Introduction
This article guides you through the process of using Gravity SMTP to integrate your website email connection with the PHP Mail function. This will allow you to use the built-in PHP function, providing a simple way to compose and send emails using the server’s mail system.
About PHP Mail
The PHP Mail function is a tool used by web developers to send emails directly from a website. It is a simple email sender that can send messages to users, such as order confirmations or notifications. However, it’s unreliable; it doesn’t track if the email was delivered or opened and sent messages can inadvertently be marked as spam.
PHP Mail can slow down the website if many emails are sent simultaneously. Setting it up correctly on the server can be tricky, so many developers prefer using dedicated email services for sending important messages. The PHP Mail connection is not recommended for transactional emails due to its lack of reliability. High-volume email sending can overwhelm the server and risk emails being marked as spam without proper authentication mechanisms.
When no email integrations are active within Gravity SMTP, the plugin defaults to using the WordPress core function wp_mail() which itself defaults to using the server’s PHPMailer library.
General Settings
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
| Return Path | Adds the return path to the email header which indicates where non-deliverable notifications should be sent. Bounce messages may be lost if not enabled. |
| From Email | The from: email addressed to be used for outgoing messages. Only applied when the from: property is not explicitly set in the message being processed. |
| Force Email | If enabled, the From Email setting (above) will override any from: settings for outgoing email messages. |
| From Name | The from: name associated with outgoing messages. This is only applied when the from: property is not explicitly set in the message being processed. |
| Force Name | If enabled, the From Name setting (above) will override any from: settings for all outgoing email messages. |
Default Email Sending Behavior in Gravity SMTP
When no email integrations are active within Gravity Forms, the plugin defaults to using the WordPress core function wp_mail(). By default, wp_mail() uses PHPMailer to send emails, but the method of sending emails can vary based on your server’s setup.