Losing contact with your subscribers because of creaky cogs between your plugins? We’ve got a smooth solution. Read on to fix the problem and never have to worry about WordPress not sending emails again.
When you sign up for a new service or make a purchase online, you expect a quick confirmation email in your inbox. It’s the reassurance you need.
And it’s just how things are supposed to work now.
Automated mail is a necessity for your online business. It saves a lot of admin time and stress… when it works.
But what about when mail goes missing or ends up in spam folders?
It causes a heck of a lot more work for customer support because they’ve got to reassure customers individually. Not to mention it impacts your customers’ user experience (UX).
But all that frustration is completely avoidable.
If WordPress isn’t sending emails from your membership site, it’s easy to fix, and we’ll show you how.
Read on to regain a smooth flow of communication with your customers and get your emails flying out again.
Why Is WordPress Not Sending Email?
When emails aren’t sending from your WordPress site there’s usually one culprit: PHP – or PHP mail(), to be specific.
PHP is the default function WordPress uses to send emails straight from your web server.
But there’s a problem.
Most email service providers (such as Gmail) don’t trust PHP. That’s because there are no checks on mail sent this way, and 9 times out of 10, it’s spam.
Email service providers instantly presume these emails are phishy, and the providers either block them or condemn them to the spam folder.
How to Fix It
What you want to do is find a way to connect your WordPress site with SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol).
You can configure SMTP to authenticate the sender, run checks on emails, and increase deliverability. It’s like a certified courier service checking your ID before delivering your package.
This makes SMTP a lot more trustworthy to email providers, helping ensure your messages end up in the right inboxes.
So, as a membership website owner, you need three things to fix the problem…
Tools You’ll Need
To avoid running into issues in the future, opt for the most reputable, reliable WordPress plugins that work seamlessly together and are regularly updated.
Here’s the package we recommend:
1. MemberPress
If you’re not already using MemberPress for your membership site, it’s time to migrate to the world’s #1 membership and monetization plugin.
The MemberPress Importer add-on makes the process of moving your membership data over a cinch. We’ll go into more detail later.
2. WP Mail SMTP
WP Mail SMTP is the most popular SMTP WordPress plugin. This is the key to help you switch from sending emails via PHP to SMTP.
3. SendLayer
SendLayer is one of the most trustworthy email delivery services out there. It maintains excellent relationships with Internet Service Providers (ISPs), constantly monitoring delivery statistics to tweak its strategy and boost deliverability.
How to Fix WordPress Not Sending Email
Now you’ve had an overview of the tools let’s hop straight to fixing the WordPress not sending email problem.
Step 1: Install and Migrate to MemberPress
MemberPress has earned its reputation as the world’s #1 membership plugin by providing a quality product backed by an impeccable customer success team.
If you’re frustrated by WordPress not sending emails, you don’t want to fix the issue only to immediately run into another problem.
MemberPress users know they’re using a high-quality plugin that seamlessly integrates with many other plugins and services.
In the unlikely event that they run into an issue, they can rely on fast and friendly customer service that goes above and beyond to resolve the problem.
If you’re done messing around with issues on your membership site, it’s time to migrate over to MemberPress. Here are the steps.
Install and Activate Memberpress
- Pick and purchase the MemberPress plan that best suits your business
- Login to MemberPress.com where you’ll be taken to your account page
- Click on the Downloads tab and download the MemberPress Plugin to download a .zip file to your computer
- While you’re there copy the License Key to your clipboard.
- Go to your WordPress dashboard
- Head to Plugins > Add New
- Click on Upload Plugin at the top
- Choose the MemberPress .zip file you just downloaded
- Click Install Now
- Click Activate Plugin
- Now click on the new MemberPress tab in your WordPress dashboard and click on Settings
- In the License tab, paste the License Key in the corresponding field
- Click Activate License Key.
Configure MemberPress
Before you migrate your data, you need to first build a MemberPress nest for it. First, choose which payment methods you want to use.
- From the WordPress dashboard, head to MemberPress > Settings and click on the Payments tab
- Click + Add payment Method and choose from the gateway options
- You can add multiple payment methods.
Next, you want to create your memberships.
- Go to MemberPress > Memberships > Add New
- Enter a title and optional description to be displayed on the registration page
- Adjust the price, billing type and additional payment terms in the Membership Terms section
- Customize your Membership Options
- Repeat with as many memberships as you offer.
NOTE: Hold off on creating MemberPress Rules until after you’ve migrated your data to avoid any conflicts.
Enable MemberPress Importer Add-On
- From your WordPress dashboard, go to MemberPress > Add-ons
- Search for Importer
- Click Install Add-on
- Once it’s installed, click on the Activate slider to enable it
Download Data On Your Existing Site as CSV Files
Check the documentation from your current membership platform to find out how to download your data as CSV files.
Here are links to documentation for the most common membership platforms our customers have switched from:
- aMember export documentation
- Paid Memberships Pro export documentation
- Restrict Content Pro export documentation
- Teachable export documentation
- WooCommerce Memberships export documentation
Import CSV Files
Now you should have everything you need to import your data into MemberPress!
- First, you need to import users/members. Here is our documentation to help you format and upload your CSV files to import users.
- Then it’s time to import automatically recurring subscriptions. Imported subscriptions will be automatically linked to the payment gateways, memberships, and the users you just imported. Here’s our support documentation to help you migrate recurring subscriptions.
