How to Send Email in WordPress using the Gmail SMTP Server

Are you having trouble sending emails from your WordPress site?

One easy way to solve this is by sending WordPress emails using the Gmail SMTP server.

In this article, we will show you how to send emails from your WordPress site using the Gmail SMTP server.

Why and When You Need Gmail SMTP Server for WordPress Emails

Your WordPress site sends emails to notify you of new user registration, lost password reset, automatic updates, and even notifications from your contact forms.

By default, WordPress uses the PHP mail function to send out email notifications. However, this function doesn’t work as expected due to a number of reasons.

Most WordPress hosting companies restrict usage of this function to prevent abuse and spam.

Spam filters on popular email service providers check incoming emails to monitor if they are sent from authentic mail servers. Default WordPress emails fail this check and sometimes may not even make it to the spam folder.

SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is the industry standard for sending emails. Unlike the PHP mail function, SMTP uses proper authentication, which increases email deliverability.

Gmail provides SMTP service that you can use to send out emails from your WordPress site. If you just want to send WordPress notification emails to yourself and few users on your site, then Gmail SMTP servers are the best option.

However, if you are planning on sending newsletter emails using WordPress, then you should use a mass emailing service provider, like Sendinblue or Mailgun.

Free vs Paid Gmail SMTP Service for WordPress

You can use your free Gmail account to send out WordPress emails. However, for better deliverability, we recommend using paid G Suite.

With G Suite, you get your own professional branded email address such as (name@yoursite.com).

G Suite requires you to add MX records to your domain name which means that your emails will appear to be coming from your own domain name boosting authenticity and ensuring better deliverability.

We use G Suite for WPBeginner and can honestly say it’s the best.

How to Send Email using Google SMTP Video Tutorial

If you prefer written instructions, then please continue reading.

How to Send WordPress Emails Using Gmail SMTP Server

If you decided to use G Suite, then you first need to set up your domain to work with Google Apps. We have a step by step tutorial on how to set up a professional email address with G Suite.

The rest of the instructions are the same whether you are using a paid or free Gmail account.

First thing you need to do is install and activate the WP Mail SMTP plugin. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

WP Mail SMTP is the best WordPress SMTP plugin on the market. It allows you to easily use any SMTP server to send WordPress emails with higher deliverability.

We recommend buying the paid version called WP Mail SMTP Pro which gives you access to premium support, more mailers, and white-glove set up by one of their experts.

Upon activation, you need to visit Settings » WP Mail SMTP page to configure the plugin settings.

First, you need to make sure that you use your Gmail email address in the ‘From Email’ field. Next, you need to provide the sender’s name.

WP Mail SMTP plugin offers two ways to connect your WordPress site to the Gmail servers.

The first method uses OAuth Authentication. This is a more secure method to send emails using Gmail servers.

The second method is by entering Gmail SMTP settings manually. This method is not recommended because it is less secure.

That being said, let’s set up WordPress to use Gmail SMTP for sending emails.

Method 1: Setting up Gmail to Send WordPress Emails using OAuth Protocol

This method is recommended for all users. It is more secure and once you set it up, you’ll never have to do that again.

You need to start by selecting Gmail as your mailer and set the return path to be the same as sender.

Next, you will see the option to enter your Client ID, Client Secret, and a URL in ‘Authorized redirect URI’ field.

Let’s set up these fields.

Creating an App and Generate API Keys for Gmail

Visit the Google Developers Console website and create a new project.

If you don’t see the blue button to create a project, then you can also click on select a project drop-down and create a new project.

You’ll be asked to provide a name for your project. Give it a memorable name, so that you can easily recognize it in the future.

After that, click on the create button to continue.

Developer console will now create your project and take you to its dashboard. Google offer developers access to many of their APIs and services. You need to enable the APIs that you will be needing for this project.

Click on Enable APIs and services button to continue.

This will bring you to the APIs library page. Next, you need to type Gmail in the search box to quickly find the Gmail API and click to select it.

You will now see an overview of the API and what it can do. Simply click on the ‘Enable’ button to continue.

