Emails are a critical part of a WordPress site. They are the medium by which users communicate feedback, order confirmations, password resets, user notifications, etc.
WordPress uses the default PHP mail function to send emails from your site. Unfortunately, in some cases, the emails sent are not delivered or flagged as spam. This guide will show you how to configure WP Mail SMTP for reliable email delivery in WordPress.
The Critical Role of Email Delivery in WordPress
Nearly every WordPress site, whether an e-commerce store, online course platform, blog, podcast, business site, or membership site, relies on email in some capacity. Email is crucial for sending notifications, processing transactions, managing user accounts, handling form submissions, and more.
However, WordPress’s default email method relies on the PHP mail() function, which could be more reliable. Many email services, such as Gmail and Yahoo, tend to mark emails sent via this function as spam. Sometimes,
When your WordPress site experiences failed email delivery, it can result in lost sales, unverified registrations, users’ inability to access their accounts, reduced trust, and even missed business opportunities. This is where an SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) plugin like WP Mail SMTP becomes invaluable.
Overview of WP Mail SMTP: Why and When You Need It
WP Mail SMTP is a WordPress plugin developed by WPForms to solve the problem of poor email deliverability in WordPress sites. This tool allows you to send emails using a reliable SMTP email delivery service instead of the default PHP `mail()` function.
In so doing, the reliability of the emails from your WordPress site is significantly increased, thereby reducing the chances of them getting blocked or marked as spam.
If your WordPress site experiences frequent email delivery issues or you use tools like FluentCRM to send automated email campaigns, you need to configure WP Mail SMTP on your WordPress site.
In a nutshell, here’s why you need WP Mail SMTP:
- To increase email deliverability
- To ensure transactional emails are delivered
- To improve your site’s reputation
- For detailed Email Logs
WP Mail SMTP Installation and Setup
Let’s see how to install and set up WP Mail on any WordPress site.
From your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New Plugin.
On the search bar, find WP Mail SMTP and install the WP Mail SMTP using WPForms. Then, proceed to activate it.
After you activate the WP Mail SMTP plugin, the setup wizard page will open. The wizard guides you through configuring your preferred mailer. Simply click the “Let’s Get Started” button and follow the six-step prompts.
You can close and skip the setup wizard and configure other settings for WP Mail SMTP first, such as the sender’s name and email address. You can access the setup wizard anytime from the WP Mail SMTP settings page.
Configuring Mailer Services in WP Mail SMTP
Detailed Configuration for SMTP
Here’s how to configure the WP Mail SMTP plugin for sending emails from your WordPress site.
Go to WP Mail SMTP > Settings.
Enter the From Email and From Name, which will appear as the sender details when an email is sent from your website. Enabling the “Force From Email” and “Force From Name” options will override settings from other plugins.
When you are done, click the Save Settings button at the bottom of the page.
Other optional settings available in the free version of WP Mail SMTP can be found in the Misc. tab. Click on the Save Settings button to save any adjustments you made to this section.
Setting Up and Integrating SendGrid, Mailgun, and Other APIs
With your preferred SMTP settings configured, you can choose a mailer and integrate it into your WordPress site. The WP Mail SMTP plugin supports several mailing services, including SendGrid, MailGun, Send Layer, Brevo, SMTP.com, Gmail, etc.
How to Configure SendGrid in WP Mail SMTP
SendGrid is a popular transactional email provider and one of the supported mailer services for WP Mail SMTP. It delivers over 35 billion emails monthly and is reliable. SendGrid allows you to send up to 100 emails daily.
To connect SendGrid to your WordPress site, select SendGrid from the list of available options.
Then, scroll down and enter your SendGrid API key and sending domain (as configured in your SendGrid account). You can create one for free if you do not have a SendGrid account.
Then click on the Save Settings button.
How to Configure MailGun in WP Mail SMTP
MailGun is another popular transactional email provider that can be integrated with WP Mail SMTP. First-timers can take advantage of a free trial of up to three months. They also offer a “Pay as You Go” plan that lets you pay for what you use and fixed monthly plans.
To use MailGun for your SMTP setup, select MailGun from the list of supported options.
Next, fill in the form below with your MailGun API key, the Domain Name associated with your MailGun account, and your preferred mailing region.
Then, Click the Save Settings button.
Apart from SendGrid and MailGun, other eligible options can be used to set up WP Mail SMTP on your WordPress site. Similarly, you may have to create an account with these providers to get their API keys and other necessary information.
Verifying and Testing Your Email Configuration
After configuring WP Mail SMTP on your WordPress site, you need to test and verify that it will work correctly.
Luckily, WP Mail SMTP comes with an in-built email testing feature that you can use to send test emails to any email address and check for deliverability.
To use this feature, go to WP Mail SMTP > Tools > Email Test.
Enter the email address to which to send the mail, and hit the Send Email button.
Did you get the email? Did it land in your inbox or spam folder? If it lands in your inbox, it’s perfect. If you didn’t get the email or it went straight away to spam, then you need to troubleshoot the issue.
Troubleshooting Email Delivery Issues
If you are having issues with email deliverability, here are some ways to resolve the issue.
