Are you experiencing issues with email delivery from your WordPress site? You’re not alone.
Often, when your WordPress site attempts to send emails, they may not reach your users’ inboxes. This can be frustrating, but Amazon SES (Simple Email Service) can provide a solution.
Amazon SES acts as a reliable delivery service for your emails, ensuring they reach user inboxes without getting lost.
In this guide, we will walk you through the process of setting up Amazon SES with your WordPress site step by step. Let’s ensure your emails are always delivered successfully!
Understanding the Importance of Amazon SES for WordPress Email Delivery
Many users frequently encounter difficulties when sending emails from their WordPress websites. This is a significant issue since email communication is essential for the smooth operation of your site.
For instance, your site relies on email for functions like password resets, notifications for new user registrations, and alerts when someone submits a contact form.
By default, WordPress utilizes the PHP mail function to send emails.
However, this function may not always perform reliably. Often, WordPress hosting providers disable it to prevent spam and abuse.
Spam filters employed by major email service providers assess incoming emails to confirm the sender’s identity. Standard WordPress emails often do not pass this verification and may not reach even the spam folder.
SMTP, or Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, is the standard protocol used for sending emails across the internet.
In contrast to the PHP mail function, SMTP provides proper authentication, significantly improving the likelihood that your emails will be delivered successfully.
Amazon SES, or Simple Email Service, is an SMTP service tailored for business email needs. It is an excellent option for sending WordPress notification emails to you and your team, as well as distributing email newsletters to extensive mailing lists.
Amazon SES offers a free tier for the first year. After that, pricing is based on usage, including the number of emails sent and other factors. To get an estimate of your potential costs, visit the Amazon SES pricing page.
Note from the Editor:We find that Amazon SES can be somewhat complex for beginners. Therefore, we recommend alternatives like SMTP.com, SendLayer, or Brevo, which integrate smoothly with the WP Mail SMTP plugin.
In this guide, we will demonstrate how to configure your WordPress website to send emails using the Amazon SES service through the WP Mail SMTP plugin.
Let’s get started! Here’s a brief overview of the steps we will discuss in this guide:
Step 1: Set Up Your Amazon AWS Account
Step 2: Enable Production Mode in Amazon Web Services
Step 3: Install WP Mail SMTP on Your WordPress Site
Step 1: Set Up Your Amazon AWS Account
Begin by signing up for a free account on the Amazon Web Services website. Although the account is free, you will need to provide credit card information during the registration process.
During the AWS account setup, you will be required to enter your contact information and other relevant details.
After creating your AWS account, the next step is to set up a User. This will generate access keys that you will need later.
To do this, navigate to the Amazon Web Services Users page and click the ‘Create user’ button.
Next, you will create a new user. In the User name field, you can choose any name, but we recommend using the format yourdomain_wpmailsmtp.
This naming convention will help you easily identify which website each user is associated with, especially if you create additional users for other sites using the WP Mail SMTP plugin.
Once you have completed this step, click the ‘Next’ button at the bottom of the page.
You will now see the ‘Set permissions’ screen. Click on the third option, ‘Attach policies directly.’
Next, type ‘AmazonSESFullAccess’ into the search bar to filter the list. Only one policy should appear, so make sure to check the box next to that policy.
No changes are needed on the ‘Add tags’ page, so simply click the ‘Next’ button to proceed to the Review and Create page.
On the Review and Create page, you can review all the details you have selected for this user. If everything is correct, click the ‘Create user’ button.
You will see a confirmation message indicating that you have successfully created the user.
You will need these credentials later in the tutorial, so be sure to copy them to a secure location or download the CSV file. Alternatively, you can keep this browser window open for easy access later.
Step 2: Switch Amazon Web Services to Production Mode
By default, your Amazon SES account operates in Sandbox Mode. This limited mode allows you to send emails only to verified addresses and is designed to prevent spammers from misusing the system.
To send emails, you need to request a transition from Sandbox Mode to Production Mode. Begin by visiting the AWS Support page to create a new support case.
Start by providing the necessary details for your case. Amazon will review your responses to ensure that you are not sending spam emails.
Keep the limit type as ‘SES Service Limits’ and choose ‘Transactional’ as the mail type. In the Website URL field, enter your website’s address.
In the section titled ‘Describe, in detail, how you will only send to recipients who have specifically requested your mail’, explain your email-sending process.
For instance, you might mention that you only send site notifications to the site administrator or emails to users who have completed a form on your site.
Next, you will need to ‘Describe, in detail, the process you will follow when you receive bounce and complaint notifications’.
For example, you can clarify that the ‘Force From Email’ setting in WP Mail SMTP will direct all bounce notifications to a designated email address.
When asked if you will comply with the AWS terms of service, respond with ‘Yes.’
Begin by navigating to the Requests section. Choose the same region you selected when creating your AWS account, ideally the one closest to your website’s server location.
The quota field will be automatically filled. In the ‘New quota value’ section, enter your estimated maximum number of emails you plan to send daily.
The final section is ‘Use Case Description’. Provide information about your website and the reasons for sending emails.
