WordPress uses the PHPMailer library for sending an email from your server. While the default option works well for most sites, some websites may encounter an issue with email deliverability. In that case, you can choose to bypass your server by using a third-party SMTP service provider. In this article, I will show you how you can configure SMTP to send email from a site hosted on InMotion Hosting.
SMTP Configuration on InMotion Hosting
In order to get started with InMotion Hosting SMTP Configuration, first, you need to install the WordPress SMTP Mailer plugin. There are two ways to install this plugin from your WordPress admin dashboard.
Option 1
- Go to Plugins > Add New from your WordPress dashboard.
- Enter “SMTP Mailer” in the Search box.
- Find the one developed by naa986.
- Click Install Now and Activate.
Option 2
- Download the SMTP Mailer plugin on your computer.
- Go to Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin from your WordPress dashboard.
- Click Choose file and select the zip copy of the plugin from your computer.
- Click Install Now and Activate.
After you have installed the plugin head to the plugin settings Settings > SMTP Mailer.
This is where you need to enter your SMTP related details to send email from your InMotion Hosting server:
SMTP Host – The SMTP server which will be used to send an email.
SMTP Authentication – Select whether you want to use SMTP authentication when an ending email.
SMTP Username – The username for your SMTP server.
SMTP Password – The password for your SMTP server.
Type of Encryption – The encryption to be used when sending an email. For example, No Encryption/TLS/SSL.
SMTP Port – The port to be used when connecting to the remote SMTP server for sending an email.
From Email Address – The email address that will appear in the recipient’s inbox as the “From Email Address” when an email is received.
From Name – The name that will appear in the recipient’s inbox as the “From Name” when an email is received.
Local SMTP Configuration on InMotion Hosting
If you want to set up SMTP with an email address on the InMotion Hosting server, your configurations should look like the following:
- SMTP Host: localhost
- SMTP Authentication: True
- SMTP Username: The email address you will be sending from (e.g. user@example.com)
- SMTP Password: yourpassword
- Type of Encryption: No Encryption
- SMTP Port: 25
- From Email Address: The email address which will be displayed as the “From Email Address” on the recipient’s end.
- From Name: The name which will be displayed as the “From Name” on the recipient’s end.
Remote SMTP Configuration on InMotion Hosting
If you want to use a remote SMTP host (e.g. Gmail, Yahoo) to send your email, your configurations should look like the following:
SMTP Host: Your remote SMTP server (e.g. smtp.gmail.com, smtp.mail.yahoo.com)
SMTP Authentication: True
SMTP Username: The username/email address you will be sending from. For example: “johndoe” If your gmail address is johndoe@gmail.com.
SMTP Password: yourloginpassword
Type of Encryption: TLS
SMTP Port: 587
From Email Address: The email address which will be displayed as the “From Email Address” on the recipient’s end (e.g. recipient@example.com).
From Name: The name which will be displayed as the “From Name” on the recipient’s end (e.g. Peter Parker).
Note
TLS encryption on port 587 is the preferred method these days when using a third-party SMTP host for sending an email. However, your host might keep that port blocked depending on your hosting plan. In that case, you might need to switch to SSL encryption on port 465. Port 25 can also be used for sending an email. However, most web hosts don’t offer any encryption on port 25 (you can check if it supports encryption if both 587 and 465 are blocked). That’s why port 25 is preferred when you are not using any encryption.
After you have configured everything you can send a test email from the “Test Email” tab to make sure that everything is working on your site.