Why You’re Not Receiving WordPress Form Submission Notifications and How to Fix It
If your WordPress contact form has suddenly stopped sending you form submission notifications (such as “contact us” forms), you’re not alone. This is a common issue that many website owners face, and it’s often related to how your website sends emails behind the scenes. Let’s break down why this happens and the straightforward solution your web developer may have suggested.
Understanding the Problem
When a visitor fills out your contact form, WordPress needs to send that information as an email to your inbox. By default, WordPress uses something called the PHP mail() function, which relies on your web hosting server’s built-in mail capabilities.
However, this default method is increasingly problematic for several reasons:
- Many web hosting companies restrict or completely disable the PHP mail() function to prevent spam being sent through their servers
- Emails sent through the default method often have poor deliverability rates and frequently end up in spam folders
- Your hosting server may have recently updated its security policies or mail settings
- The default method lacks proper SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication, which modern email systems expect
Fairly recently, in an effort to cut down on phishing attempts (someone sending from an email that isn’t theirs), email clients now require email validation and authentication when sending from a different server than your email provider. So, even though your notifications may have been coming to you a while back, you find you are no longer receiving them. If this is the case, you will likely need to use the SMTP method to authenticate the email addresses used to send those notifications. This not only affects just your form notifications, any emails that are sent from your website may not be coming through to you or your customers.
What is an SMTP Server?
SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is the industry standard for sending emails across the internet. An SMTP server is essentially a dedicated email delivery service that handles the routing and delivery of your emails.
Think of it as the difference between sending a letter through a professional courier service versus dropping it in a random mailbox and hoping for the best.
Technical Details
SMTP operates on specific ports, typically:
- Port 25: Standard SMTP (often blocked by ISPs)
- Port 465: SMTP with SSL encryption
- Port 587: SMTP with TLS encryption (recommended for most modern setups)
When your WordPress site connects to an SMTP server, it establishes a secure connection using either SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) or TLS (Transport Layer Security) protocols to ensure your form data is transmitted securely.
Why Your Web Developer Recommended SMTP
Your web developer suggested using an SMTP server because it offers significant advantages:
- Improved reliability: Your form submissions are much more likely to reach your inbox
- Better authentication: Proper email authentication reduces the chance of your emails being marked as spam
- Delivery tracking: Many SMTP services let you verify if emails were delivered successfully
- Higher sending limits: Most SMTP services allow you to send more emails than default WordPress settings
- Detailed error logging: Get specific information about why an email failed to send
How to Implement an SMTP Solution
Implementing an SMTP server with WordPress is straightforward and doesn’t require modifying your contact form. Here’s how to get started:
- Choose an SMTP service:
- Use your existing email provider (Gmail, Outlook, your hosting email)
- Set up a dedicated transactional email service (like Brevo)
- Install an SMTP plugin:
- WP Mail SMTP
- Configure the plugin with your SMTP credentials:
- SMTP host (e.g., smtp.gmail.com, smtp.office365.com)
- SMTP port (typically 587 for TLS or 465 for SSL)
- Authentication credentials (username/password or API key)
- Encryption method (TLS/SSL)
- From email and name settings
- Validate the sending Domain
- The SMTP will produce specific tags for you to use in your domain records
- Create all records that the SMTP server provides
- Validate that the SMTP server “sees: the records, this will validate the domain
- Authenticate Senders
- Create a record in your SMTP server for each email that is used as a sending address for your submissions
- Validate each one using the SMTP built-in validation tools
Troubleshooting Common Issues
If you’re implementing SMTP but still experiencing issues:
- Authentication failures: Double-check credentials and consider using app passwords for services like Gmail
- Connection timeouts: Verify your host allows outbound connections on your chosen SMTP port
- SSL/TLS errors: Ensure your server has up-to-date SSL libraries installed
- Rate limiting: Some providers limit the number of emails you can send per hour/day
Need Help?
At Moore Tech Solutions in Birmingham, we understand how critical functioning contact forms are for your business. If you’re experiencing issues receiving form submission notifications from your WordPress website’s forms or need assistance setting up an SMTP server, our team of experts is ready to help.
Contact us today to ensure your website visitors can always reach you without technical obstacles standing in their way.
