When emails are not reaching their destination successfully, many users assume this is a fault with the plugin. The majority of the time the plugin is executing the email sending code as required. When an email does not reach the recipient, it means that it is getting blocked or ending up in a spam box. In this topic we will outline how you resolve this email sending/receiving issues.
Narrowing Down the Issue and Verifying if the Email was Successfully Sent
To resolve the email sending issue you will first need to find out why it is happening. Using the Debug Logging feature of the WP Express Checkout plugin can help to determine if the plugin has successfully sent the email or not. Once you enable the debug option, if the log file states that the email has been sent successfully you will need to use the checklists mentioned below to work out where the email is getting blocked.
Enabling the Debug Option
To enable debug logging, complete the following:
- Click on Settings under the WP Express Checkout menu.
- Locate the Debug Logging section.
- Mark the checkbox next to Enable Debug Logging.
- Hit the Save Changes button.
You have now enabled the debug logging feature.
To ensure that the plugin is sending emails successfully, complete a test transaction from your site. Once you have completed a test run, click on the link to view log under the ‘Debug Logging’ section.
If the email has been sent successfully from your plugin, you should see a message similar to the following in the debug log file:
[05/11/2018 4:03 AM] - Buyer email notification sent to: [email protected], From email address used: [email protected]
The Plugin is Sending the Email Although the User is Not Receiving It
Once you have verified that the plugin is successfully sending the email, you will need to go through the following checklist to resolve the issue.
Checklist #1) Ensure your site’s domain name is part of the ‘from’ email address field. For example, an email address with our domain name will look something like this: [email protected]. Some servers will block emails or mark them as spam if they don’t include the domain name in the from address field value.
Checklist #2) Some servers require SMTP configuration. The simple plugin below will allow you to configure SMTP on your site so all the emails sent from WordPress is going over SMTP. You can ask your hosting provider for the SMTP details for your server and then plug those values into the settings menu of the SMTP plugin.
The mail servers trust emails that are sent via SMTP protocol. So using a plugin like the one mentioned above will give you a much higher email delivery rate.
When The Above Checklist Doesn’t Resolve the Email Issue
Once you complete the two checklists mentioned above and the emails are still not reaching your customers inbox successfully, you should check the following:
Checklist #3) Some servers such as GoDaddy have a limit on how many emails you can send out per day. So contact your hosting provider to make sure your site doesn’t have any limitations like that.
Checklist #4) The email is going into your customer’s spam folder. It is always good to mention that emails may go to the spam box. This way the customers will know to check their spam box.
Checklist #5) Some servers have a delay on when the email is sent. It is a good idea to wait upto an hour before jumping to conclusion.
Checklist #6) Ensure the “to” and “from” email addresses are NOT the same.