WordPress email, made easier to understand
SSF SMTP Mailer
Set up your outgoing email. Understand failures. Keep testing safely.
Start with guided SMTP setup and sender controls in Free. Add a private activity timeline, clearer diagnostic reports and staging safeguards with the separate Pro add-on.
SMTP provider accounts and sending services are arranged separately. A sending acceptance does not confirm inbox delivery.
SET UP · CHECK · UNDERSTAND
SMTP credentials only; no OAuth or one-click provider sign-in. Provider requirements explained below.
Free · Sending foundation
A clear setup from connection to test email.
For administrators who want to configure the SMTP service they already use, choose authorised sender details and check the result.
Connect your SMTP service
- One SMTP connection with your provider’s host, port and credentials
- STARTTLS or implicit TLS with certificate verification
- Encrypted storage for saved passwords
- Credentials can be managed through server configuration constants
Choose your sender
- Set an authorised From address and sender name
- Optionally apply them to WordPress emails
- Preserve Reply-To headers added by contact forms
- Review local setup checks and recognised plugin conflicts
Send a test you can verify
- Send a test to an inbox you control
- See the latest test outcome and time
- Know when settings changed after that test
- Follow practical connection, authentication and delivery guidance
Free 0.1.0 has been submitted to WordPress.org. Its latest recorded submission status was “Awaiting Review.” A directory listing will be linked after approval; no directory approval is claimed here.
Pro · Investigation & safe testing
Find the next useful step when an email fails.
Pro builds on the Free sending setup. Choose the local records and safeguards you need; activity collection, alerts and staging controls begin switched off.
Email activity timeline
- Review sending outcomes and failure categories
- Filter recent activity and open the relevant event
- See masked recipient information and elapsed time
- Keep message subjects, bodies and attachments out of the history
Private diagnostic reports
- Review local configuration checks and the last test
- Understand a result without exposing raw SMTP transcripts
- Export redacted CSV activity or a JSON support report
- Review an audit of Pro settings changes
Independent failure alerts
- Optionally send a small failure notice to your HTTPS webhook
- Use a channel independent of the failing email connection
- Keep the endpoint encrypted in local settings
- Limit repeated alerts with a cooldown
Staging safety controls
- Suppress outgoing mail on a test copy
- Or redirect recipients to one administrator-approved test inbox
- Remove original To, Cc and Bcc recipients in redirect mode
- See a prominent warning while a staging mode is on
Privacy & retention
- Choose 1–90 days of local history retention
- Keep at most 5,000 recent activity records
- Export only the redacted information needed for support
- Keep Free settings separate from Pro cleanup choices
Designed for clear outcomes
“Accepted for sending” describes the WordPress mail pipeline result. “Failed,” “suppressed” and “handled by another mail filter” have different meanings.
The tools help you investigate; they do not prove inbox delivery, track opens or automatically resend messages.
Open the detailed explanations ↓Choose the tools you need
Free and Pro, side by side.
The separate Pro add-on requires SSF SMTP Mailer Free. It adds investigation and testing tools around the same sending foundation.
Requires WordPress 6.4 or newer and PHP 8.1 or newer. The Pro add-on requires Free 0.1.0. Optional webhook transport also requires PHP cURL, trusted certificate authorities and a suitable public HTTPS endpoint.
| Feature | Free | Free + Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Guided SMTP connection and encrypted saved credentials | Included | Included through Free |
| Sender settings and Reply-To preservation | Included | Included through Free |
| Test email and settings-aware latest result | Included | Included through Free |
| Metadata-only email activity timeline | Latest test only | Optional local activity history |
| Failure categories, diagnostics and redacted exports | Built-in help and local setup checks | Additional timeline and support reports |
| Independent HTTPS webhook failure alerts | — | Optional; requires PHP cURL and a suitable public HTTPS endpoint |
| Suppress or redirect mail on a staging site | — | Optional staging controls |
| Configurable history retention | No activity history | 1–90 days; up to 5,000 recent events |
| OAuth, provider APIs, automatic resend, cloud sending and AI | Not included | Not included in this release |
Click for the practical details
Understand what each tool changes.
Pro · What appears in the activity timeline?
A local record can show the time, curated outcome, masked recipient information, recipient count, elapsed time and a best-effort source. A failure category points to a practical next check.
Pro does not archive subjects, message bodies, attachments, full recipient addresses, passwords or raw provider transcripts. A source hint may be unavailable or affected by other plugins.
Retention pruning runs during normal reads and writes and through WordPress cron when available. An inactive site may retain records until its next execution.
Pro · Why use an independent failure alert?
If the outgoing email connection fails, an email alert through that same connection may fail too. Pro can send a small, optional HTTPS notice to an endpoint you arrange separately.
The notice contains a site origin, event identifier, timestamp and curated category. The destination must pass public-endpoint and TLS checks. Redirects are refused. Provider or automation-service charges are separate.
