Sending email using WordPress can be tricky. Our plugin uses the wp_mail function that WordPress provides to send emails directly from your server.
WordPress will let our plugin know whether or not an email was successfully sent using the PHP code, but there is no way to tell if the email actually made it to someone’s inbox. This depends on several factors such as the server’s reputation and how well constructed the email is (doesn’t contain common spam elements).
For best results we recommend using a third party SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) service. We have guides for using two such services:
Otherwise, here are some additional things to consider to get the best results for the features that use email:
I’m Seeing a “Success” Message but Nothing in the Inbox
Do You Use Shared Hosting?
Sometimes other sites that share your server send out emails that get flagged as spam so emails sent from the server in general are not trusted. You could try contacting support for your hosting company to see if that’s the case and they might be able to fix it.
Are You Using a Real Email Address as the “From Address”?
Your host will usually set up DNS records for each email account that can help emails sent from the address to look more legitimate (and not like spam) to recipient’s inboxes.
Do Parts of Your Email Resemble Spam?
Take a look at your from name, subject, and email body for rejected messages. Sometimes one email subject will be accepted by an email inbox while another might not. Try varying these parts of your email to see if it fixes the problem.
Do You Have DKIM and SPF Records for Your Domain?
As of February of 2024, Google has tightened requirements for authenticating the sender of emails. This article from WP Mail SMTP Pro explains how to set up DKIM and SPF records to reduce the chances of your emails being blocked due to authentication reasons.
Are You Not Using an SMTP Plugin?
It takes some time to be set up, but you could try using SMTP mail through an API to send emails from your site. This may be a good idea if you determine that your server is untrusted as it will fix issues with other plugins trying to use wp_mail as well. Here are some links to plugins that can help with this:
Sendinblue (step by step instructions)
Postmark (step by step instructions)
Gmail and a WordPress plugin
Mailgun and a WordPress plugin
I’m Seeing the Message “There was a problem sending the email…”
Check Your Confirmation From Address
Your “from” address needs to look like a real email address or the email will not send. There are two places to check the from email address.
The “Edit” event page for an event:
The “Email” tab on the “Registrations” setting page:
Make Sure Your Server is Configured to Send Email
“Localhost” servers and some hosts may not have email sending enabled by default. You will want to use an SMTP service in this case such as Postmark
Do none of these seem to be the problem? Please contact support for more help.