Imagine running an e-commerce website and most of your transactional emails are landing in spam folders. Or worse, not reaching your customers at all!
Frustrating, right?
Most WordPress hosting servers are not designed to send emails. And many of them block the default wp_mail() function altogether. And even if they get past your hosting service, email clients mark WordPress emails as spam.
You don’t want the same fate for your emails, right?
Don’t worry! By following some easy steps, you can easily resolve this issue.
Let’s learn how to send emails from your WordPress website and ensure that your emails are delivered to your customers!
Reasons Why Your WordPress Not Sending Emails?
There are a few main reasons why your WordPress site not sending emails. Here are some most common reasons you should consider.
Incorrect Email Settings
One of the most common causes of email delivery issues that WordPress relies on the PHP function called wp_mail() to send emails by default. If the server’s email settings are not properly configured, or if the function is disabled, emails will not be sent.
Server Configuration Issues
Another common cause of email delivery issues in WordPress is that many web hosting servers are not configured to use the PHP function wp_mail(), which WordPress relies on to send emails. This can lead to emails not being sent or received properly.
Spam Filters
Emails sent from your WordPress site can often be intercepted by spam filters, either on your server or by the recipient’s email provider because they are being authenticated using the wp_mail() PHP function.
Plugins Conflicts
WordPress might not send emails due to plugin conflicts, outdated plugins, or improper SMTP settings. You can deactivate plugins one by one to check for conflicts, update outdated plugins for compatibility, and ensure your SMTP plugin is correctly configured.
How Can You Fix the WordPress Not Sending Email Issue?
You already know the reason why WordPress not sending emails. Now it’s time to fix the issues. We will guide you step by step easily.
Check your Email Settings
The first thing you should do is check if your email settings in your WordPress admin dashboard are configured correctly.
To find these settings, go to your WordPress admin dashboard, then navigate to Settings > General. Verify that the Administrator Email Address field.
Any misconfiguration on this field can cause your emails are not be sent from the WordPress site or be marked as spam in the receiver’s inbox.
Check the Contact Form Plugin settings
If you’re using any contact form on your website, the problem may not be your email settings. Some contact forms tend to have the wrong sender address and that’s what causes the issue.
In the contact form settings, ensure your contact form plugin (e.g., Fluent Forms, Contact Form 7, WPForms) is properly configured.
Your WordPress server could be sending the email, but the plugin might be set to use your email address to forward contact form submissions.
That’s why, check that the “From” email address matches the admin email address (e.g., [email protected]) and the “To” email address is correct.
Also, make sure all settings are accurate and up-to-date to ensure proper email delivery.
Configure an SMTP plugin with your WordPress Site
If your email settings are fine and you’re still facing WordPress not sending email issues, don’t worry. Another solution is to use SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol).
With proper authentication, SMTP ensures the deliverability of emails sent from your WordPress site.
To solve the WordPress not sending email issue, you can use FluentSMTP, a free WordPress plugin that sets up your WordPress site to send email using SMTP instead of the default wp_mail() function.
Additionally, this plugin allows you to connect with popular SMTP services such as Amazon SES, Mailgun, SendGrid, Brevo (formerly Sendinblue), Google Workspace, and many others.
The best part? You can add multiple connections for multiple purposes in FluentSMTP.
No matter which SMTP service you choose, first make sure to install and activate the FluentSMTP plugin on your site.
Then integrate with any mailer SMTP service you want as we said earlier you can connect with popular SMTP services. As an example, let’s see how you can use Brevo for sending your WordPress emails effectively.
First, sign up for Brevo and acquire an API key. If you’re not sure what it is, just look up Brevo documentation (it’s nothing complicated).
Once you’ve gathered the API key, you’re ready to Integrate FluentSMTP with Brevo for email sending. Follow these simple steps to do so:
- Go back to FluentSMTP settings in WordPress and select Brevo.
- Enter your “From Email” and “From Name” settings.
- Paste the copied Brevo API key into the appropriate field.
- Click “Save Settings” to apply the configuration.
And it’s done! You have successfully configured Brevo with FluentSMTP. Now you can run an email test to check if FluentSMTP is working perfectly or not.
Test Email Deliverability
After successfully integrating an SMTP service with the FluentSMTP plugin on your WordPress site, you can check if your emails are being delivered correctly.
Here’s how to test if FluentSMTP can send emails successfully:
1. Open the FluentSMTP plugin in your WordPress dashboard.
2. Go to the Email Test tab.
3. Fill in the From and Send To fields.
4. Click Send Test Email.
After sending the test email you will get a confirmation that the test email has been successfully sent.
After successful email testing, you can ensure that your emails will be delivered successfully and also fix the WordPress not sending email issue.
Send Email from WordPress Without Any Issues
Fixing the issue of WordPress not sending emails is manageable once you identify the problem. The common causes include restrictions from your hosting provider, incorrect email settings, spam filters, and plugin conflicts.
Start by checking your email settings and server configuration. If these steps don’t resolve the problem, using an SMTP plugin like FluentSMTP can help ensure your emails are sent properly.
Additionally, review your contact form settings to make sure everything is correctly configured.
By focusing on these areas, you can resolve the issue of WordPress not sending emails and keep your site running smoothly. Not just that, if you’ve installed FluentSMTP with a good email service, it’s also possible to set up your email marketing workflows inside WordPress using FluentCRM.
With these solutions, you’ll be equipped to tackle any email issues and maintain effective communication on your site.
We wish you all the best!
