Perplexing and Bursting Your Brain: Sending Emails in WordPress Without a Plugin

WordPress is mind-boggling popular due to how much of the online world it powers. But beginners might find themselves flustered over how to send emails from their WordPress websites. They assume they’ll need to install a plugin, but the truth is you can do so without any extra bells or whistles.

Why You Gotta Send Emails From WordPress

Sending emails from a WordPress website is necessary to communicate with visitors and clients alike. Some reasons include:

• Newsletters: Keep subscribers in the know by sending newsletters that update them on new features, products, and events.
• Contact forms: Visitors can get in touch with you through the contact form, and you’ll receive email notifications to your inbox.
• Password reset: If a visitor forgets their password, they can reset it by requesting an email.

How to Send Emails in WordPress Without a Plugin

WordPress has a built-in mail function that you can use to handle your email needs. No additional plugins needed! Here’s what you need to get started:

• A properly configured SMTP provider account with all your authentication and basic details, such as SMTP host, SMTP port, username, and password
• Access to the wp-config.php file on your website

Step 1: Locate SMTP Settings

The first step to send emails in WordPress is to find the SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) settings. SMTP’s a protocol that servers use to send emails to each other.

You can find these settings in your hosting control panel. If you can’t locate them, consult your hosting provider’s support team or Google your hosting service name and “SMTP settings.”

Step 2: Configure SMTP Provider Account Settings

Once you have found your SMTP settings, enter your SMTP provider account details in the fields provided.

You’ll need to provide information like:

• SMTP Host: This is the address of the SMTP server you’ll use to send emails, and you’ll find it in your SMTP settings folder
• SMTP Port: This is the SMTP port number specified in your SMTP settings
• Username and Password: Typically, this is a combination of your email and password, or you can use your administrator account’s email address

Step 3: Open the wp-config.php file

The wp-config.php file is vital to your WordPress installation because it contains vital configuration settings. Log in to your hosting control panel and navigate to the File Manager. Here, click on the public_html folder and then the wp-config.php file.

Scroll down to the file’s bottom and enter the following code:

    define( 'WP_MAIL_SMTP', true );
    define( 'WP_MAIL_SMTP_HOST', 'your.smtp.host' );
    define( 'WP_MAIL_SMTP_AUTH', true );
    define( 'WP_MAIL_SMTP_PORT', 465 );
    define( 'WP_MAIL_SMTP_USERNAME', 'your.user.name@mail.com' );
    define( 'WP_MAIL_SMTP_PASSWORD', 'your_password' );
    define( 'WP_MAIL_SMTP_SECURE', 'ssl' );
    define( 'WP_MAIL_SMTP_FROM', 'your.from.email@mail.com' );
    define( 'WP_MAIL_SMTP_FROM_NAME', 'Name Displayed In Email' );

Make sure to replace the placeholders (your.smtp.host, your.user.name@mail.com, your_password, your.from.email@mail.com, and Name Displayed In Email) with your actual SMTP provider account details.

Step 4: Test

Congratulations! Your WordPress website is now capable of sending emails without additional plugins. To test if the feature is working, try sending a test email through the contact form, the newsletter subscription, or the password reset function.

Wrap Up

Sending emails is vital to running a WordPress website. With the information above, you can configure WordPress to send emails using SMTP without additional plugins. And just in case you encounter any issues, always remember to reach out to your hosting provider’s support team for assistance.