Noor Alam

<a href="https://wphowto.net/gmail-smtp-plugin-for-wordpress-1341" rel="nofollow ugc">Gmail SMTP</a> plugin allows you to authenticate with your Gmail account to send email via Gmail SMTP server.
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Most shared hosting servers have restrictions when it comes to email. Usually email will get blocked or missing for no reason. Sometimes it will get blocked when your website reaches the daily limit of outgoing email. This plugin can bypass this issue by routing the email through Gmail’s SMTP server.
<h3>Gmail SMTP Add-ons</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://wphowto.net/how-to-add-a-reply-to-address-in-the-gmail-smtp-wordpress-plugin-6756" rel="nofollow ugc">Reply-To</a></li>
<li><a href="https://wphowto.net/gmail-smtp-plugin-cc-configuration-6770" rel="nofollow ugc">Cc</a></li>
<li><a href="https://wphowto.net/gmail-smtp-email-logger-7336" rel="nofollow ugc">Email Logger</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>Gmail SMTP Benefits</h3>
<ul>
<li>Gmail SMTP plugin is not like most SMTP plugins. It uses the OAuth 2.0 protocol to authorize access to the Gmail API – which means a more secure login system and users won’t have to enter any username or password.</li>
<li>Gmail SMTP plugin uses PHPMailer – a very popular library used for sending email through PHP’s mail function. This libary is also used in the core WordPress to send email.</li>
<li>Gmail SMTP plugin utilizes “wp_mail” (A function used by WordPress to send email) instead of completely overriding it. This way you still get all the benefits of the default mail function. </li>
<li>You no longer need to enable Allow less secure apps on your gmail account to fix SMTP connection issue. This issue became prominent from December 2014, when Google started imposing XOAUTH2 authentication (based on OAuth2) to access their apps. This issue still affects almost all the SMTP plugins because they authenticate via username and password.</li>
</ul>
<h3>How OAuth 2.0 Authorization Works</h3>
<ul>
<li>You register an application in the Google Developers Console.</li>
<li>The application is launched and it requests that you give it access to data in your Google account.</li>
<li>If you consent, the application receives credentials to access the Gmail API.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Gmail SMTP Features</h3>
<ul>
<li>Configure your website to send email using Gmail SMTP server</li>
<li>Authenticate using OAuth 2.0 protocol</li>
<li>Authenticate with encryption when sending an email (TLS/SSL)</li>
</ul>
<h3>Gmail SMTP Basic Setup</h3>
<ul>
<li>Create a new project in Google Developers Console.</li>
<li>Enable Gmail API in it.</li>
<li>Create credentials (OAuth client ID) to access this API.</li>
<li>Configure the consent screen for the web application.</li>
<li>Enter a Product Name and a Privacy policy URL.</li>
<li>Once the consent screen is configured, create a web application.</li>
<li>Go to the plugin settings (<code>Settings->Gmail SMTP</code>).</li>
<li>Set the Authorized Redirect URL of the application as the one shown in the settings.</li>
<li>Finish creating the web app.</li>
<li>Copy the newly created Client ID and Client secret and paste into the settings area.</li>
<li>Enter your OAuth Email, From Email and From name.</li>
<li>Select an encryption.</li>
<li>Enter a port number.</li>
<li>Save the settings.</li>
<li>Now you can authorize your application to access the Gmail API by clicking on the Grant Permission button.</li>
<li>Once the application has been authorized Gmail SMTP plugin will be able to take control of all outgoing email.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Gmail SMTP Settings</h3>
<ul>
<li>Authorized Redirect URI: Authorized redirect URL for your website. You need to copy this URL into your web application.</li>
<li>Client ID: The client ID of your web application.</li>
<li>Client secret: The client secret of your web application.</li>
<li>OAuth Email Address: The email address that you will use for SMTP authentication. This should be the same email used in the Google Developers Console.</li>
<li>From Email Address: The email address which will be used as the From Address when sending an email.</li>
<li>From Name: The name which will be used as the From Name when sending an email.</li>
<li>Type of Encryption: The encryption which will be used when sending an email (TLS/SSL. TLS is recommended).</li>
<li>SMTP Port: The port which will be used when sending an email. If you choose TLS it should be set to 587. For SSL use port 465 instead.</li>
<li>Disable SSL Certificate Verification: As of PHP 5.6 a warning/error will be displayed if the SSL certificate on the server is not properly configured. You can check this option to disable that default behaviour.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Gmail SMTP Test Email</h3>
Once you have configured the settings you can send a test email to check the functionality of the plugin.
<ul>
<li>To: Email address of the recipient.</li>
<li>Subject: Subject of the email.</li>
<li>Message: Email body.</li>
</ul>
For detailed setup instructions please visit the <a href="https://wphowto.net/gmail-smtp-plugin-for-wordpress-1341" rel="nofollow ugc">Gmail SMTP</a> plugin page.