Pro · How does staging suppression work?
Suppression stops mail before transport on your test site. Its activity outcome is “suppressed,” not a successful delivery. Keep this clearly marked and use it only where you intend mail to stop.
Activate it deliberately on your staging copy. Deactivate it before expecting normal mail from that site.
Pro · What does redirect mode do?
Choose and confirm a test inbox you control. Pro replaces To recipients and removes original Cc and Bcc recipients before sending through the normal mail pipeline. Reply-To and message content remain part of that test email.
Redirect mode still sends the message and attachments to the test inbox. Use fictional test content and verify the chosen inbox before enabling it. These safeguards cover the normal WordPress mail pipeline; custom senders and code that overrides recipient handling later are outside this safeguard.
Pro · What can I share with support?
Download a redacted activity CSV or JSON diagnostic report. These are designed to avoid saved credentials, secret webhook URLs, message content and full recipient addresses.
Review any exported file before sharing it. A diagnostic report describes local configuration and observed events; it does not establish SPF, DKIM, DMARC or inbox placement.
Free & Pro · What does a successful test prove?
It shows that WordPress reported acceptance for sending through the current mail pipeline. Other plugins can affect that pipeline. Confirm receipt in your own inbox and spam folder, then test the form or site notification your customers use.
Pro also distinguishes suppression and other mail-filter handling so those results are not presented as provider acceptance.
Gmail · Outlook · Yahoo Mail
Start with the provider’s requirements.
These names identify the services explained in our guidance. They are not bundled accounts, endorsements or verified one-click integrations.
Gmail
Ordinary SMTP setup may use a Google app password where the account permits it. Google requires two-step verification for app passwords, and some account policies make them unavailable.
Read Google’s current guidance ↗Outlook
Outlook.com requires OAuth2. This release does not include OAuth, so it is not an Outlook.com sign-in connector. Microsoft 365 SMTP availability also depends on the account and administrator’s authentication policy.
Check Microsoft’s requirements ↗Yahoo Mail
Check Yahoo’s current third-party application settings, account eligibility and SMTP authentication requirements before entering any credentials. A provider name in a tutorial does not confirm live account compatibility.
Open Yahoo’s account guidance ↗Google, Gmail, Microsoft, Outlook, Yahoo and Yahoo Mail are names or trademarks of their respective owners. SSF is independently developed and is not endorsed by these providers.
Watch, follow and verify
See the settings. Follow the result.
Choose a complete walkthrough or focus on your edition. Follow real product screens with fictional demonstration data and controlled local test services.
Free & Pro: the complete walkthrough
Watch on YouTubeStart with the Free sending foundation, then explore clearly labelled Pro investigation and staging tools. See each action, its observed result and the next step.
The Free and Pro sections are identified throughout.
Watch the Free and Pro walkthrough on Facebook ↗
Free: SMTP setup, sender settings & a test email
Watch on YouTubePrepare provider-authorised SMTP details, choose a recognisable sender and read the local checks. Request a controlled test and learn why changed settings need a fresh result.
Uses ordinary SMTP settings; no OAuth or one-click provider sign-in.
Watch the Free walkthrough on Facebook ↗
Pro: private activity, failure guidance & staging
Watch on YouTubeReview metadata-only activity collected after you enable it, curated guidance and a redacted support export. Follow deliberate staging suppression or one-destination redirection, then review retention controls.
Separate Pro add-on; Free is required. Alerts stay off and deletion is not submitted in this recording.
Watch the Pro walkthrough on Facebook ↗Keep learning with the right playlist.
Follow the Free setup, explore the separate Pro tools, or open short tips with each edition clearly identified.
Find a practical tip.
FREERead a controlled test result
Watch the Short on YouTube ↗Understand why an accepted send still needs an inbox check.
Watch this tip on Facebook ↗
FREEChanged settings? Run a fresh test
Watch the Short on YouTube ↗Keep the latest test relevant to your current sender settings.
Watch this tip on Facebook ↗
PROReview a failed attempt safely
Watch the Short on YouTube ↗Read the recorded category and choose the next useful check.
Watch this tip on Facebook ↗
PROExport masked activity & review changes
Watch the Short on YouTube ↗Prepare a redacted support file and review changed setting names.
Watch this tip on Facebook ↗
PROSuppress or redirect staging mail
Watch the Short on YouTube ↗Follow deliberate test-site controls before returning to normal mail.
Watch this tip on Facebook ↗
PROSet retention & review cleanup controls
Watch the Short on YouTube ↗Choose a retention window and review deliberate local cleanup.
Watch this tip on Facebook ↗
These previews use images hosted on this website. Videos and playlists open on YouTube only when you choose their links; there is no embedded player or automatic playback in this section. YouTube then applies its own privacy settings and terms.