Email is far and away, the most cost-effective form of marketing for an entrepreneur. It has long been efficient, inexpensive, and personal. There is no other marketing technique that gets a message to your prospective clients than email.
Combine the remarkable benefits of WordPress with an effective email campaign, and you have an unbeatable sales combination. A fundamental aspect of online marketing through email must be understood from the beginning. Everyone receives a LOT of email! When email was first developed and started gaining worldwide acceptance, the communication medium was perfect.
Email is still the best
- Cost-effective and anyone with an internet connection could communicate with an email
- Email got your message across succinctly; your message could be as simple as one word or as complex as an entire website
Data now shows there are approximately 125 billion email messages sent and received each day. Yes, that is billion with a B. The medium has exploded across the world with absolutely no signs of slowing down.
Three main protocols for WordPress SMTP Plugins
- SMTP is used for sending your message
- IMAP accesses the mail directly from the server
- POP downloads the email from a server
Consider the following 10 email plugins. These WordPress SMTP Plugins can help to cut through all the noise and get your message opened.
Each plugin is given a purely subjective rating number. This figure is based on value, ease of setup and long-term viability.
Our Favorite SMTP Plugins
WP Mail SMTP is one of the best full-featured email plugins available for WordPress. The plugin has over one million active downloads and is integrated with WP Forms.
If you are having problems getting your email delivered and they are ending in the spam box, turn to WP Mail SMTP. The plugin solves a lot of issues by making sure the message is correctly authenticated throughout the delivery process. With this feature, the message is recognized as legitimate and will bypass aggressive spam blockers.
If you plan on sending emails in bulk, reliability is the trademark for this plugin. WP Mail SMTP is lightweight with plenty of options. If you need white glove treatment, the engineers at WP Mail SMTP can install the software for you. The plugin is tightly integrated with other applications such as Amazon, G-Suite, Office 365, and Outlook.
GRADE: Ten
WP Gmail SMTP is a great way to integrate the Gmail server into your WordPress site. The plugin allows you to authenticate mail from the Gmail servers.
Gmail is the world’s number one email client, and using its brand name is an excellent way to get people to open your message. Most shared hosting solutions have aggressive blocking techniques. Sometimes mail will get blocked by just reaching a daily limit. The WP Gmail SMTP bypasses a lot of the blocking by going through Gmail’s servers.
The plugin offers a more secure form of mail transport by using the OAuth 2.0 protocol. This feature provides a more secure login, and your subscribers won’t have to enter any username or password. The Gmail SMTP plugin uses the popular PHPMailer for sending the email. The PHP library function is also part of the core WordPress mail function.
If you love Gmail as an email solution, this SMTP plugin is exactly what you are looking for. You will need PHP 5.6 or later to take advantage of this piece of software.
GRADE: Eight
Post SMTP is a next-generation plugin for taking over your WordPress messaging. The feature-rich add-on works with the OAuth 2.O protocol, allowing for your users to forego login details. Post SMTP keeps a complete record of your messages with a send/receive log for debugging.
Post SMTP is the only mailer that gives you a Chrome extension for any type of notification. If your email fails to send for any reason whatsoever, there are notifications from Chrome, Slack, or Pushover. There is an intelligent setup wizard that scans your SMTP server configuration and then leads you through the correct installation.
Post SMTP is not another clone. The plugin replaces the default SMTP library or PHP Library with Zend_Mail. Post SMTP gives the user a connectivity tester to diagnose any server issues with your WordPress installation. The plugin supports forced recipients and custom email headers.
Use the Gmail API for sending Google Apps and Gmail. Users can also employ the Mandrill API, which is an email infrastructure service that can be used with MailChimp.
GRADE: Eight
SendinBlue is a little different than the others so far in that it offers an email marketing function on top of installing SMTP. Instead of having separate plugins for email marketing, sending, and receiving, SendinBlue provides the complete package.
The number of features available for this plugin is impressive. Design specific email messages and communicate directly with urgent offerings and coupons. A vital communication feature is Chat. Setup a chatbot with the same colors, feel of your website and be there when your customers need your help.
A vital communication feature is Chat
Automate a lot of the marketing functions in your bulk email. Keep track of your customer details in an extensive log system. Target specific customers, tiers, or segments of your list and offer them individualized product suggestions. Create a targeted experience for your email marketing.
Use dedicated landing pages for each customer segment of your list or for an individual product. Incorporate sign-up forms in your email. Direct your customers to Facebook, Twitter, or any other website you choose. Use the robust reporting system to know exactly what and when your customers are buying your service or products.
GRADE: Ten
SMTP Mailer is a dedicated plugin designed for one thing only, configuring a mail server to handle all outgoing mail for your website. The plugin takes full control of the WP_mail in WordPress.
SMTP Mailer is compatible with a majority of WordPress applications, and you need to have a WordPress hosting account. The SMTP Mailer plugin is straightforward to set up and use. The plugin enhances the native WordPress code by sending mail remotely. This functionality reduces the load on your server and speeds up the mailing process.