Be sure to mention the types of emails you intend to send, such as form submission confirmations, purchase receipts, or newsletters. A comprehensive description can improve your application’s chances of approval.
After completing your application, click the ‘Submit’ button. You will receive two emails from Amazon Web Services confirming that your case has been created.
You can expect a response from Amazon within one business day. In the meantime, feel free to continue with this tutorial.
Step 3: Install WP Mail SMTP on your WordPress website.
WP Mail SMTP is the top SMTP plugin for WordPress. To utilize Amazon SMTP, you must purchase a Pro plan or a higher tier. This also provides you with access to premium support and personalized setup assistance from their experts.
If you prefer to have the WP Mail SMTP support team handle the setup for you, you can refer to their guide on how to request personalized setup for SMTP instead of following the steps outlined below.
To begin, you need to install and activate WP Mail SMTP on your website. For more information, please refer to our guide on installing a WordPress plugin.
Installing WP Mail SMTP
Upon activation, the WP Mail SMTP setup wizard will launch automatically. Click the ‘Let’s Get Started’ button to proceed.
Next, a list of supported email services will be displayed.
Select Amazon SES from the list and then click the ‘Save and Continue’ button.
You will receive a message indicating that Amazon SES is ideal for technically proficient users. Click the ‘I Understand, Continue’ button to proceed.
Following that, you will need to configure your mailer settings. Fill in the Access Key ID, Secret Access Key, and Region fields with the information you copied earlier when you set up your Amazon AWS account.
Next, scroll down to the SES Identities section where you can verify either your domain or email address.
Domain Verification
Verifying your domain is advantageous because it allows you to authenticate any email address associated with that domain. While verifying an individual email address is simpler, you will need to verify each email address you intend to use separately.
To verify your domain name on Amazon SES, ensure that the ‘Verify Domain’ option is selected. Then, enter the domain name you registered with Amazon AWS.
After entering the domain name, click the ‘Verify Domain’ button.
You will receive a name and value that you need to add as a new TXT record in your domain’s DNS settings.
For guidance on creating a TXT record in your site’s DNS settings, refer to our DNS guide.
Once your domain is successfully verified, return to your site’s WP Mail SMTP settings and refresh the page. Any verified domains will now be listed.
You can now skip the ‘Verifying Your Email’ section below and proceed to ‘Setting Up the From Name and Email’.
Email Verification
If you plan to use only one email address with WP Mail SMTP, verifying your email address is a suitable option.
Begin by selecting the ‘Verify Email Address’ option and enter the email address you intend to use in the designated field.
After entering the email address, click the ‘Verify Email’ button. A notification will prompt you to check your email inbox for a confirmation message.
This confirmation email will be sent from Amazon Web Services and will contain a verification link. You must click this link within 24 hours to complete the email verification process.
Once you have successfully verified your email, return to your site’s WP Mail SMTP settings and refresh the page. All verified email addresses will be displayed here.
Configuring the From Name and Email
Scroll down to the last section of the page where you can input the ‘From’ name and email address.
Enter a name in the From Name field. This name will be associated with the emails you send and is set to your site’s name by default.
Feel free to change this to any name, such as your business name or personal name. You can also select the ‘Force From Name’ option to apply this setting across your site.
You can input any verified email address in the From Email field. For optimal results, we suggest using a business email address that matches your website’s domain, like example@yourwebsite.com.
We advise checking the box labeled ‘Force From Email’. This ensures that the same outgoing email address is used consistently across your WordPress site.
This option simplifies managing email settings throughout your site and reduces the chances of your emails being marked as spam.
After entering all the settings, click the ‘Save and Continue’ button to proceed.
Activating WP Mail SMTP Features
In the next step, you will be prompted to select which email features you want to activate. By default, several options are pre-selected, including enhanced email deliverability and error tracking.
You can also opt to enable detailed email logs. Once you’ve made your selections, click the ‘Save and Continue’ button.
Now, it’s time to enable the email logging features. Choose to store sent emails and their attachments.
You will also be asked if you want to activate email tracking and other functionalities. After making your selections, click the ‘Save and Continue’ button.
Finally, you will receive a success notification. To confirm, simply click ‘OK’ and then select the ‘Continue’ button.
WP Mail SMTP will now verify your mailer settings. If everything is configured correctly, you will see a screen displaying the message ‘Congratulations, you’ve successfully set up WP Mail SMTP!’
If there is an issue, you will see a message stating, ‘Whoops, it seems like the configuration is incorrect’. You will need to click the ‘Start Troubleshooting’ button to resolve the issue.
Sending a Test Email
After completing the troubleshooting process, you may want to send another test email to ensure everything is functioning properly.
You need to go to WP Mail SMTP » Tools and select the ‘Email Test’ tab. By default, the test email will be sent to your site’s admin email address, but you can modify this.
Next, click ‘Send Email’.
If everything has been configured correctly, you should see a ‘Success!’ message.
It should appear similar to this.
That’s all!
We hope this tutorial has helped you understand how to send WordPress emails using Amazon SES. You may also want to explore how to use an SMTP server for sending WordPress emails or check out our expert recommendations for the best WordPress SMTP plugins.
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