Email is arguably the most common electronic communication medium in use today.
But sometimes, if you are trying to send emails from your WordPress site, things can be problematic – especially where it’s an eCommerce site and you want to confirm orders, for example. If you simply try to install a plugin to send emails on your website’s behalf, your email will almost certainly end up in junk/spam folders, and that’s only when the mail server allows it through – often it won’t so searching spam is pointless. Your customers may be left wondering if their order has been processed…..
So even if you are in control of your email filtering settings, you or your customers may simply not receive emails sent from your WordPress website.
To make matters more confusing, email delivery success varies considerably between plugins, themes, hosts, and an array of other factors.
What is SMTP and why is it used?
The Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is used to deliver e-mail messages over the Internet. This protocol is implemented by most email clients to deliver messages to the server and it’s also used by servers to forward messages to their destination.
Why is SMTP used in WordPress?
WordPress has several SMTP plugins that can be used to force or show any FROM email address you like. This is important for two major reasons: It allows you to send email directly through your mail server as opposed to the web server. This helps to prevent issues with Sender Domain Policy and Spoofing.
Transactional Email – A Professional Alternative
If you really want to take email delivery seriously, then you must consider a transactional email solution. Transactional email offloads your mail delivery to a third-party mail provider dedicated and focused on mail delivery. It requires a WordPress plugin that takes control of your WordPress mail sending function without the use of mail servers or SMTP.
The plugin communicates via an API to your transactional email provider, which manages the delivery. Apart from better email delivery success rates, you can review the emails that are being sent out and see if they are being opened and/or clicked. If an email has failed, they provide an easy way to resend it.
Here’s two suppliers to check out…
Mailgun
Mailgun bills itself as “the email service for developers.” It offers both SMTP relay functionality and API integration options. The platform offers some of the best tools in the field for email validation too, which helps improve deliverability.
SendGrid
SendGrid is a platform that offers a great mix of features. With SendGrid, you also get to choose between using SMTP relay or the platform’s API. SendGrid also has a powerful set of tools for email marketing design and customization.
If you want professional support or advice on this; you know where to find us!