Now that your API is enabled, the next step is to create credentials that you can use in your WP Mail SMTP plugin settings.

Click on the create credentials button to continue.

On the next screen, you will need to select ‘Web browser JavaScript’ in ‘Where you’ll be calling the API from’ field. After that click on the ‘User Data’ option.

To continue, click on the ‘What credentials do I need?’ button.

You will now be asked to provide a name for your OAuth client name. You can enter ‘WP Mail SMTP’ here.

Under JavaScript origins field, you need to add your website’s domain name. Next, you need to copy and paste the authorized redirect URL from WP Mail SMTP plugin settings.

After that, click on the ‘Create client ID’ button to continue.

Next, you need to enter a name for OAuth consent screen. You can put the plugin’s name here.

After entering the details, click on the continue button and the developer console will show your client ID. You can copy and paste this in the WP Mail SMTP plugin’s settings page. However, you will still need to add your client secret key.

Go ahead and click on the Done button to move on.

You will now be taken to your project’s credentials page. On this page, you can see your recently created credentials listed here. You need to click on the edit icon next to your credentials to continue.

This will bring you to the edit credentials page where you will be able to see your client secret key. You need to copy and paste the key in your plugin’s settings page.

Return back to plugin’s settings page in your WordPress admin area. Now that you have both client ID and client secret keys, you need to click on the save settings button to continue.

The plugin will now store your settings and reload the page. After that, you need to scroll down to the bottom of the settings page and click on the ‘Allow plugin to send emails using your Google account’ button.

This will take you to your account on Google, and you will be asked to give the website permission to send emails on your behalf.

Click on the Allow button to give permissions.

After that, you will be redirected back to your website where you will see a success message.

Method 2: Setting up Gmail SMTP as SMTP Sender

This method allows you to manually connect to Gmail’s SMTP servers to send your WordPress emails.

First, you need to visit Settings » WP Mail SMTP page to configure the plugin settings.

You need to start by providing the Gmail address you want to use in the ‘From Email’ field, and your name in the From ‘Name’ field.

Next, you need to select ‘Other SMTP’ as your mailer and check the box next to return path.

After that, scroll down to the Other SMTP section to configure more settings.

Here is the exact configuration you need to add in the plugin settings:

• SMTP Host: smtp.gmail.com
• SMTP Port: 465
• Encryption: Use SSL encryption
• Authentication: Turn on authentication
• Username: Your complete Gmail address, e.g. john.smith@yourdomain.com or john.smith@gmail.com
• Password: Password of your Gmail account

Once you are done, click on the save changes button to store your settings.

That’s all, you have successfully set up WP Mail SMTP to use Gmail SMTP servers.

Note: If you use method two, please know that it’s less secure because your password is stored in text. You can enhance this by using the constants tip, but we strongly recommend using Method 1.

Testing Your WP Mail SMTP Settings

WP Mail SMTP plugin allows you to test your email settings, so you can make sure that everything is working properly.

You need to visit Settings » WP Mail SMTP page and click on the ‘Email Test’ tab. Simply provide an email address that you can access in the send to field and click on the send email button.

You will see a success message. You can now check your inbox to see a message with the subject line ‘WP Mail SMTP: Test Email to…’.

That’s all, you have successfully setup your WordPress site to send emails using Gmail SMTP servers.

Get More With WP Mail SMTP Pro

If you want even more functionality, you should try WP Mail SMTP Pro.

With the Pro version of the plugin, you can connect with:

• G Suite/Gmail
• Amazon SES
• Mailgun
• Office 365 / Outlook.com
• SendGrid
• And more

You also get additional features like email logs, ability to fine-tune / control which notification your WordPress site sends, and more.

Troubleshooting Gmail SMTP Not Working Issues

We have seen users encounter few issues when using Gmail SMTP with certain shared hosting configurations.

