The DontSendMeACard platform processes tens of thousands of donations every year, supports more than 2,000 charities with their fundraising activities, and has welcomed over 100,000 users who have contributed and sent e-cards.
Behind the scenes, we're continually investing in the technology that powers our service. As online security threats evolve and our platform continues to grow, it's important that we keep improving the systems and infrastructure that our charities, donors and users rely on.
Over the past year, we've made some significant improvements to both our account security and hosting architecture, helping to deliver a faster, more secure and more resilient experience.
Strengthening Account Security with Web-Engine Sentry
We've recently upgraded the account registration and login systems on DontSendMeACard.com to incorporate Web-Engine Sentry, a security product developed by our co-founder, Craig Lawson.
One of the most significant changes is the introduction of passwordless sign-in, making it easier for users to access their accounts without needing to remember or manage a password.
The process is simple: users enter their email address, receive a one-time security code in their inbox, and enter that code to access their account. There's no password to remember and no complicated CAPTCHA challenges to navigate.
This is made possible through Web-Engine Sentry, which provides both email verification and additional protection against automated bots and fraudulent account creation.
Sentry now protects all three of our public account entry points:
Security is built into the process at multiple levels. Verification results are confirmed directly between our server and Web-Engine Sentry, rather than simply relying on information supplied by the user's browser. Sign-in codes are also single-use and expire after 15 minutes, adding another layer of protection.
We've also made the verification process more accessible. Users can choose to complete an interactive security puzzle or verify using an emailed security code, providing an alternative for those who find visual challenges difficult.
For anyone who prefers the traditional approach, email and password sign-in remains available as an alternative.
These improvements provide a more streamlined experience for our users while strengthening the security protecting the thousands of charity partners and contributors who use our platform.
We're particularly pleased to be using Web-Engine Sentry, demonstrating how our own team's software development expertise is helping to deliver practical improvements to the DontSendMeACard service.
Craig has written a more detailed technical article explaining how we've implemented passwordless sign-in, replaced our previous CAPTCHA-based approach and integrated Sentry into the platform.
Read more: Passwordless sign-in for DontSendMeACard, powered by Web-Engine Sentry.
You can also find out more about Web-Engine Sentry.
Our new passwordless sign-in, making it easier for users to access their accounts without needing to remember or manage a password.
Users simply enter the one-time security code sent to their inbox to access their account
Improving Reliability Through Hosting and Architectural Changes
Over the past year, we've also undertaken a substantial transformation of the infrastructure that hosts DontSendMeACard.com.
We've moved away from traditional dedicated hosting to a modern, Kubernetes-based cloud hosting environment.
This wasn't simply a change of hosting provider. It required significant architectural changes to the application itself.
Previously, the platform operated using a more monolithic architecture. We've now broken this down into a series of smaller, independently managed containers, running across a highly available infrastructure supported by a database cluster.
We're also running multiple HTTP servers to handle incoming customer requests, helping to distribute workloads and reduce reliance on any individual server.
What does this mean for our users?
These changes represent a significant step forward in how we operate and maintain DontSendMeACard.com, ensuring that our infrastructure is better equipped to support our growing community of charities and users.
Continually Investing in Your Confidence
At DontSendMeACard, we understand that people trust us with more than just sending e-cards. They trust us to support their fundraising, process their donations and provide a dependable service for their charitable activities.
That's why investing in security, performance and reliability is an ongoing priority for our team.
Our development and infrastructure improvements reflect our commitment to continually evolving the platform, adopting modern technologies and providing the best possible experience for everyone who uses it.
Join us this Christmas and
send your e-cards, supporting your favourite charities while enjoying a service that's continually improving behind the scenes.
Posted by DontSendMeACard Team, November 2026
If you'd like to help spread the word about our initiative of the cost of cards helping charities, re-posting this content is a great way to do so. Thank you!
DSMAC (DontSendMeACard) turns the cost of cards into donations for charities that rely on giving. This is made possible with our innovative system that provides you with volumes of e-greetings that you can send in exchange for your donations in lieu of cards.
About UsCards are designed by our charity partners so the artwork that you can send is truly aligned to the causes that you care about.
