SMTP for WordPress

noun · email delivery · element 99 of 117

Sending WordPress email through an authenticated mail server, so password resets, form alerts and order emails reach the inbox.

My levelExpertYears of daily use. I build tools on it, teach it or lead teams with it.

Family: Engineering

What is SMTP for WordPress?

SMTP, the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, is how email moves between servers. WordPress sends mail through PHP's mail function by default, which many hosts restrict and spam filters distrust.

An SMTP plugin routes that mail through an authenticated service such as a transactional email provider or the company mail server, ideally with SPF, DKIM and DMARC in place.

How I use SMTP for WordPress

I set up SMTP on WordPress sites so the emails that matter, form submissions, password resets and WooCommerce orders, actually arrive.

What SMTP for WordPress connects to

SPF and DMARCDNS records that prove a domain's email is real: SPF lists the servers allowed to send, DMARC tells receivers what to do with mail that fails.
DNSThe internet's directory: it turns names like arvindkumar.ca into the addresses servers answer on, and says where a domain's email goes.
WordPressThe open-source content management system behind roughly two in five websites. Written in PHP and extended with themes and plugins.
WooCommerceThe open-source e-commerce plugin that turns WordPress into a store: products, cart, checkout, payments and orders.

Type	Email delivery
Protocol	SMTP, RFC 5321
Fixes	PHP mail() deliverability