Take the following steps to fix the Gmail SMTP issue:

1. Log in to your cPanel account and create an email account that matches your Google apps email address. This might seem strange because you’re not using your server for emails. This step basically tricks your server into believing that you’re sending the email through the server.
2. In your cPanel account, go to the MX Records and change the MX routing from automatic to remote. It might be a little tricky to find since each host now has a custom cPanel interface. You need to look for a small link next to MX that says Email Routing: Remote Mail Exchanger.
3. After that log back into your WordPress site and send a test email.

We hope this article helped you learn how to send email in WordPress using the Gmail SMTP server. You may also want to see our list of the best contact form plugins for WordPress, and our comparison of the best email marketing services for small business.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post How to Send Email in WordPress using the Gmail SMTP Server appeared first on WPBeginner.

June 11, 2020 at 05:00PM

How to Create a Loyalty Program in WooCommerce

Recently, one of our readers asked us if it’s possible to give customers loyalty points in WooCommerce.

This might be something you’ve wondered about too, especially if you’re looking to increase sales on your online store.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to create a loyalty program in WooCommerce (without writing any code).

Why Create a Loyalty Program in WooCommerce?

Creating a loyalty program can be a great way to increase sales on your online store.

A loyalty program encourages customers to keep coming back to your store, and it can even help boost average spend per customer.

You can use loyalty points to rewards customers for things like registering an account, placing their first order, and even get extra points for spending over a certain amount.

With that said, let’s take a look at how to add a loyalty program in WooCommerce.

Setting Up Your WooCommerce Loyalty Program

For this tutorial, we’ll be using Advanced Coupons to add a loyalty program to your WooCommerce store.

It is the best WordPress coupons plugin on the market and helps you increase sales and grow your business.

First, you’ll need to create an Advanced Coupons account, then download, install, and activate the plugin. If you’re not sure how to do that, just check out our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Once you’ve activated Advanced Coupons, you’ll need to enable the loyalty program module.

To do this, go to WooCommerce » Settings in your dashboard, then click on the Advanced Coupons tab.

Once you’re on that tab, you’ll need to scroll down to the bottom of the page and check the Loyalty Program box. After that click the ‘Save changes’ button.

You can now start customizing your loyalty program.

First, click on the Loyalty Program link below the Advanced Coupons tab:

Here, you can change how your loyalty scheme works.

The ‘Price to points earned ratio’ defaults to 1. That means the customer earns 1 point per $1 spent. You could change this, so that they earn 2 points or 10 points per $1 spent if you want it to look more impressive.

The ‘Points to price redeemed ratio’ defaults to 10. That means the customer needs to spend 10 points to get a $1 discount. You’ll likely want to change this if you’re changing how many points they earn per $1 spent.

For our loyalty scheme, we’re giving customers 10 points per $1 spent, but they’ll need to save 100 points to get $1 off.

You can also choose what to call your points. We’ve gone with ‘Reward Points’ for ours. You might want to use something more branded, like Starbucks does with their ‘Stars’.

Tip: If you change the name of your points here, you may also want to change it in the cart/checkout messages further down.

Next, you’ll need to decide how your points are calculated. For instance, if your customer has a discount code, you’ll probably want to only give them points for what they actually spend.

By default, the discount and tax are taken into account before points are rewarded. You can also choose to award points when the customer pays for shipping and/or fees.

There are lots of other settings on this page that you can tweak if you want to. These include things like the minimum spend to earn points, the minimum spend to redeem points, and when does the points expire.

A key setting you’ll want to look at is how customers can earn points. You can give them points for more things than just buying your products. For example, you may want to reward them with some points for registering as a customer and for completing their first order.

You can even set up a bonus reward during a certain period of time, or if your customer spends over a specific amount.

Once you’re happy with how you’ve set things up, scroll to the bottom of the page and click the ‘Save changes’ button.

Automatically Creating Accounts for Your Customers

Your customers will need to register for an account in order to collect loyalty points. If they check out as a guest, then their points will not be saved.

However, you can setup WooCommerce so that customer accounts are automatically created for them when they complete the purchase.

First, go to WooCommerce » Settings page and click the ‘Accounts and Privacy’ tab.

