WQI.web​qualityindex
Method v1.2.0 86 live / 86 total factors methodology

methodology / Email & Communications / #85

Email forwarding service detected (improvmx, forwardemail, etc.)

#85 · Variable · Web Quality · weighted · Email & Communications · weight 0.3% · impl implemented · method v1.2.0

Web Quality factor

This factor is part of Web Quality — the weighted 0..100 score that sits above Web Standards. Its weight depends on what kind of site is being measured. Web Standards items take priority; this factor only enters the score once Web Standards passes.

Base weight
0.2 applied to every site type unless overridden below
Why this weight
Email forwarding service detection — descriptive; slight positive for solo operators.

Per-site-type overrides

Site type Weight Δ vs base
Blog 0.3 +0.1
Personal site 0.4 +0.2

Site types not listed inherit the base weight.

Same factor, two depths.

What we measure

Email forwarding services (ImprovMX, ForwardEmail, Pobox) bounce mail through a relay before delivering it. Convenient for solo operators, but they break SPF/DKIM authentication and damage deliverability over time.

How to improve your score

Switch to direct hosting (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Fastmail). Forwarders are fine for personal use; not for a business expecting reliable delivery.

Facts

Ticket
WEBQ-85
Category
Email & Communications
Status
live
Weight
0.3%
Data source
—
Service cost
Free — MX target classification
Scoring impl
implemented
Method version
v1.2.0

Implementation notes

Pattern-match MX targets against known forwarder domains.

Scoring

Scoring formulas are versioned with the methodology. The current method (v1.2.0) maps raw measurements to pass, warn, fail. Factor weights determine how much each contributes to the composite — see the methodology index for the full table.

Version history

Version Change Date
v1.2.0 Factor introduced. Status: live. Scoring impl: implemented. 2026-04-25

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