Zoho Mail
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Send WordPress email through your Zoho Mail mailbox using SMTP and an application-specific password.
This guide shows you how to send your site's email through a Zoho Mail mailbox. It suits businesses that already host their email with Zoho and send a modest volume of website mail, such as contact form notices and order emails.
The Zoho Mail mailer connects to Zoho's SMTP server on port 587 with STARTTLS encryption. It signs in with your mailbox address and an application-specific password, never your normal Zoho password. You only choose the data centre; CRM-NG SMTP fills in the server and port for you.
The mailbox is the sender
Zoho only lets you send as the mailbox you sign in with, or an alias set up on that mailbox. CRM-NG SMTP therefore sends every message from the Mailbox Email Address you enter, and the usual From Email choice does not apply.
Before you start
- A Zoho Mail account with the mailbox the site will send from.
- Two-factor authentication turned on for that Zoho account (Zoho requires it before you can create an app password).
- Administrator access to your WordPress site.
- To know which Zoho data centre your account is in. Look at the address you sign in at:
zoho.com,zoho.eu,zoho.inand so on.
Step 1: Check that SMTP is allowed
- Sign in to Zoho Mail
Sign in to Zoho Mail as the mailbox owner.
- Check the mailbox settings
Open Settings → Mail Accounts and select the mailbox. Look for the IMAP, POP or SMTP access options and make sure access for outside applications is on.
- Check with your Zoho admin
In an organisation account, an admin can switch these options off for users. If you cannot change them, ask your admin to allow it in the Zoho Mail admin console for your user.
Step 2: Create an application-specific password
- Open Zoho Accounts
Go to
https://accounts.zoho.com/(use your own data centre's domain, for exampleaccounts.zoho.eu) and sign in. - Turn on two-factor authentication
Open Security and look for Multi-Factor Authentication. Set it up if it is not already on.
- Generate the password
Still under Security, find App Passwords and choose Generate New Password. Name it something like "Website mail".
- Copy it
Zoho shows the password once. Copy it now. Spaces in the displayed password do not matter.
Step 3: Connect in CRM-NG SMTP
- Choose the mailer
In WordPress, open CRM-NG SMTP → Settings → General and set Mailer to Zoho Mail.
- Pick the data centre
In Data Center, choose the region that matches the domain you sign in to Zoho with.
- Enter the mailbox
In Mailbox Email Address, type the full mailbox address, for example
you@yourdomain.com. - Enter the password
Paste the app password into Application-Specific Password.
- Set the name
Set From Name to the name you want people to see, and tick Force From Name if other plugins change it.
- Save
Press Save Settings.
CRM-NG SMTP picks the server from the data centre:
| Data Center | SMTP server used |
|---|---|
| United States (zoho.com) | smtp.zoho.com |
| Europe (zoho.eu) | smtp.zoho.eu |
| India (zoho.in) | smtp.zoho.in |
| Australia (zoho.com.au) | smtp.zoho.com.au |
| Japan (zoho.jp) | smtp.zoho.jp |
| Canada (zohocloud.ca) | smtp.zohocloud.ca |
| Saudi Arabia (zoho.sa) | smtp.zoho.sa |
All of them use port 587 with STARTTLS.
A different server for your plan
Zoho tells some organisation accounts to use a separate server name for paid plans (for example a name beginning smtppro.). If Zoho's own settings page for your mailbox shows a different SMTP server, a developer can change the server CRM-NG SMTP uses with the catalyst_mailers_zoho_smtp_host filter. Alternatively use Other SMTP with the server Zoho gives you.
Send a test email
Open CRM-NG SMTP → Tools → Email Test, enter your address in Send To, and press Send Email. The message should come from your Zoho mailbox address. See Sending a test email.
For good delivery, your domain needs Zoho's SPF include, a DKIM key from the Zoho Mail admin console, and a DMARC record. See Adding DNS records.
Troubleshooting
- Zoho refuses the sign-in (wrong password, or the normal password was used): 535 Authentication failed
- Zoho asks for an app password: 534: application-specific password required
- The server cannot reach Zoho on port 587: Could not connect to SMTP host and Connection timed out
- Zoho refuses the sender address: 553 Sender address rejected
- Zoho blocks the message or the account: 554 Transaction failed
- You sent more than Zoho allows: Email sending limit reached
- Mail arrives in spam: Emails landing in spam
If you picked the wrong Data Center, sign-in fails even with the right password. Check the domain you sign in to Zoho with.