Resolving Common WP Mail SMTP Errors
Some common issues that may arise when using WP Mail SMTP include:
- WP Mail SMTP Not Sending Test Email
- Could Not Connect to SMTP Host Error
- WordPress Emails in Spam Folder or Not Delivered
- Rate Limiting and Bulk Email Sending
If you are experiencing any of the issues as mentioned earlier, here are some actions you can take to troubleshoot and resolve the issue:
- Recheck your SMTP configuration: Check your settings to see if the selected mailer is correct. Then, check if your API key and other submitted information are correct. Make corrections where applicable.
- Deactivate other SMTP or Email Marketing plugins: If your site has another SMTP or email marketing plugin, it might conflict with WP Mail SMTP. You have to deactivate it and attempt to send the test mail again.
- Check your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication: Emails without proper SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication can get rejected or flagged as spam. Ensure that any authentication issues are checked and resolved so emails can be delivered to the inbox folder.
- Use a different SMTP email provider: If you are experiencing limitations or persistent issues, you can switch to a different provider with higher sending limits or better deliverability.
Improving Deliverability with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC
SPF (Sender Policy Framework), DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), and DMARC are protocols that can significantly improve email deliverability and reduce the number of emails that end up in the spam folder. Configuring these protocols helps authenticate your domain name and verify that emails from your domain name are legitimate and not forged by spammers.
Understanding and Using Email Logs
The WP Mail SMTP plugin can track and log every email sent to your WordPress site. This feature makes it possible to monitor email deliverability and troubleshoot email issues, and you can see if emails are sent successfully or encountering errors. You need to enable the email logs option and regularly monitor email deliverability.
How InstaWP Helps in Testing and Configuring WP Mail SMTP
InstaWP allows you to create a staging site from your live site where you can install, configure, and test the WP Mail SMTP plugin before implementation on the live site.
Creating and Testing on Staging Sites with InstaWP
To create a staging site from your live site, install and activate the InstaWP Connect plugin. Then go to Tools > InstaWP and connect your live site to InstaWP. You will need to create a free InstaWP account.
Once your site is connected, go to Tools > InstaWP from your work site and click the Create Staging button.
Follow the steps to configure your staging options, and the tool will create a staging site for you.
Click the Magic Login button, and you will be taken to your WordPress staging site, where you can install and configure WP Mail SMTP.
Migrating Configurations Seamlessly with InstaWP’s Tools
When you are done with setting up and testing WP Mail SMTP on your staging site, go to Tools > InstaWP > Sync (Beta) to use the InstaWP Connect 2-way sync feature to push the changes and configuration to your live WordPress site.
Enhancing WP Mail SMTP with Advanced Features
Email Logging: Why It Matters and How to Set It Up
With email logging enabled on your WordPress site, you will be able to view important parameters and details of each email, including the recipient’s address, the email subject and body, attachments, and the exact time it was sent, and if it was sent or encountered an error. This will help you identify and resolve issues that may affect email deliverability.
For example, if the email recipient is set to the user name instead of the user email address, the email will not be sent. Email logging will help you identify this error and resolve it.
As you can see, enabling email logging will save you the time and trouble of blindly troubleshooting the issues without any positive result.
How to set up Email logging in WP Mail SMTP
Unfortunately, email logging is a premium feature. To enable it, you have to upgrade to WP Mail SMTP Pro.
After upgrading to Pro, go to WP Mail SMTP > Settings in your WordPress dashboard and click on the Email Log tab.
Then, check the Enable Log box and make your preferred settings.
Alternatively, WP Mail SMTP also has a free debug tool that debugs and logs email-sending errors. To use the Debug Event feature, go to WP Mail SMTP > Tools and click on the Debug Events tab.
The email error logs are in a table below the Debug Events settings section, identifying the source and date of the error.
How to set up Email logging without WP Mail SMTP Pro
If you don’t want to go Pro and still want email logging enabled, you can try a free third-party email logging plugin. An example of such a plugin is the WP Mail Logging. You can look for and install it from the WordPress plugin repository.
Once activated, go to WP Mail Logging > Email Log, and you will see the email logs.
You can click on the eye right next to an email to see details of the email, including time, receiver, subject, headers, and body of the email.
The WP Mail Logging plugin is effective in logging your WordPress site emails. However, it is limited. You still need to upgrade to WP Mail SMTP Pro for advanced email logging capabilities such as in-depth tracking, email resending and export functionality, etc.
Customizing Email Headers and Footers
You can use email template plugins like WP-Email Template by a3rev software to create and customize beautiful email headers and footers. Alternatively, you can use custom code snippets.
Using WP Mail SMTP with WooCommerce and Other Plugins
WP Mail SMTP can seamlessly integrate with WooCommerce and other transactional plugins and facilitate email deliverability. You can override these plugins’ sender name and email when you enable the Force From and Name options.
Conclusion
Failed email delivery can affect your business and user experience. WP Mail SMTP is a WordPress plugin that ensures email delivery. While configuring WP Mail SMTP, leverage advanced features like email logs, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for better email deliverability.