Step 2: Install the WP Mail SMTP Plugin
WP Mail SMTP is a game-changer when it comes to improving email deliverability.
With the free, Lite version, you get all the basic features you need to fix the WordPress not sending email issue. But if you’re serious about logging and tracking your email deliveries, you’ll want to upgrade to one of their paid versions.
Here are the steps to get this power-packed plugin working for your membership site:
Install and Activate WP Mail SMTP
- First off, navigate to your WordPress dashboard
- Go to Plugins > Add New
- Search for WP Mail SMTP
- You’ll see WP Mail SMTP by WPForms in the search results. Click on Install Now and then Activate
Configure WP Mail SMTP Plugin Settings
- Navigate to WP Mail SMTP > Settings from your WordPress dashboard.
- If you’ve purchased one of their paid plans, you want to copy and paste your license key into the License Key field.
- Fill out the plugin settings. Start with the From Email field. This is the business email address that your WordPress emails will be sent from.
- Check the box next to Force From Email. This will ensure that all emails sent from your WordPress site come from this email address.
- Now, enter the From Name. This is the name associated with the emails sent from WordPress.
- Check the box next to Force From Name to apply this name to all outgoing emails.
- In the Mailer section, you can select your SMTP service.
- We’ll be using SendLayer, the #1 recommended mailer service for SMTP.
- Scroll down and hit Save Settings
And you’re done installing the WP Mail SMTP Plugin! But hold your horses, you’ve still got to set up your SendLayer account.
Step 3: Create a SendLayer Account
SendLayer is the standout option for sending emails in bulk and still getting high deliverability!
With their starter package (which is just $5 a month) you can send up to 1000 emails from your WordPress website. That’s plenty for most small businesses getting off the ground.
But before you commit a dime to SendLayer, there’s also the option to start a free trial, and send up to 200 emails for free.
To do this, head to SendLayer’s pricing page and scroll down beneath the pricing plans where you’ll see a link to try the SendLayer free trial.
Whether you choose the free trial option or go straight to one of their paid plans, here are the steps you need to take to link SendLayer to your domain.
Get DNS Records From SendLayer
- Choose your paid or free trial option
- Fill out your name, email and payment details as requested
- Click Continue To Dashboard
- Click on Add Domain
- Enter the domain of the email address you’ll be using to send emails from WordPress and click Add Domain
SendLayer will provide you with a set of DNS (Domain Name System) records.
Note that under Type, four of these records are CNAME and one is TXT. That detail will be important later.
Add DNS Records
You’ll need to add these records to your domain’s DNS settings. This step is necessary for SendLayer to authenticate your domain and send emails on your behalf.
You’ll need to copy and paste these records one by one into your website’s DNS settings. Each domain provider has a different process for updating DNS records. We’ll show you how it’s done with one of our favorite hosting providers, Bluehost.
- Log into your Bluehost account and go to Domains > My Domains
- Click Manage next to the domain you want to edit
- Click the DNS tab
- Scroll down to the CNAME section and click Add Record
Now it’s time to add the details of your first CNAME record from the list provided by SendLayer.
- In the Host Record section, add sl
- In the Points To section, copy and paste the “Value” in the first row of the DNS records provided by SendLayer
- In the TTL section, put in a minimum for 4 hours
- Click Save
- Repeat with the rest of the CNAME records on your list
Now it’s time to add your TXT record.
- Scroll down to the TXT section and click Add Record
- In the Host Record section, add sl
- In the Points To section, copy and paste the “Value” of your TXT record provided by SendLayer
- In the TTL section, put in a minimum for 4 hours
- Hit Save
Verify DNS Records with SendLayer
- Go to your SendLayer account
- Check “I have added these DNS records and am ready to proceed.”
- Click Verify DNS Records
Note the yellow box telling you it might take some time for DNS changes to process. It can take a few minutes up to 48 hours, so don’t be surprised if you have to wait.
Connect SendLayer to WP Mail SMTP
There’s just one more step to link everything together.
- In your SendLayer dashboard, go to Settings > API Keys
- Click the copy icon next to where it says “Show API Key”
- Head back to WP Mail SMTP from your WordPress Dashboard
- Scroll down to the SendLayer section
- Paste the API Key into the API Key field
- Scroll down and hit Save Settings
Seal the Deal by Sending a Test Email
- From your WordPress Dashboard, go to WP Mail SMTP > Settings
- Go to the Email Test tab
- Enter an email address to send the test to in the Send To field.
- Hit Send Email
- Check your inbox to see if it arrived successfully.
Conclusion
Congratulations! You’re all done. You have the perfect trio (MemberPress, WP Mail SMTP, and SendLayer) to ensure you never have to worry about WordPress not sending emails.
Now you can sit back and let those emails fly out of your membership site all by themselves. Emails such as:
- Sign up confirmations
- Password resets
- Payment receipts
- Subscription renewal reminders
- Subscription renewal confirmations
- Membership changes
- Form submissions
- And more.
Here’s a recap of the 3 steps to never having to worry about WordPress not sending email from your membership site again.
- Step 1: Migrate to MemberPress
- Step 2: Switch from PHP to SMTP with WP Mail SMTP
- Step 3: Sign up to SendLayer, the perfect SMTP mailing service to go with WP Mail SMTP.
Got any other advice on how to fix the issue of WordPress not sending emails? Share them with the MemberPress community in the comments section below.
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