We suggest you uncheck ‘Allow customers to place orders without an account’, so that customers can’t checkout as guests.

You will probably want to allow customers to:

• Log in to an existing account during checkout
• Create an account during checkout

Here are our settings:

Now, customers will receive an email after the checkout to let them know how to access their account.

The WooCommerce Loyalty Program in Action

Your loyalty program is up and running! When a customer adds a product to their cart, they’ll see how many points they’ll receive for the order.

Once a customer has earned loyalty points, they can turn them into coupons in order to redeem them. This is done under My Account » My Reward Points.

To redeem points, the customer can type in the number of points they want to redeem. They’ll see how much the coupon will be worth. They can then click ‘Redeem’ to create the coupon.

Here, the customer has created a $5 off coupon using 500 of their points. They still have 550 points left to redeem.

They can then redeem this coupon on future order as long as it meets any minimum threshold you’ve set for redeeming coupons.

We hope this tutorial helped you learn how to create a loyalty program in WooCommerce.

Now that you have Advanced Coupons for WooCommerce, you might also want to check out our guides on creating BOGO (buy one get one) coupons and scheduling coupons in advance.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post How to Create a Loyalty Program in WooCommerce appeared first on WPBeginner.

June 10, 2020 at 05:00PM

Categories vs Tags – SEO Best Practices for Sorting your Content

Readers often ask us, what’s better for SEO: categories vs tags?

You might not be sure what WordPress categories and tags actually are, and how they’re different. Knowing this can help you use them correctly.

In this article, we’ll explain the differences between categories vs tags for organizing your content, and how they can impact SEO rankings.

What’s the Difference Between Categories and Tags?

Categories are meant for broad grouping of your posts. Think of these as general topics or the table of contents for your WordPress site. Categories are hierarchical which means you can create sub-categories.

Tags are meant to describe specific details of your posts. Think of these as your site’s index words. They let you micro-categorize your content. Tags are not hierarchical.

For example, this blog post on WPBeginner is in our category “Beginners Guide”. You can see all the posts in this category by going to Blog » Beginners Guide in our navigation menu.

This post has the tags: categories, categories vs tags, custom taxonomy, seo, seo best practices, sorting your content, and tags.

You won’t see these tags displaying anywhere on our article. However, they do help users find this article in relevant searches on our blog.

One of the biggest differences between tags and categories is that all WordPress posts must be filed under a category, but they don’t have to have tags.

If you don’t give your post a category, WordPress will automatically assign it to the default category. This is called “Uncategorized”, but it’s often helpful to rename the “uncategorized” category to something like “Other” or “Miscellaneous”.

Note: By default, only blog posts have categories and tags in WordPress. However, you can add categories and tags to your WordPress pages using a plugin.

How can You Add Categories and Tags in WordPress?

You can add categories and tags in WordPress when creating or editing a post. You’ll find them on the right-hand side under the ‘Document’ settings.

You can also go to Posts » Categories and Posts » Tags to add new categories and tags.

For more about the process of adding categories and tags, check out our explanations of What is a category? and What is a tag? for help and guidance.

How Many WordPress Categories Should You Have?

There’s no specific number of categories that you should have. In most cases, you’ll want somewhere between 5 and 10 in order to properly categorize your posts and make your site easy to browse.

Categories are meant to encompass a large group of posts. You can use sub-categories and tags to split your posts into smaller groups.

If you’re just starting a blog, then don’t worry about trying to come up with a perfect list of categories. Just choose 3 – 5 broad categories and add more as time goes by.

Do I have to use sub-categories?

You don’t have to use sub-categories, and many large blogs (including WPBeginner) don’t. However, sub-categories are helpful if you have a large category with a lot of posts that could be grouped into smaller sections.

For example, you might have a “Recipes” category that contains a growing number of gluten-free recipes.

You can put these posts into their own sub-category, so it’s easy for readers to find them. You create a new child category for “Recipes” called “Gluten-Free” and move these posts into that category.

Using Categories in Your Posts’ URLs

Some sites use the Category name in permalinks (post URLs), which you can set up under Settings » Permalinks.

