SMTP & Sending Services (Pro)

By default, WordPress sends mail through your web server’s PHP mail function — which is exactly why so much WordPress email lands in spam or vanishes. Send Emails Pro routes every email the plugin sends (campaigns, automations, compose, all of it) through a real SMTP connection instead: your own mail server, or a transactional service built for volume.

Supported services

The settings panel includes one-click presets that prefill the host, port, and encryption for:

• Amazon SES — the cheapest option at volume by a wide margin.
• SendGrid
• Mailgun
• Postmark — known for excellent deliverability on transactional mail.
• Custom SMTP — any provider with an SMTP interface: your host’s mail server, Google Workspace, Office 365, Brevo, and so on.

All four services are configured through their standard SMTP interfaces, so there are no API keys to juggle — just SMTP credentials from your provider’s dashboard.

Setting it up

1. Create SMTP credentials with your provider (for SES: an SMTP user in the SES console; for SendGrid/Mailgun/Postmark: the SMTP credentials page of your account).
2. In WordPress, go to Send Emails → Settings and open the Sending service panel.
3. Pick your service preset — host, port, and encryption fill in automatically — or choose custom SMTP and enter them yourself.
4. Enter the username and password from step 1.
5. Save, then send yourself a test from Compose and confirm it arrives. The email log records the exact SMTP error if anything’s wrong.

Keeping the password out of the database

For tighter security or automated deployments, define the SMTP password in wp-config.php instead of the settings form:

define( 'SENDEMAILS_PRO_SMTP_PASSWORD', 'your-smtp-password' );

When the constant is defined it takes precedence, and the password never touches the database.

Deliverability essentials

An SMTP connection is necessary but not sufficient — three DNS records decide whether inboxes trust you:

• SPF and DKIM — your sending service’s setup flow walks you through adding these; they prove your domain authorized the send. Verify your sending domain with the service before your first campaign.
• DMARC — add at least a monitoring policy (p=none); Gmail and Yahoo expect bulk senders to have one.
• Match your from email in Settings to the verified domain.

Then set the emails per hour rate limit to your service’s allowance, and you’re ready for real volume.

Closing the loop with webhooks

Once a service is delivering your mail, let it report back: Pro’s delivery webhooks receive bounce and complaint notifications from SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, and Postmark, automatically marking dead addresses as bounced and complainants as unsubscribed. Delivery out, hygiene in.