YaySMTP Review: Get More Emails into Your Customers’ Inbox

Are you tired of your WordPress site’s automated emails ending up in users’ spam folders or not being delivered at all? Have you experienced issues with sending and receiving emails from your site? If so, you’re not alone. Many website owners struggle with these problems, which can be frustrating and time-consuming to resolve.

But what if there was a simple way to address WooCommerce/WordPress email deliverability issues? Enter YaySMTP, a powerful and user-friendly plugin that makes it easy to set up and use SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) to send your site’s automated emails. Unlike PHP mail, which is often blocked by many email providers and spam filters, SMTP-powered mail provides more reliable and consistent delivery due to its dedicated infrastructure and advanced encryption and authentication methods. 
But is YaySMTP easy to set up and use? Does it allow you to customize email settings? What services can I use to start sending emails?

In this hands-on review of YaySMTP, I’ll answer these questions and explain how to configure and leverage the plugin for your business.

YaySMTP – Overview and Key Features

YaySMTP is built to replace PHP email with SMTP, which is the industry standard to send emails on the web. SMTP uses correct authentication and encryption methods, which minimizes the odds of emails ending up in the spam folder. 

The plugin also offers plenty of customization options. You can configure a wide range of settings with this plugin, including the SMTP server and port, authentication method, encryption type, and more. This makes it easy to fine-tune your email settings for optimal performance and deliverability.

Other key features of YaySMTP include:

• User-friendly interface for easy setup and use
• Schedule email delivery at specific times and dates 
• Option to use SSL and TLS encryption protocols for secure email transmission
• Ability to send unlimited emails without any restrictions or limitations 
• Support for major email service providers, including Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook 
• Integration with popular email tools such as Mailchimp, Constant Contact, and Sendinblue 
• Detailed analytics and reporting for email tracking (including opens and clicks) 

Hands-On With YaySMTP

In this section, I’ll demonstrate how to install and use YaySMTP on a WordPress website.

First, download the plugin from YayCommerce’s website or the plugin’s WordPress.org page. Then, go to your WordPress admin and upload the .zip file. Click Install > Activate, and the plugin will be deployed on your site.

A new menu for YaySMTP will appear under the Settings tab. In this menu, you will find all the options you need to send and receive emails using an SMTP server.

Setting From Name and Email

The first step is to fill out the fields that appear in YaySMTP’s dashboard. Enter the “From Email” and the “From Name” you’ll be using. 

Choose the same email address that you use for customer communication. And for the name, pick between your personal and brand name—you could write something like “HiFi team” here. Also, make sure to check the box for forcing From Name if you always want it to appear in the emails you send.

Selecting a Mailer

Next, choose an SMTP service provider from YaySMTP’s Mailer list. To make an informed decision, consider each provider’s sending limit, pricing plan, and other features.

If you have technical experience and skills, you can go with the most prominent service: Amazon SES. With this option, you’ll benefit from the excellent reputation of Amazon IP addresses. The plans are affordable too—they start from $10 for 10,000 emails. 

If you own a smaller website and don’t have the need for that many emails, you can look into SendGrid. This is a user-friendly email service that offers a free trial, plus has plans you can switch to when you scale up.

Gmail is also an option—it’s the ideal mailing server for those who have a Google Workspace account. So analyze your resources and personal situation, then choose the mailing server that best suits your needs.

Below are mailers supported by YaySMTP:

1. PHP (WordPress default)
2. SendGrid
3. Sendinblue
4. Amazon SES
5. Mailgun
6. SMTP.com
7. Gmail
8. Zoho
9. Postmark
10. Microsoft
11. SparkPost
12. Pepipost
13. Mailjet
14. Sendpulse

For this tutorial, I am going to use SendGrid as the Mailer.

Configuring SendGrid SMTP

If you’re a website owner looking for an affordable email service, SendGrid is an excellent choice. With a forever free plan, you can send up to 100 emails per day. 

Once you sign up for a SendGrid account, you’ll be able to use their service to send various types of automated emails, such as WooCommerce order notifications, shipping emails, payment reminders, and other updates.

Creating a SendGrid account

To get started, you’ll need to create a SendGrid account, which doesn’t require credit card information for the free plan. However, they may ask for your phone number verification to ensure account security and prevent abuse.

Establishing a Sender Identity

There are two ways to create a sender identity with SendGrid. 

The first is domain authentication, which authorizes your domain to send out emails with your full From Name and From Email address. 

The second is Single Sender Verification, which is to claim ownership of an email address and append the From Name through sendgrid.net.

I recommend domain authentication as it can help reinforce your brand and also improve the deliverability rate. With the help of SendGrid’s setup wizard, you can easily authenticate your domain for WP Mail SMTP. 

First, choose your DNS host in the drop-down menu or select “Other hosts” if it’s not listed. Then, tick “Yes” to brand the links for this domain. You’ll now have to submit the domain name and validate its DNS records. 

After adding the three DNS records, go back to SendGrid, tick the checkbox to confirm that you have added the records and click “Verify.” When done, you’ll see a success message.

Creating an API Key

To create a new API key for your current website, follow these steps. Firstly, give your API a simple name that clearly indicates its purpose. For example, you might name your first API “YaySMT API” and set its permission level to Full Access. Once you have created the API, copy it and return to your WordPress dashboard.

Since SendGrid is our preferred Mailer, YaySMT will show us its configuration section. Simply paste the copied API key and click Save changes.

To test if everything is working properly, click on the Send test email button located in the top right corner of the page. You can try sending a test email to your own email address. Hit the Send button and enjoy the fruit of your labor. 

See that email in your inbox? That’s proof that you did everything correctly.

YaySMTP Pricing

YaySMTP is available for free on the WordPress repository and provides basic SMTP functionality, including the ability to connect to an SMTP server and send emails via SMTP.

However, to access the full range of features and functionality offered by the plugin, you will need to upgrade to a paid plan.

YaySMTP offers three pricing plans/licenses:

• Single site – $19 yearly or $99 lifetime
• Three sites – $49 yearly or $295 lifetime
• Unlimited sites – $149 yearly or $495 lifetime

The paid plans also have dedicated support and resources to help site owners get the most out of the plugin.

Final Verdict

Email marketing is a powerful tool for businesses to communicate directly with their customers and users. However, as your user base grows, it’s crucial to ensure that your emails are delivered reliably and effectively.

With YaySMTP, you can ensure that all your emails are landing in users’ inboxes and not their spam folders. Whether you’re looking to increase your user base, take on new members, or start eCommerce, the plugin’s advanced features and functionality can help mitigate your risks and improve your email bounce rate.

Gone are the days when sending reliable emails was a tough task. Thanks to various email service providers and integrated SMTP plugins like YaySMTP, it’s now much easier for WordPress site owners to send emails with little to no coding experience.

So, you can keep struggling with unreliable email delivery or take advantage of YaySMTP and start sending reliable emails today. 

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