If that’s the case on your site, then your post will initially have a URL something like this:
…/recipes/gluten-free-pancakes/

After moving the post to a child category, it’ll have a new URL:
…/recipes/gluten-free/gluten-free-pancakes/

Normally, WordPress will try to redirect the old URL to the new one. It’s definitely worth checking that your links are still working. If necessary, you can create a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new one.

Another option is to keep the post in the parent category as well as assigning it to the child category, but this can have drawbacks.

Although, WPBeginner website has categories in the URL, we always recommend users to use shorter URL structure that only contains “Post name”.

This will give you maximum flexibility to reorganize content without worrying about setting up redirects.

All of our new websites use the modern Post name URL structure. WPBeginner is over 10 years old, so it has legacy URL structure and changing URL structure is not recommended for SEO which is why we have stuck with it.

Can I Assign One Post to Multiple Categories?

WordPress lets you put a post into multiple categories. This could be several parent categories, or a parent category plus a subcategory or subcategories.

Having multiple categories won’t benefit your SEO. You should only assign posts to multiple categories if it makes the most sense for your readers.

It’s possible that having your post in multiple categories could cause some SEO issues due to duplicate content.

If you do use multiple categories, then try to avoid putting one post into two or more main (parent) categories. Each post should fit within one main category.

Is There a Limit to How Many Tags a Post Can Have?

WordPress itself doesn’t have any limit on the number of tags you can have on each post. You could potentially assign 1,000 or more tags to a post!

However, we definitely don’t recommend that.

The purpose of tags is to help link related posts together. Think of them as an index section in a book. Each tag is like a keyword in the index.

Tags are helpful for users searching your site. Some plugins that display related posts use tags to help them figure out which posts’ topics are related.

We suggest that you normally stick to 10 tags maximum per post.

Categories vs Tags: What’s Better for SEO?

Are there any WordPress SEO advantages of using categories over tags or vice versa?

The short answer is No.

Categories and tags both have different purposes. You have to use categories, but you don’t have to use tags if you don’t want to. However, we recommend using both, appropriately, to help readers navigate your site.

Ultimately, you should design your site with users in mind. All search engines want to show users the content that’ll be the most useful to them.

This means that by organizing your content for best usability will also help you get better SEO rankings.

We hope that this article helped you understand categories vs tags and the SEO best practices for sorting your content. You may also like our article on how to track WordPress category and tag analytics, and our comparison of the best keyword research tools for SEO.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post Categories vs Tags – SEO Best Practices for Sorting your Content appeared first on WPBeginner.

June 09, 2020 at 05:00PM

How to Add a Horizontal Line Separator in WordPress (5 Methods)

Do you want to add a horizontal line across your post or page in WordPress?

Horizontal line dividers are a great way to break long posts into smaller sections, highlight special announcements or promotion, and clearly separate different parts of a page.

In this article, we’ll show you how to easily add a horizontal line divider in WordPress.

Since this is a comprehensive guide on how to add a horizontal line divider in WordPress, you may find it helpful to use our table of content:

• How to Add a Horizontal Line Divider in Block Editor
• How to Add a Horizontal Line Divider in Classic Editor
• How to Add a Horizontal Line Divider with Manual HTML
• How to Add Other Types of Spacers and Page Breaks in WordPress
• How to Break a Long WordPress Forms into Multiple Sections

Adding a Horizontal Line in the WordPress Block Editor

To add a horizontal line using the WordPress block editor, click the (+) icon to add a new block wherever you want the line to be.

Next, select the Separator block from the Layout Elements section or search for it using the search bar.

Once added, you’ll see your horizontal line divider in your content area.

Styling the Horizontal Line in the WordPress Block Editor

By default, the horizontal divider is a pale gray line across the center of your post or page.

You can change how it looks by clicking on the line to select its block. Then, the ‘Block’ editing panel will open up on the right-hand side of your screen.

To change the style of your line, just click the little arrow next to Styles. Then, you’ll see the different options.