Gmail SMTP


Only the necessary settings, simple and clean, good description. Thanks!


All is good!


The plugin is great when it works.



The plugin suddenly stopped working. I contacted support, they checked the site, and stopped answering. They did not say yes, no, we can or cannot fix it. They stopped answering.My finding are that the plugin only works on small wordpress website installs, on the root directory.



The plugin is not capable to handle large sites or sites installed on directories other than the root.That means, if you grow, you will start encountering problems with this plugin. Same as I did.



I am now using Fluent SMTP, it works out of the box with no sweat.



Thanks 


Good when it works, only for small sites installed at root

Connect to Gmail SMTP server to automatically send email from your WordPress site. Configure wp_mail() to use SMTP with OAuth 2.0 authentication.

Nicolas Verlhiac

<h3>Add Mail SMTP settings for WordPress</h3>
Looking to modify the SMTP on your WordPress site? 
Our Custom SMTP solution offers you this possibility, allowing you to easily change your WordPress SMTP settings, ensuring your emails consistently land in the recipient’s inbox.
Custom SMTP solves your email deliverability problems by reconfiguring WordPress to use a proper SMTP provider when sending emails.
What’s more, our intuitive settings page and comprehensive documentation will guide you through the process, making the task of modifying your SMTP settings easier than ever.
Custom SMTP is a free tool, packed with all the essential features you need to send your WordPress emails with absolute confidence!
Built for modern WordPress: WordPress 7.0 ready, PHPMailer 7.0.2 compatible, stateless / cloud-ready (Docker, Kubernetes), and fully translated in English and French.
<h3>Amazon SES API — keyless sending with IAM roles</h3>
Running WordPress on AWS (ECS Fargate, EC2, App Runner)? Custom SMTP can send through the Amazon SES API authenticated entirely by your container or instance IAM role — with no access keys, no secret keys, and no SMTP credentials stored anywhere. The plugin relies on the AWS default credential chain (the ECS task role / EC2 instance role), so your secrets never live in the database or the settings page.
This is the cleanest, most secure way to send from a containerized, 12-factor WordPress:
<ul>
<li>Zero stored secrets — authentication comes from the IAM role attached to the task/instance, not from keys pasted into wp-admin.</li>
<li>Full message fidelity — HTML, attachments, CC/BCC, Reply-To and custom headers are preserved (the message is sent as raw MIME); BCC recipients stay hidden.</li>
<li>SES Configuration Sets — optional, for bounce/complaint tracking and CloudWatch metrics.</li>
<li>Environment-driven — region, sender address and configuration set can be injected as environment variables / PHP constants (<code>SES_REGION</code> / <code>AWS_REGION</code>, <code>SES_FROM_EMAIL</code>, <code>SES_CONFIG_SET</code>), so the same image ships across environments without touching the database.</li>
<li>No extra dependency required — works whether or not the AWS SDK for PHP is present; when it isn’t, a built-in, dependency-free signed API client is used.</li>
<li>One-click test — send a test email and get back the SES MessageId.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Config-as-code & Multisite (immutable deployments)</h3>
For immutable Docker images, <code>DISALLOW_FILE_MODS</code> setups and large networks, every setting can be forced from the environment — no database writes at deploy time:
<ul>
<li>Any setting via a constant or env variable — define <code>CUSTOM_SMTP_<SETTING></code> (e.g. <code>CUSTOM_SMTP_MAILER_TYPE=ses_api</code>, <code>CUSTOM_SMTP_HOST</code>, <code>CUSTOM_SMTP_LOG_RETENTION</code>) and it overrides the saved value everywhere. The Amazon SES shortcuts (<code>SES_REGION</code> / <code>AWS_REGION</code>, <code>SES_FROM_EMAIL</code>, <code>SES_CONFIG_SET</code>) keep working too.</li>
<li>Activate a mailer network-wide with one variable — set <code>CUSTOM_SMTP_MAILER_TYPE=ses_api</code> in the container and every site uses Amazon SES, with zero per-site configuration and no custom <code>option_*</code> filter.</li>
<li>Multisite network settings — on a network, settings are read from the network-wide option (<code>get_site_option</code>) beneath any per-site option, so one configuration can apply to the whole network.</li>
<li>Visible in wp-admin — any field supplied by the environment is shown read-only with a “from <code>VARIABLE</code>” badge, so admins see exactly what the platform controls.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Built-in Email Logging</h3>
