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✉️ Email Delivery

Documentation, reference material and tutorials for CRM-NG SMTP Email: setup guides for every mail service, troubleshooting, and one article per error message.

Other SMTP

Updated

By Duane GarnerChief Executive Officer (CEO)
Summarize: Claude ChatGPT View Markdown
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Send WordPress email through any SMTP server: host, encryption, port, Auto TLS, authentication and common server settings.

This guide explains how to send your site's email through any SMTP server, such as your web host's mail server, a business mailbox, or a sending service's SMTP relay. Use it when your provider has no dedicated mailer in CRM-NG SMTP, or when your host blocks outgoing API calls but allows SMTP.

Other SMTP works with almost any mail server, but it is the least robust choice. It relies on a stored password, many servers limit how much you may send, and some hosts block SMTP ports. If your provider has its own mailer in CRM-NG SMTP, prefer that one. See Choosing a mail service.

Before you start

Get these details from your mail provider:

  • The SMTP server name (host).
  • The port and the type of encryption it expects.
  • The username and password (or app password, or SMTP key) for sending.
  • The address you are allowed to send from. Most servers only accept mail from the account's own address or its aliases.

Step 1: Enter the server details

  1. Choose the mailer

    In WordPress, open CRM-NG SMTP → Settings → General and set Mailer to Other SMTP.

  2. Enter the host

    Type the server name into SMTP Host, for example smtp.yourprovider.com. Do not add https:// or a port.

  3. Choose the encryption

    Under Encryption, pick TLS, SSL or None to match your provider (see the table below).

  4. Enter the port

    Type the port into SMTP Port. It must match the encryption.

  5. Leave Auto TLS on

    Keep Auto TLS switched on unless you have a reason to change it (see below).

Encryption and port

Encryption Port What happens
TLS 587 The connection starts plain and switches to encryption straight away (STARTTLS). Recommended for most servers.
SSL 465 The connection is encrypted from the first moment (also called implicit TLS). Use it when your provider asks for 465.
None 25 or 587 No encryption is requested. Only for servers inside a trusted network. Port 25 is blocked by many hosts.

If your provider offers both SSL and TLS, pick TLS on port 587.

Auto TLS

Auto TLS matters when Encryption is None; the switch is greyed out with TLS, which already encrypts. With None, it upgrades the connection to encryption whenever the server offers it. Leave it on. Turn it off only if a misconfigured server advertises encryption but then fails, for example with a certificate error on a local relay.

Auth type

Almost every SMTP server asks the site to sign in before it accepts mail.

  1. Turn on Authentication

    Switch Authentication on. The username and password fields appear.

  2. Enter the username

    Type your sign-in name into SMTP Username. It is usually your full email address; some services use a special login (for example Brevo's SMTP login, or apikey for SendGrid).

  3. Enter the password

    Type the password into SMTP Password. For Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud and Zoho this must be an app password, not your normal password. For sending services it is usually an SMTP key.

  4. Save

    Press Save Settings.

CRM-NG SMTP signs in with whichever method the server offers (normally LOGIN or PLAIN over an encrypted connection). If your server wants something else, such as OAuth only, use that provider's own mailer instead.

The password is stored encrypted in your database. To keep it out of the database entirely, define it in wp-config.php with CRMNG_SMTP_SMTP_PASS; the field is then locked. See Securing settings with wp-config constants. Use Remove Password to clear a stored password.

Leave Authentication off only for servers that accept mail without signing in, such as a relay on your own network that trusts your server's IP address.

Step 2: Set the sender

  1. Set the From Email

    Set From Email to the address your SMTP account may send from.

  2. Force it

    Tick Force From Email so other plugins cannot use an address the server will refuse. Set From Name too.

  3. Keep bounces

    Tick Return Path so bounce messages come back to the From Email.

  4. Save

    Press Save Settings.

Common SMTP settings

These are typical values. Always check your provider's own help pages, as they can change.

Provider SMTP Host Encryption / Port Notes
Your web host often mail.yourdomain.com TLS 587 or SSL 465 Ask your host for exact values.
Gmail smtp.gmail.com TLS 587 Needs an app password; the Gmail mailer is better.
Microsoft 365 smtp.office365.com TLS 587 Often switched off by admins; the Microsoft 365 mailer is better.
Yahoo Mail smtp.mail.yahoo.com SSL 465 Needs an app password.
iCloud Mail smtp.mail.me.com TLS 587 Needs an app-specific password.
Zoho Mail smtp.zoho.com (by region) TLS 587 The Zoho mailer fills this in.
Brevo relay smtp-relay.brevo.com TLS 587 Login and SMTP key from Brevo, see Brevo.
SendGrid relay smtp.sendgrid.net TLS 587 Username apikey, password is the API key.
Amazon SES email-smtp.<region>.amazonaws.com TLS 587 Uses SES SMTP credentials, not IAM keys.

Send a test email

Open CRM-NG SMTP → Tools → Email Test, enter your address in Send To, and press Send Email. If it fails, the error banner shows the server's reply. Turning on Debug Email Sending under Tools → Debug Events records the whole conversation with the server. See Sending a test email and Debug events.

Troubleshooting

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