tracking endpoint (via SendGrid)
Preserve the Host header
Disable caching for this hostname
This is the most common and scalable configuration.
Option B: Deploy a Reverse Proxy
Examples: NGINX, Apache, F5, AWS API Gateway
The proxy should:
Serve HTTPS using a valid SSL certificate
Proxy all tracking traffic to Structured’s tracking endpoint
Maintain Host: <tracking-domain> in the request header
Option C: Delegate Only the Tracking Subdomain
You may delegate the tracking subdomain (e.g., urlXXXX.partnerdomain.com) to a CDN or alternate DNS provider.
This allows full control of SSL and proxy behavior without modifying your primary DNS infrastructure.
DNS Requirements
After selecting an implementation approach, update the DNS record for your tracking domain.
Example DNS Entry:
<tracking-subdomain> CNAME <proxy-or-cdn-endpoint>
This replaces the default CNAME created during the initial (non-HTTPS) setup.
No DNS updates are required inside Structured after this change.
Verification Checklist
Before activation, please confirm:
The tracking domain responds correctly over HTTPS with a valid SSL certificate
A sample tracking link functions when switching from HTTP to HTTPS
Your CDN/proxy correctly forwards requests to Structured’s tracking backend (via SendGrid)
The Host header is preserved end-to-end
Structured can assist with high-level validation if needed.
What Structured Will Handle
Once you confirm your HTTPS configuration is working:
Structured will submit the request to enable HTTPS click and open tracking for your subaccount (via SendGrid)
No UI or dashboard actions are required from your team
After activation, all tracking links will automatically use HTTPS
Next Steps
Please review the implementation options and notify the Structured Support Team which approach you plan to use. While Structured can support general questions about the process, all implementation work must be completed by your team or your chosen CDN/proxy vendor.
Once your HTTPS routing is fully configured and validated, Structured will finalize activation on our side.