Never wonder if your emails were sent again. Custom SMTP automatically logs every email sent from your WordPress site – including WooCommerce order notifications, contact form submissions, and password resets. Preview email content directly in wp-admin, debug delivery issues with detailed error messages, and export logs for compliance.
<h3>Configuration Options</h3>
You can set the following options:
<ul>
<li>From Name & Email – Specify the sender name and email address for all outgoing emails</li>
<li>SMTP Host – Your email provider’s server (e.g., smtp.gmail.com)</li>
<li>SMTP Port – Common ports: 587 (TLS), 465 (SSL), 25 (None)</li>
<li>Encryption – Choose between None, SSL, or TLS</li>
<li>Authentication – Enable/disable SMTP authentication for relay servers</li>
<li>Username & Password – Your SMTP credentials (password stored encrypted)</li>
<li>Provider Presets – One-click configuration for Gmail, Outlook, iCloud, SendGrid, AWS SES, and more</li>
<li>Amazon SES API (IAM role) – Send through the Amazon SES API with no stored credentials, authenticated by your AWS task/instance role</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Features</h3>
SMTP Configuration 
* Configure any SMTP server (Gmail, Outlook, SendGrid, Mailgun, AWS SES, etc.) 
* Support for SSL/TLS encryption 
* Optional SMTP authentication for relay servers 
* Test connection without sending emails 
* Send test emails to verify configuration
Amazon SES API (keyless, IAM role) 
* Send via the Amazon SESv2 API authenticated by your AWS IAM role — no access keys or SMTP credentials stored 
* Ideal for AWS ECS/Fargate, EC2 and other containerized, stateless deployments 
* Preserves HTML, attachments, CC/BCC, Reply-To and custom headers (raw MIME) 
* Optional SES Configuration Set for bounce/complaint/CloudWatch tracking 
* Region, sender and configuration set configurable via environment variables or constants 
* Works with or without the AWS SDK for PHP (built-in signed API client fallback) 
* “Send Test Email” returns the SES MessageId
Email Logging & Debugging 
* Zero configuration – Logging works out of the box 
* Track all emails sent from WordPress, WooCommerce, Contact Form 7, and any plugin 
* View delivery status (sent/failed) with detailed error messages 
* Debug wp_mail errors easily – See exactly why emails fail 
* Resend failed emails – Re-send a failed message straight from the logs after fixing your configuration 
* Store email headers for advanced troubleshooting 
* Search by recipient, subject, or status 
* Filter by date range (Today, 7 days, 30 days) 
* Export logs to CSV for reporting and compliance
Email Preview & Content 
* Preview email body directly from wp-admin – No need to send test emails 
* View HTML source code of any logged email 
* Outlook-style sidebar for quick preview 
* Download any email as HTML file for archiving 
* Optional content storage (disabled by default for privacy)
Deliverability 
* Cooperates with the automatic Envelope-From / Return-Path behavior introduced in WordPress 6.9 — improves SPF, DKIM and DMARC alignment on strict hosts (AWS SES, Postmark, etc.) 
* PHPMailer 7.0.2 compatible (the version bundled in WordPress 7.0) 
* UTF-8 and emoji handled end-to-end in subjects, bodies, and headers
Privacy & GDPR-friendly 
* SMTP password encrypted at rest (AES-256-CBC) 
* Configurable log retention with automatic purge (30 days by default) 
* Email content storage can be disabled in one click from the settings 
* Email preview rendered in a sandboxed iframe — no JavaScript execution from logged emails 
* All data stays in your WordPress database — no third-party calls
Security 
* SMTP password encrypted in database (AES-256-CBC) 
* All admin actions protected with nonces 
* Capability checks on all operations
Stateless & Cloud-Ready 
* Fully compatible with stateless WordPress hosting (containers, Kubernetes, AWS ECS/Fargate, etc.) 
* Works with Bedrock, Trellis, and other modern WordPress stacks 
* Zero filesystem writes – all data stored in the database 
* No shared storage (EFS/NFS) required between instances 
* Safe to run on read-only filesystems
AI & Workflow Integration (WordPress 6.9+) 
* <code>custom-smtp/connection-health</code> — read the current SMTP state (configured, host/port/encryption/auth, log retention) from any tool 
* <code>custom-smtp/send-test-email</code> — trigger a test email through your configured SMTP server 
* Compatible with MCP-enabled AI assistants, automation tools (n8n, Make), dashboards, and other plugins via the WordPress Abilities API 
* Protected by capability checks (<code>manage_options</code>) — same security boundary as the wp-admin interface

Custom SMTP: Email Deliverability – FREE & Easy-to-use

Effortlessly configure WordPress SMTP and monitor all sent emails. Built-in email logging with preview, error debugging, and WooCommerce support.

Gmail SMTP vs Custom SMTP: Email Deliverability – FREE & Easy-to-use