You can change the horizontal line to one of these, if you want:

• A wide line that covers the full width of your post’s content.
• Three dots that display in the center of your post.

Note: In some WordPress themes, both the wide line and the default line will cover the whole width of your post.

You can also change the color of your horizontal line under the Color settings. Simply click on one of the options displayed, or use the ‘Custom color’ link to pick any color at all.

If you want to go back to the default gray color, just click ‘Clear’ button under the color options.

Here, our horizontal line is blue and uses the “wide” style.

Adding a Horizontal Line in the WordPress Classic Editor

If you’re still using the classic editor, then you can add basic horizontal lines. To do so, simply edit an existing post or page or create a new one.

If you only see one row of buttons in the toolbar above the post editor, then click on the Toolbar Toggle icon on the right:

This will open up the second row of buttons, which includes the horizontal line option.

Now, go ahead and put a line break between the paragraphs where you want the horizontal line to go. You can then click the Horizontal Line button. It’s the second from the left on the second row:

Your horizontal line will be light gray. It’ll cover the whole width of your post like this:

Manually adding a Horizontal Line divider using HTML

In some rare cases, you may need to manually add a horizontal line divider in your WordPress content.

If so, you can simply do that by using the hr HTML tag in your content:

<hr>

This will add the horizontal line separator in your post content.

Other Separators You Can Use in Your Posts and Pages

The default WordPress block editor allows you to add multiple types of separators to your posts and pages.

Aside from the horizontal line separator, the other options in the Layout Elements set of blocks include the Spacer, the More link, and the Page Break blocks.

The Spacer Block

The Spacer lets you add white space between blocks. For instance, if you want a slight gap at the end of your post before a special offer, you can use the Spacer.

You can customize the height of the spacer. Here’s how it looks when you’re creating your post in the block editor:

And here’s how the spacer appears on your site:

The More Block

If your theme shows full posts (rather than excerpts) on your main blog page, then adding a ‘More’ link will break off your post at that point. The visitor can click to read more.

Here’s how it looks when you’re creating your post:

And here’s how the More link appears on your site:

You can learn more about excerpts, in our guide on how to easily customize excerpts in WordPress.

The Page Break Block

The Page Break lets you split long blog posts into multiple pages. You can’t customize it in any way. Here’s how it looks when you’re creating your post:

And here’s how the page break appears on your site:

Any of those could be good alternatives to adding a horizontal line in WordPress, depending on what you’re aiming to do.

Adding a Page Break in WordPress Forms Using WPForms

What if you want to put a break not in a post or page, but in a WordPress contact form? You can do that, too. We’re going to be using WPForms for this.

First, you’ll need to download, install, and activate the WPForms plugin. If you’re not sure how, just check out our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Next, go to WPForms » Add New in your WordPress dashboard.

Enter a name for your form then pick a template. We’re going to use the ‘Request a Quote Form’ template for ours. Run your mouse cursor over the template and click the button to create your form.

Next, scroll down the Add Fields tab on the left hand side to the Fancy Fields section. Drag and drop the Page Break to wherever you want it on the form. We’re putting it just before the Request box.

You’ll see that the form is now broken into two parts. WPForms has automatically added a ‘Next’ button, too.

You can change the ‘Next’ label if you want to and you can add a ‘Previous’ button to go on the second page of the form. Just click on the page break field to edit it.

Save your form once you’re done, by clicking the Save button on the top right.

You can now add the form to your website. First, you’ll need to create a new post or page, or edit an existing one.

Click the (+) to add a new block to your post or page and find the WPForms block. You can use the search bar or look in the Widgets section. Add the block to your page.

Now, select your form from the dropdown list.

Once you’ve done that, you can publish the post or page and view how your form looks on your website.

We hope this tutorial helped you learn how to add a horizontal line separators in WordPress. If you want to add more design and layout elements to your posts and pages, check out our article on the best drag and drop WordPress page builders.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post How to Add a Horizontal Line Separator in WordPress (5 Methods) appeared first on WPBeginner.

June 08, 2020 at 05:00PM