After thorough testing and evaluation, we have narrowed down our focus to two exceptional SMTP plugins for WordPress: WP Mail SMTP and FluentSMTP. These plugins stand out due to their robust features, ease of use, and reliability in enhancing email functionality within WordPress websites. Our analysis below dives into the unique attributes and capabilities of each plugin, helping you understand why they are top choices for ensuring efficient and dependable email delivery from your WordPress site.
The Problem With WordPress Default Email Settings
WordPress is built using PHP, which is a coding language that’s typically used for web development. WordPress’s content management system (CMS) uses this programming language for most of its core functionality, including sending emails.
You can send emails using a custom address with your website’s domain name. Not only does this help you engage with customers via email, but it also lets you do so while staying on-brand by sending messages from www.yourdomain.com — rather than a personal inbox.
However, sometimes WordPress’s email feature isn’t the most effective due to the way that it’s coded. If you stick to the default PHP mail function, some of your emails might never make it to their destinations due to how certain servers are configured.
The solution
Setting up SMTP for your WordPress website is not just a best practice; it’s essential for ensuring reliable email delivery. The default WordPress email system can be unreliable, leading to emails ending up in spam folders or not reaching their intended recipients at all. Here’s why setting up SMTP is crucial:
- Improved Email Deliverability: SMTP ensures that your emails have a higher chance of reaching the inbox rather than being marked as spam. This is especially important for transactional emails, such as password resets and order confirmations.
- Enhanced Credibility: When you send emails from your domain using SMTP, it signals to email providers that you are a legitimate sender, increasing your domain’s credibility and reducing the likelihood of your emails being blocked or marked as spam.
- Better User Experience: Reliable email delivery leads to a better user experience. Your users can trust that they will receive important notifications, which can improve their engagement with your website.
- Tracking and Monitoring: SMTP plugins often provide features like email logging and tracking, helping you monitor the status of your outgoing emails and troubleshoot any issues that may arise.
Best SMTP Plugins for WordPress
Used on over three million sites, WP Mail SMTP is the most popular free SMTP plugin for WordPress. That popularity is largely due to its ease of use and fast setup.
To make it easy to configure your settings, WP Mail SMTP has a setup wizard that walks you through every step of linking your SMTP provider with WordPress. You can use either OAuth2 (available for Gmail accounts) or another built-in SMTP mail provider integration, or enter your SMTP server information and credentials manually.
The free version of WP Mail SMTP supports the following email marketing services and SMTP providers:
- SendLayer
- SMTP.com
- Sendinblue
- Mailgun
- SendGrid
- Postmark
- SparkPost
- Gmail
If you upgrade to the premium version of WP Mail SMTP, you’ll gain support for additional platforms including Amazon SES, Microsoft Outlook.com and Office 365, Zoho Mail, and more.
Even if your SMTP provider doesn’t appear in the list above, this WordPress email plugin will help you link it with your website. All you have to do is enter its server details and your credentials manually. However, connecting any of the services that the plugin supports out of the box is much simpler.
List of Delivery Providers (A Complete Guide to WP Mail SMTP Mailers)
2. FluentSMTP: Another user-friendly option that simplifies the process of setting up SMTP. It provides a straightforward interface for entering your SMTP details and sending test emails.
What we like: FluentSMTP lets you connect multiple email service providers, including Amazon SES, for free.
FluentSMTP is a powerful and flexible SMTP plugin that lets you connect multiple email service providers and automatically routes your emails to the appropriate provider based on the “from” email address.
This free plugin offers native integrations with the following:
- Amazon SES
- Gmail
- Google Workspace
- Outlook
- SendGrid
- Mailgun
- Sendinblue
- Pepipost
- SparkPost
- Zoho via
You can also connect other SMTP providers like Yahoo and Zoho manually.
FluentSMTP also offers email logs and reporting so you can keep track of how many emails you’re sending and how they’re performing. Having access to an email log is helpful if you want to store emails for your records, audit outgoing emails, or debug during site development.
List of Delivery Providers (A Complete Guide to FluentSMTP Mailers)
- Amazon SES API.
- Mailgun API.
- SendGrid API.
- Sendinblue API.
- SparkPost API.
- Netcore API (formerly Pepipost).
- PostMark API.
- Elastic Mail API.
- Gmail & Google Workspace OAuth API.
- Outlook OAuth API.
- All Other SMTP.
The Other SMTP open a vast area of configurable connections for any Email Delivery Providers that supports SMTP Protocol via Non-Secure, TLS, and SSL security protocols as well.
In conclusion, integrating a reliable SMTP plugin like WP Mail SMTP or FluentSMTP into your WordPress website is a game-changer for your email communications. By ensuring high deliverability, enhancing credibility, and offering comprehensive tracking and monitoring, these plugins play a pivotal role in streamlining your email strategy. As we wrap up our exploration of these powerful tools, we’re curious to hear about your experiences. Have you tried either of these SMTP plugins on your WordPress site?
What differences have you noticed in your email deliverability and user engagement? Share your insights and join the conversation about transforming WordPress email functionality.
