WordPress Email Not Sending

WordPress sends emails for contact forms, new orders, comments and password resets. When those don’t arrive, the cause is usually where they land or how they’re sent, not WordPress itself. Work through these checks in order.

1. Check spam and filters

1. Look in the spam or junk folder of the mailbox that should receive the email.
2. Check any rules or filters in that mailbox that move or delete messages.
3. If you find the email in spam, mark it as not spam. Then follow section 4, “Send through SMTP”, so it stops happening.

2. Check where WordPress sends it

1. Go to Settings → General and check Administration Email Address. WordPress sends site notices there.
2. If it’s wrong, enter the right address and click Save Changes. WordPress emails a link to the new address. The change only takes effect after you click that link.
3. Open your contact form plugin’s settings and check the recipient (To) address for each form.

3. Check the sender address

Many forms send from the visitor’s own address, such as someone@gmail.com. Receiving servers see that your server isn’t allowed to send for gmail.com and may reject the message.

1. Set the form’s From address to a real mailbox at your own domain, such as you@yourdomain.com. On Shared Web Hosting, if you don’t have one yet, create it first in cPanel: click Email in the sidebar, then New email account.
2. Put the visitor’s address in the form’s Reply-To setting. Then pressing Reply still writes back to the visitor.

4. Send through SMTP

By default WordPress sends mail with PHP’s built-in mail function, without logging in to a mailbox. Sending through a real mailbox with SMTP (logging in with the mailbox’s address and password) is usually more reliable. On Shared Web Hosting:

1. In WordPress, go to Plugins → Add Plugin and search for “SMTP”.
2. Choose a plugin with many Active Installations and a recent Last Updated date. Click Install Now, then Activate.
3. In cPanel, click Email in the sidebar and click Manage next to the mailbox you want to send from. On the Overview tab, click Open Webmail.
4. On the Webmail home page, in the Set up email on your device panel, click Automatically configure my device. If you see an Email Accounts icon instead, click it, then click Connect Devices next to the mailbox. Or type the tool’s name in cPanel’s search box (Ctrl+K or Cmd+K). If you can’t find it, open a support ticket and ask for your mail settings.
5. Under Secure SSL/TLS Settings (marked Recommended), find the outgoing server (SMTP) and its port. Enter both in the SMTP plugin, and choose SSL/TLS encryption (some plugins call it just SSL).
6. Turn on authentication. Use the full email address as the username, and that mailbox’s password.
7. Set the plugin’s From address to the same email address.
8. Save, then send the plugin’s test email.

If your email is hosted somewhere else, such as Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, set up SMTP with that provider’s settings instead. If you’re not sure which settings to use, open a support ticket and we’ll tell you.

5. Check your domain’s email records

An SPF record lists the servers allowed to send email for your domain. If yours is missing or wrong, other providers may reject or junk your messages. If you’re not sure your SPF record is right, open a support ticket and ask us to check it.

How to tell it worked

1. Submit your contact form.
2. Open a private browser window and go to your WordPress login page.
3. Click Lost your password? and enter your own username.
4. Check that both emails arrive in the inbox within a few minutes.

Troubleshooting

• Only some emails arrive: each cPanel account can send up to 300 emails an hour. Above that, sending stops until the next hourly reset, and emails sent during the pause may arrive late or not at all. Use a newsletter service for bulk mail.
• Emails arrive at Gmail but not at your own domain: if your mailboxes are with another provider, such as Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, your hosting may be keeping these emails instead of passing them on. Open a support ticket and ask us to check where mail for your domain is delivered. Don’t try to change this yourself: the wrong setting can stop all email to your domain. If your mailboxes are with Blue Arctic, check that mailbox’s spam folder and filters first.
• Your SMTP plugin’s test fails: check the server, port, username and password against the mailbox’s settings page from section 4. If it still fails, open a support ticket and include the plugin’s exact error message.
• You can’t log in because the reset email doesn’t arrive: open a support ticket.

Still need help?

Open a support ticket from the Client Portal at my.bluearctic.com. Include your domain, the form or email that fails, the recipient address, when you last sent a test, any bounce message, and what you already tried. Never include a password.