How to Use SMTP to Reliably Deliver WordPress Emails (Ultimate Guide)

Is your WordPress site‘s email ending up in spam folders or not getting delivered at all? If so, you‘re not alone.

According to email deliverability company ReturnPath, 21% of opt-in emails sent by legitimate email marketers end up in spam or blocked entirely. For transactional emails like password resets and order confirmations, the deliverability rates can be even worse.

The good news is there‘s a way to prevent your WordPress site from falling victim to the spam folder – configuring WordPress to send email using an SMTP server.

In this ultimate guide, we‘ll share everything you need to know about SMTP and WordPress email, including:

What is SMTP and why you should use it
A step-by-step tutorial for setting up SMTP on your site
The best SMTP services and plugins for WordPress
How to troubleshoot common WordPress email issues

By the end, you‘ll be able to configure your WordPress site to deliver emails reliably, ensuring your users get the important transactional emails they need.

Understanding SMTP and Why It Matters for WordPress

SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is the standard protocol used by email clients to send outgoing emails to mail servers. Without getting too technical, it‘s essentially a set of commands that allows different email servers to communicate and route emails to their intended destination.

WordPress uses the PHP mail() function to send emails by default. However, many shared WordPress hosts don‘t configure PHP mail properly or even disable it entirely due to spam concerns. As a result, WordPress emails often fail to send or get flagged as spam by email providers.

That‘s where SMTP comes in. By configuring WordPress to use a properly configured SMTP server to send email, you can bypass the unreliable PHP mail() function and ensure your emails get delivered successfully.

The numbers show why this is so important:

47% of email recipients open an email based on the subject line alone (OptinMonster)
Order confirmation emails have the highest open rate of any type of email at 69% (Omnisend)
59% of consumers say marketing emails influence their purchase decisions (SaleCycle)

To take advantage of the power of email, your WordPress emails have to actually reach your users‘ inboxes. SMTP is the key to making that happen.

How to Set Up SMTP on Your WordPress Site (Step by Step)

Now that you understand the importance of SMTP, let‘s walk through how to set it up on your WordPress site.

Step 1: Choose an SMTP Service

The first step is deciding which SMTP service you want to use to send your WordPress emails. Here are a few popular options:

Your Web Host – Many WordPress hosting providers offer a free SMTP server for sending email from your domain. This is a simple option, but may have limitations on how many emails you can send.
Gmail SMTP – If you have a Gmail account, you can use Google‘s free SMTP server to send WordPress emails. However, there‘s a limit of 500 emails per day.
Transactional Email Services – Third-party SMTP services like SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, and Sendinblue specialize in delivering bulk transactional emails. They have higher delivery rates and scalable pricing.

While using your web host or Gmail as an SMTP server can work fine for small WordPress sites, we recommend using a dedicated transactional email service if you want the highest possible deliverability rates.

For example, SendGrid‘s free plan allows you to send up to 100 emails per day forever with no credit card required. If you need to send more emails, their paid plans start at $14.95/month for up to 40,000 emails.

Step 2: Install and Set Up WP Mail SMTP

Once you‘ve chosen your SMTP service, you need a way to connect it to your WordPress site. We recommend using the free WP Mail SMTP plugin:

From your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New.
Search for "WP Mail SMTP" and click Install Now.
Once installed, click Activate.
Go to Settings > WP Mail SMTP to configure the plugin.

Here are the key settings to configure:

From Email – Enter the email address you want to send WordPress emails from (e.g. wordpress@yoursite.com). Ideally this should be an email address at your own domain.
From Name – Enter the name you want emails to be sent from. Usually this will be your site name.
Mailer – Select the SMTP option for your provider: Other SMTP, Gmail, SendGrid, Mailgun, etc.
Return Path – Check this option to set the return-path to match the From Email.
Authentication – Turn this on and enter your SMTP username (usually your From Email address) and password. For Gmail, you‘ll need an app password.

The WP Mail SMTP settings page

Be sure to also enter your SMTP host and port (provided by your SMTP service) as well as choose the appropriate encryption option, which is typically TLS or SSL.

Step 3: Send a Test Email

After saving your SMTP settings, it‘s crucial to send a test email to make sure everything is working:

In WP Mail SMTP, go to the Email Test tab.
Enter an email address to send the test email to. Use an address you can check.
Click Send Email.

