Smart Form Builder includes SMTP settings that let the plugin send its form notification and confirmation emails through a mail provider. Configure the host and authentication details supplied by your email provider, save the settings, and send a test email before relying on notifications from a live form.
Open the SMTP settings
- In the WordPress dashboard, open Smart Forms → Settings.
- Select the SMTP tab.
- Turn on Enable SMTP Delivery. SMTP is disabled by default.
- Configure the fields described below using the settings provided by your email service or hosting provider.
Choose a provider preset or enter server details
Guided Setup / Preset Providers offers presets for Gmail / Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 / Outlook, Brevo (Sendinblue), SendGrid, Mailgun, Amazon SES, Zoho, cPanel / DirectAdmin, and Custom SMTP. For providers with a matching setup guide, choosing a preset fills common connection values and displays provider-specific instructions. Always compare the suggested values with your provider’s current requirements.
Configure the connection
- SMTP Host: the outgoing mail server hostname supplied by your provider. The default is blank.
- SMTP Port: the port used by the server. The configured default is 587; common options shown by the plugin are 587 for TLS, 465 for SSL, or 25 for no encryption.
- Encryption: choose TLS (Port 587), SSL (Port 465), or None (Port 25). The configured default is TLS.
- Server Requires Authentication: enable this when the server requires credentials. The configured default is enabled.
- SMTP Username: the username or mailbox address required by your server. This appears when SMTP authentication is enabled.
- SMTP Password: the password, app password, or SMTP credential required by your provider. The field is masked in the settings interface.
Set the sender and delivery scope
- From Email (Optional): set the sender address if your provider expects a specific verified address. Leave it blank only when the provider and server configuration allow the existing sender to be used.
- From Name (Optional): set the name recipients see as the sender.
- Apply to all site emails: leave this off if you want the SMTP configuration scoped to Smart Form Builder email actions. Turn it on only if you also want the plugin to route other WordPress emails, including WooCommerce and password-reset emails, through this SMTP server. The configured default is off.
Save settings and send a test email
- Select Save Settings in the settings header and wait for the save confirmation.
- In the SMTP tab’s Send Test Email area, enter an address you can access.
- Select Send Test Email and wait for the result.
- If the test succeeds, check the recipient inbox and spam folder. A successful send response does not guarantee inbox placement.
Troubleshoot a failed test
- SMTP is not configured: confirm Enable SMTP Delivery is on and SMTP Host is filled in.
- Authentication failure: verify the username and password expected by the provider. Some providers require an app password or generated SMTP credential rather than the normal account password.
- Microsoft 365: the provider instructions note that SMTP AUTH may need to be enabled by an administrator for the mailbox.
- Connection or encryption error: verify the host, port, and encryption combination against the provider’s current documentation.
- Generic failure in the settings screen: the REST-based settings UI displays a general failure message. More detailed mailer errors are written to the server’s PHP error log by the current implementation; the UI does not show the full SMTP transcript.
Version 1.3.6 provider-preset limitation
The SMTP provider list uses the value amazon_ses for Amazon SES, while the preset setup component looks for the key ses. As a result, selecting Amazon SES does not match the preset’s key and may not prefill the server details or show its setup instructions. Enter the values supplied by Amazon SES manually until this mismatch is corrected.
After the test email succeeds, submit a test form with Send Admin Email or Send User Email enabled. If the form notification still does not arrive, see Configure Form Email Notifications and Why are form submissions not sending email?.
Screenshot to add: Smart Forms Settings SMTP tab showing Enable SMTP Delivery, connection settings, and Send Test Email