You need to be running WordPress 4.7 or higher and on an optimized theme. Ports 587, 465, or 25 need to be open to use the SMTP Mailer. Also, communication with an external server should be approved by your current host. Install the plugin like any other, then head to settings to configure the SMTP Mailer plugin.
GRADE: Seven
Mailgun is a powerful developer based email deliverability plugin with a ton of features. Mailgun boasts of 99.9% uptime with a host of built-in APIs o build an unbeatable service.
Send dozens or thousands of emails easily with Mailgun’s SMTP integration. The software clears away much of the unnecessary code when sending bulk emails and scale quickly with Mailgun. The software integrates real-time email validation, so you know who is sending the email and validating your recipient. Use drag and drop to place your email list quickly into Mailgun.
If you are a high volume email sender, the engineers at Mailgun can design a custom solution for your site. This design will ensure more emails are being delivered and on time. Mailgun provides an extensive set of documentation to get you and your team up and running quickly.
This design will ensure more emails are being delivered and on time.
Send transactional emails or millions of messages with Mailgun’s SMTP relay and HTTP API. Mailgun provides an extensive set of email reporting, so your next set of emails is better than the last.
GRADE: Ten
SendGrid is another full-featured SMTP relay service you can never outgrow. SendGrid provides a considerable number of APIs to integrate the service with several other platforms.
Email marketing can be a substantial part of your website with the use of SendGrid. Automate the entire process of sending emails either by recurring or drip content. Keep tabs on every email you send or receive by the robust SendGrid reporting system. Email content can be crafted any way you choose by HTML, drag, and drop, or a mix of both. Craft your email from an extensive library of templates or build your own.
Transactional emails are easy to set up with SendGrid’s SMTP relay or the SMTP API. Integrate with a multitude of frameworks such as Python, Nodejs, or PHP and access you send/receive data in real-time.
SendGrid makes sure your emails are received with the highest rates in the industry. Eliminate many of the phishing and spoofing scams that have plagued the industry. Maximize engagement to mobile platforms with SendGrid’s universal linking platform.
GRADE: Seven
WP Yahoo SMTP is another email plugin compatible with one of the most popular platforms on the internet. Send a single email or bulk send with the security of Yahoo.
Customers will recognize the Yahoo name, which helps your open and read rates. Customize a host of options for sending any type of email. Sending emails is quick and easy because it bypasses your WordPress account and sends the emails directly through Yahoo servers. Simply add a username and password, and you are all set. You also can change the “From” info as well.
The features for WP Yahoo SMTP are numerous. Hostnames are filled in automatically along with the protocol field. Loading and installing the plugin is easy. Simply download and activate, then start configuration options such as username, password, and return path.
GRADE: Seven
WP MailBank SMTP is a feature-rich plugin trusted by over 50,000 customers. The plugin comes from an Indian company and is updated regularly for customer convenience.
There are two options when you download the plugin. The first is the option to use the built-in options from WP MailBank. The second option is to use PHP mailer settings. The plugin provides unmatched reliability in making sure your email gets to where you are sending it. The plugin is designed to log, test, and deliver results.
Features for the plugin are numerous. WP MailBank ensures your email receives proper authentication, and there is no email overload during transport. And makes sure emails are correctly used through the PHPMailer system, so they do not end up in spam folders.
WP MailBank ensures your emails are not lumped into a condition of “email overload” and again thrown into a spam folder. If you send a lot of emails, this is a possibility and can ruin bulk sending efforts. WP MailBank reconfigures the WordPress wp_mail function so you can set up your configurations.
WP MailBank supports the SendGrid and Mailgun APIs for added functionality. Another feature is you can use many of the popular email providers such as Gmail and Outlook.
GRADE: Nine
WP Mail Gateway is a reliable and lightweight plugin for sending and receiving mail form your server. It is a well-defined tool which is compatible with many platforms on the internet.
WP Mail Gateway alters the wp_mail WordPress function to authenticate outgoing and incoming mail, so delivery rates are higher. It is a safe and secure gateway for messaging in your WordPress installation. WP Mail Gateway supports all the major browsers, including Firefox, Edge, and Chrome.
WP Mail Gateway supports many of the other popular email clients and adds additional settings such as WordPress SMTP integration. This plugin also supports the APIs from Mailgun and SendGrid. You should have WordPress version 4.0 or higher and PHP version 5.5 or higher.
GRADE: Seven
Our Favorite WordPress SMTP Plugins
Thank you for taking a look at the best WordPress SMTP plugins, we tried to dig deep on the features and provide many resources. The right SMTP plugin for you may be different than what others need. And as always, when looking at WordPress plugins pay attention to updates and support. You want to choose plugins that are regularly updated with WordPress core updates. You also want to choose plugins that are supported effectively. It is why we at iThemes focus on providing the best support.
It is important to take the necessary precautions and back up your WordPress installation correctly. There is no more frustrating feeling than spending several hours working on a website and in a single stroke it is all wiped clean. Protect your website with a quality WordPress backup plugin. Security is a major concern if you have a website of any kind. The threats are now more vicious than ever before. It is vital to secure your site from any malware or brute force attacks. These hackers can easily steal millions of pieces of vital customer information at any time. Secure your website now with a quality WordPress security plugin.