If the test email sends successfully, you‘re all set! Check the inbox of the email address you sent the test email to and make sure it arrived.

If you get an error message, there is likely an issue with your SMTP settings. Double check your SMTP host, port, username, and password and make sure they match what your provider gave you. If you‘re still having trouble, contact your SMTP provider or web host for assistance.

Which SMTP Plugin Is Best for WordPress?

WP Mail SMTP is not the only WordPress SMTP plugin available. Here‘s a quick comparison table of the top SMTP plugin options:

Plugin	Active Installs	Mailgun Support	SendGrid Support	Gmail SMTP	Other SMTP	Mandrill
WP Mail SMTP	2+ million	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Post SMTP	100,000+	✓	✓	✓	✓
WP SMTP	100,000+		✓	✓	✓
Easy WP SMTP	500,000+			✓	✓
Gmail SMTP	100,000+			✓

SMTP plugin options compared

Ultimately, we think WP Mail SMTP is the best choice for most WordPress sites because:

It supports the widest range of SMTP providers
It‘s the most popular option with over 2 million active installs
It includes the email logging feature to track email delivery issues
The setup wizard makes configuration easy for beginners

However, if you‘re a developer looking for a more lightweight option, Post SMTP is also a great choice. If you just need basic Gmail SMTP functionality, Gmail SMTP or Easy WP SMTP will work well.

Troubleshooting WordPress and SMTP Issues

Even after setting up SMTP, you may still experience some issues with WordPress email from time to time. Here are some common problems and how to troubleshoot them:

Emails Sending But Not Reaching the Inbox

If your WordPress emails are sending successfully according to your SMTP plugin or provider, but aren‘t reaching the recipient‘s inbox, the culprit is likely poor deliverability.

To improve your deliverability and ensure your emails reach the inbox, we recommend:

Using an SMTP provider with a good sending reputation – Services like SendGrid and Mailgun go to great lengths to maintain high delivery rates for their customers. Avoid using your web host or a generic SMTP relay.
Authenticating your domain – By setting up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records for your sending domain, you can prove your domain‘s legitimacy to email providers and decrease spam placement. Some SMTP providers will set this up automatically.
Keeping your email content spam-free – Avoid using excessive links, spammy keywords, and too many images in your WordPress emails. Use a tool like mail-tester.com to check your emails‘ spam score.

SMTP Plugin Sending Errors

Sometimes your WordPress site will fail to connect to your SMTP server entirely, resulting in a sending error. Typically this happens due to:

Incorrect SMTP credentials (triple check your username and password)
Using the wrong encryption option (SSL vs TLS vs no encryption)
A plugin conflict or incompatibility with your SMTP plugin

To resolve SMTP sending errors, try the following steps:

Check for typos – Confirm your SMTP host, username, and password are entered correctly in your SMTP plugin settings.
Try a different encryption setting – If you‘re using SSL encryption, try TLS or no encryption instead. Verify with your host/SMTP provider which options they support.
Disable other plugins – Turn off all other WordPress plugins and see if the errors stop. If so, reactivate them one-by-one until you find the culprit.
Contact support – Open a support ticket with your SMTP provider and share the specific error messages you‘re seeing. They can help pinpoint the problem.

If you‘re still struggling to resolve email issues with WordPress and SMTP, don‘t give up! The WordPress community is full of knowledgeable experts who can help. Here are some great resources to consult:

Get Your WordPress Emails Delivered With SMTP

If you want your WordPress site‘s emails to avoid the spam folder and actually reach your users, setting up SMTP is essential. It‘s the best way to ensure reliable email delivery for your site‘s transactional emails.

To recap, here‘s how to get set up with SMTP in WordPress:

Sign up for an SMTP provider (we recommend SendGrid, Mailgun, or your web host‘s SMTP if available).
Install the free WP Mail SMTP plugin on your WordPress site.
Configure the SMTP settings in WP Mail SMTP using the credentials from your provider.
Send a test email to confirm everything is working properly.

By following this tutorial, your WordPress site should start delivering emails reliably with no issues. Say goodbye to lost password reset emails, unread receipts, and undelivered notifications for good!