Knowledgebase

You can easily send email from WordPress using SMTP. You will need to create an email account and use it in a WordPress plugin.

There are many plugins to send email using SMTP. You can use one that is popular and has good remarks from its users:

https://wordpress.org/plugins/search/SMTP/

Once the SMTP plugin is configured, all plugins and themes will automatically use SMTP to send an email. No other configuration is required.

An SMTP plugin does not add any additional load to the website. It uses the PHPMailer.php script to send an email, which is already part of WordPress core files. The plugin simply instructs WordPress to use SMTP instead of mail() when sending an email.

Applies To:

This guide applies to Web Hosting, Semi Dedicated Hosting, and Reseller Hosting.

Step 01: Create an Email Address to Use in WordPress

1. Go to cPanel > Email Accounts.
   
   
2. Click "Create".
   
   
3. Enter the Username and Password for the email account.
   
   
4. Click "Create".
   
   
5. Done!
   
   

Step 02: Install Fluent SMTP Plugin

In this article, we are using the Fluent SMTP plugin. You can use any plugin you like.

1. Log in to WordPress Dashboard:
   
   Go to cPanel > WordPress Manager by Softaculous > Login.
   
   
   
2. Go to WordPress Dashboard > Plugins > Add New.
   
   
3. Enter "Fluent SMTP" in the Keyword field to find the plugin.
   
   
4. Click "Install Now" on the Fluent SMTP plugin.
   
   
5. Click "Activate".
   
   

Once activated, you need to configure the plugin.

Step 03: Configure Fluent SMTP

1. Go to WordPress Dashboard > Settings > Fluent SMTP > Settings.
   
   
2. If this is the first time you are configuring the plugin, you can enter details here. Otherwise, go to Active Email Connections > Edit.
   
   
3. Configure the settings as mentioned below:
   
   
   
   • Connection Provider/Email Service Provider: Other SMTP
     
     
   • Sender Settings
     
     From Email: <your email address, e.g., you@yourdomain.com>
     From Name: <your name or website name>
     
     Force From Email: Enabled
     Set the return path to match the From Email: Enabled
     Force Sender Name: Disabled
     
     
     
   • SMTP Host: <server hostname, e.g., server.providerdomain.com (recommended) or mail.yourdoamin.com>
     SMTP Port: 465
     
     Encryption: SSL
     Use Auto TLS: Enabled
     Authentication: Enabled
     
     Store Access Keys in DB: Enabled
     
     
     
   • SMTP Username: <your email address, e.g., you@yourdomain.com>
     SMTP Password: <your email password>
     
     Note:
     If you get any error using [mail.yourdoamin.com] as the SMTP Host, try using [server.providerdomain.com].
     
     Do not use the default email address of your hosting account as the SMTP Username. The default email address looks like username@server.providerdomain.com.
     
     
     
4. Click "Save Settings".
   
   
5. Go to Fluent SMTP > Settings > General Settings.
   
   
6. Make sure the following values are correct:
   
   
   • Default Connection: SMTP - you@yourdomain.com
     
     
   • Deselect "Disable sending all emails".
     
     Enabling this option will disable all emails.
     
     
7. Click "Save Settings".
   
   
8. Done!
   
   

You should now be able to send email from WordPress. If you use a CDN or external email, please refer to the steps below.

CDN/Cloudflare/QUIC.cloud

If you use a CDN, Cloudflare, QUIC.cloud, or their nameservers, make sure the SMTP Host (mail.yourdomain.com) is not proxied by Cloudflare/QUIC.cloud/CDN.

If the SMTP Host is proxied, the plugin will not connect to the mail server and time out.

External SMTP

If you use an external email account that is not hosted on your hosting account, e.g., hosted email services like SendGrid, Mailchimp, Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc.:

1. Create an email account on your hosted email to send email from WordPress.
   
   
2. Contact support to enable external SMTP for your hosting account. You do not need to contact support if you use an email account hosted on the same hosting account.
   
   
3. Depending on your hosted email service, you might need to enable Multi-Factor Authentication.
   
   

Multi-Factor Authentication (2 Factor Authentication)

If you use the following hosted email services to send email from WordPress and have enabled Multi-Factor Authentication (2 Factor Authentication) for your hosted email, you need to create an App Password in your hosted email account settings (not on MechanicWeb servers).

Once created, use the App Password as the SMTP Password in the plugin:

• Gmail/Google Workspace
  
  https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/185833?hl=en
https://myaccount.google.com/apppasswords
  
  If you cannot create an app password in Gmail:
  
  https://fluentsmtp.com/docs/connect-gmail-or-google-workspace-emails-with-fluentsmtp
  
  
• Office 365/Hotmail
  
  https://account.live.com/security
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/account-billing/how-to-use-two-step-verification-with-your-microsoft-account-c7910146-672f-01e9-50a0-93b4585e7eb4
  
  
• Yahoo Mail
  
  https://login.yahoo.com/account/security#less-secure-apps
https://help.verizonsmallbusinessessentials.com/s/article/SLN29264
https://help.turbify.com/s/article/SLN29264
  
  
• AOL
  
  https://login.aol.com/account/security?lang=en-US
  
  
• Zoho
  
  https://accounts.zoho.com/home#security/app_password