Solve email issues with the WP Mail SMTP plugin

Make sure all of your contact and marketing emails reach your users

It’s not uncommon for WordPress sites to run into issues when they try to send emails. There can be all kinds of different reasons for this error, but often times, the fix is SMTP. It stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, and more than 700,000 websites use the WP Mail SMTP plugin to ensure their emails get delivered. The plugin works by reconfiguring the wp_mail() PHP function, making WordPress use the correct SMTP provider.

The underlying problems

SMTP is an industry standard that works to improve email deliverability by using all of the proper authentications for electronic mail. The big email services such as Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook are constantly improving their ability to block spam. One of the things these programs look for is whether or not an email is actually coming from where it says it’s coming from. If it’s not (or they think it’s not), your email goes into the spam folder in the best case scenario, and won’t get delivered at all in the worst case.

By default, WordPress uses the PHP mail function to send emails, whether that’s through a contact form or WordPress itself. That’s not an issue by itself, but many sites and companies don’t have their servers properly set up for sending these PHP emails. Because of these two factors, it’s not uncommon for emails not to be authorized correctly.

The nuts and bolts of WP Mail SMTP

WP Mail SMTP plugin allows you to easily reconfigure the wp_mail() PHP function to use a trusted SMTP provider. You don’t even have to know any coding either to make this happen! The plugin comes with four  SMTP setup options: Gmail, Mailgun, SendGrid, and then other. No matter which option you choose, you can set any custom “from” name and the email address it’s coming from, all without creating any deliverability issues. No need to give up any control!

This comes recommend by Mr. WPress because it combines every SMTP need into one simple plugin. There’s no need to go scrounging around for multiple different plugins to try and plug the holes: WP Mail SMPT simply covers everything! The plugin was originally created by Callum Macdonald, but is now operated by WPForms. So you know there will be good service and updates, too!

Tags: marketing, plugin