WordPress is a self-hosted blogging platform that has been around since 2003. Its popularity is based on the fact that it is an open-source platform that anyone can use as long as they have a Web server. Over 39% of the world’s websites are powered by this platform alone, so you can easily imagine how popular this platform is.
WordPress offers a lot of flexibility, which makes it perfect for people who want to build a website without having to learn complicated software. Additionally, many WordPress-based bloggers find that self-hosted WordPress offers better performance and flexibility compared to other platforms.
Despite this, WordPress has several major concerns, and you will need to address all of them by using better hosting, themes, plugins, and security.
Must Read: 8 Best Must-have Plugins for WordPress Website [Hand-Picked List]
Apart from that, there is one more major concern that must be addressed and that is email deliverability.
Whatever type of website you have, whether it is a blog, small business website, or e-commerce store, WordPress sends certain email notifications to your users in different cases, such as password reset, new user notification, change of password, critical comments, and more.
In the case of an eCommerce store, WordPress (WooCommerce) sends emails about various activities such as order details, receipts, new orders, cart abandonment, user account status, and more.
What are WordPress Email Logs and Why Should You Turn Email Logs on?
As you are already aware that email notifications are essential to your blog or website and ensure the best user experience. And you certainly want to make sure that these emails are being sent from your website and that users are receiving them.
Am I right?
So, have you ever wondered if you can keep track of all the emails you send from your WordPress website?
Yes, it’s true, there is an option of email logs, which enables you to determine all important email data including the sent email time, delivery status, recipient behavior, and more.
However, you must first enable the email logging on your WordPress website, so that you are able to easily monitor the status of all of your emails and notifications from your WordPress dashboard and make necessary improvements (if needed).
The most convenient way to do this is by integrating a plugin called “WP Mail SMTP” on your WordPress site, which enabled email logs on your website and provides full insight into email delivery status and tracking reports.
In this post, we’re going to walk you through the steps to set up WordPress email logs on your website using this amazing plugin.
But before we dive into the setup process, let’s take a look at a brief overview of the plugin and its plan pricing and features. So without further ado, let’s get started.
WP Mail SMTP Plugin (An Introduction)
WP Mail SMTP is the plugin developed by the same team that developed the other leading WordPress plugins WPForms, MonsterInsights, OptinMonster, SeedProd, and RafflePress.
Although there are many SMTP plugin options available, WP Mail SMTP is one of the most popular SMTP plugins for WordPress websites. You can get a sense of its popularity just by looking at the fact that more than 2 million websites around the world use it.
By installing this plugin, there is an option for email logs, which allows you to track the status of every email and notification that you sent via your website. Furthermore, to ensure greater efficiency in email delivery, the WP Mail SMTP plugin enables you to send all your WordPress emails through an SMTP server using authentication.
The proper authentication must be in place or the email will either go to the SPAM folder, or it will not be delivered at all.
So don’t worry about email deliverability anymore, there are plenty of other benefits to using this plugin as well, which we will discuss in the next section.
WP Mail SMTP Plugin – Plan & Pricing with Features
WP Mail SMTP WordPress plugin offers both free and premium plan options for its users. In general, the free plan is limited in functionality, if you are just starting out with your website, you can consider using the free plan.
However, if this is not the case and you are seriously concerned about email deliverability, we recommend you go with the premium plan because it provides some really important extra features that will help you a lot when it comes to enhancing email deliverability.
When it comes to premium plans, this plugin comes with 4 plan options. Let’s have a look.
- Pro
- Elite
- Developer
- Agency
1. Pro Plan – This is the starter plan from WP Mail SMTP which costs you $49/month (normally $99/month). This plan would be appropriate if you only own one website. All major features are included in this plan, including Email Control, Email Logging, and support for the major SMTP providers.
2. Elite Plan – This plan costs you $99/month (normally $149/month). In addition to the features included in the Pro plan, this plan includes DNS setup, Mailgun service configuration, and White Glove Setup.
3. Developer Plan – This plan costs you $199/month (normally $249/month). This plan allows you to use the plugin on up to 20 websites with all features.
4. Agency Plan – This plan costs you $399/month (normally $449/month). This plan allows you to use the plugin on up to 100 websites with all features. It’s all about plan pricing and the features. If you need more information, you can check it out from here, including plan pricing and features.
How To Setup WordPress Email Logs Using WP Mail SMTP Plugin
In this section, you are going to know how to set up WordPress Email Logs for a website, so that you can monitor the email logs directly from your WordPress dashboard and take appropriate action (if needed).
Using the WP Mail SMTP Plugin, you can configure WordPress email logs on your website in three simple steps.
- Install the WP Mail SMTP Plugin
- Enable WordPress Email Logs
- View WordPress Email Logs
Step 1: Install the WP Mail SMTP Plugin
If you have purchased the premium license of the plugin, first of all, you must download the zip file of the plugin.
To do this, you need to log into your WP Mail SMTP account.
Once you logged in, navigate to the download section and click on the Download WP Mail SMTP button to download the zip file of the plugin.
Now, log in to your WordPress account where you want to install the plugin.
Next, navigate to the left side menu and go to Plugins » Add New » Upload Plugin option. Now simply upload the zip file of the plugin that you downloaded earlier and activate it.
You can now navigate to your WordPress dashboard after installing the WP Mail SMTP plugin.
Quick Note – If you prefer to let the WP Mail SMTP team configure the plugin for you, in that case, check out the White Glove Setup option, where they will handle the entire installation and configuration process for you.
Step 2: Enable WordPress Email Logs
Now again from your WordPress dashboard navigate to the left side menu and go to WP Mail SMTP » Settings. After that, click on the Email log tab.
On the next screen, you will find an option to “Enable Log”. This is the option that will keep track of all the emails/notifications sent by your website. When you enable this option, you will be able to keep track of the following information.
- Email status (if it has been sent)
- Date & time sent
- Subject line
- Sender’s email address
- Number of attachments (if attachments are enabled on your forms)
- Mailer options used
- Other technical details such as content type, MIME, etc.
Now activate the Enable Log option by clicking on it. Once you enable this option, you will see a new option there called Log Email Content.
If you select the Log Email Content option, all email content from your site will be logged. This information can be found in the email log, along with other details.
The decision to enable Log Email Content is entirely up to you. Having this setting enabled is optional and not necessary to enable email logging.
Finally, you will need to click on Save Settings so that WordPress can automatically generate email logs on your website.
Quick Note – If you wish to enable Log Email Content, think very carefully about whether you actually need it. In this way, email content will be stored in plain text (not encrypted) in your site’s database.
Step 3: View WordPress Email Logs
If you want to view and analyze the WordPress email logs for your Website, simply go to your WordPress dashboard and navigate to the left-side menu. Then go to WP Mail SMTP » Email Log.
Here you will find the list of your email logs. On top of the list, you can see the emails that have been sent most recently.
It is about setting up WP Mail SMTP Plugin for WordPress Email Logs.
Now you have all done…
Having enabled WordPress email logs on your website and viewing them is a great first step!
Congratulations!
Final Thoughts On WordPress Email Logs
As we discussed above, whether you have a blog, a small website, or an eCommerce site, email deliverability issues are the main concern. Making sure all emails that you sent have been delivered is very important. However, you can now use the WordPress email logs to monitor your email status anytime, anywhere.
In this article, We have explained in detail how to set up email logs on your WordPress website easily by using the WP Mail SMTP plugin.
Have you ever used the WP Mail SMTP plugin? Comment below and let me know what you think!
Moreover, we encourage you to share this post with your friends and family so that it can reach more people. Also, if you have any further questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
