WordPress is pretty great for creating websites when you don’t have a lot of experience building one from scratch. This is partly because it offers simple, customizable themes and plugins that add various functions.
However, plugins in particular are not really good for website performance. The more plugins you have, the slower your website will load. In today’s technological landscape, slow loading is perhaps one of the primary reasons for decline in website traffic and increase in bounce rates.
That’s why it pays to learn how to do stuff without plugins. Today, our focus is on setting up web email for a WordPress site without any plugin.
This guide walks you through a manual setup that works on most hosting environments and keeps your site lightweight.
Why Avoid Email Plugins in WordPress?
Before jumping into setup, it helps to understand why skipping plugins is a good idea. Here are some common reasons.
- Fewer plugins mean better performance and faster loading.
- Fewer plugins means there is reduced risk of plugin conflicts or vulnerabilities.
- Plugins are not customizable. Doing things without plugins gives you more control over how emails are sent.
- You are not dependent on plugin updates or abandoned projects.
Additionally, if your hosting already provides email services, WordPress can use them directly. In summary, there are plenty of reasons why you don’t want to use plugins for emails in WordPress.
What You Need Before You Start
So, what do you need to create an email setup in a WordPress website? Actually, you don’t need much. Just make sure you have the following:
- A domain-based email address (e.g., [email protected])
- Access to your hosting control panel (cPanel, Plesk, or similar)
- FTP or File Manager access
- Basic comfort editing a PHP file
That’s it. You don’t need any other extra software.
How To Set Up Email For A WordPress Site
Step 1: Create an Email Address on Your Hosting
Most hosting providers include email accounts by default. So if you have one, then you can take the following steps to set up an Email account for your WordPress website.
- Log in to your hosting control panel.
- Look for a setting called Email Accounts or something similar. It will be different based on your hosting provider.
- In the Email Account settings, create an email address using your domain.
- Set a secure password for that account.
Now, you have an email account that will act as the sender for WordPress messages. But you are not done yet.
Step 2: Choose Where You Want to Host Your Email
Before moving forward, you need to decide where your email inbox will be hosted. There are two common options here.
- The first option is to use the email service provided by your web hosting company. Most shared and managed hosting plans already include email hosting, which makes this the simplest choice.
- The second option is to use an external email service such as Google Workspace or Zoho Mail. These services offer better inbox interfaces and additional features, but they still work perfectly without any WordPress plugin.
Once you decide, make sure your email address is already created, for example, [email protected].
The next step is a bit technical, so buckle up.
Step 3: Get the Required Email Records
Next, log in to the panel where your email is hosted. Where you log in depends on which email service you decided to use (i.e., web hosting company, or external email service).
In that panel, you have to look for a section related to email setup, DNS, or domain verification. Here, you’ll need to collect several DNS records that are required for proper email delivery.
These usually include:
- MX records
- SPF record
- DKIM record
- DMARC record
These records help receiving mail servers verify that your emails are legitimate. They protect your domain’s sender reputation and make it so that your WordPress emails are far less likely to land in spam folders.
Step 4: Open Your Domain DNS Settings
Now, log in to your domain registrar or your hosting control panel.
Open the DNS management section for your domain. This is where you will connect your email service with your domain name.
Be careful when editing DNS settings, as incorrect values can affect email delivery. Here are the details of this process.
Step 4.1: Add MX Records
Start by setting up the MX records. MX records are necessary for receiving email directed to your domain. Without MX records, your emails could wind up anywhere.
In your DNS management section, if there are any existing MX records that are no longer needed, remove them first. Then, add the new MX records provided by your email host.
While adding them, double-check the following:
- Priority values are correct
- Hostname is set properly (usually @)
- Destination mail server is accurate
Save the changes once everything looks correct.
Step 4.2: Add the SPF Record
Next, you need to add an SPF record. SPF records prevent your domain from being spoofed for emails. So, nobody can act like they send emails from your WordPress website. It is an important part of maintaining your sender’s reputation.
SPF is added as a TXT record. So, go ahead and look for that. If an SPF record already exists, edit it instead of creating a new one. Adding multiple SPF records can cause email delivery issues.
Once done, save the record.
Step 4.3: Add the DKIM Record
After that, add the DKIM record as a TXT record. A DKIM record adds a digital signature to outgoing emails. This signature is used to verify that the contents of the email haven’t been tampered with during transit. Because of this, DKIM significantly improves email trust and deliverability.
Save the changes once the record is added.
Step 4.4: Add the DMARC Record
Now, add a DMARC record. This is another TXT record, and it works in tandem with SPF and DKIM records.
DMARC tells mail servers what to do if an email fails SPF or DKIM checks. You have to set up different policies, such as quarantine, block, or reject. But for beginners, it’s best to start with a monitoring-only policy, so you can review reports without blocking. Sometimes, setting too strict a policy can lead to excessive rejects, which can also mistakenly catch bona fide emails.
Add it and then save it.
Step 5: Wait for DNS Propagation
DNS changes do not take effect instantly. They can take anywhere from 24 to 72 hours to fully propagate.
During this time, avoid making additional changes to the DNS records. You can monitor the status of propagation with a DNS propagation checker.
Step 6: Test Email Using Webmail
Once propagation is complete, log in to your email inbox using webmail.
Send a test email to another email address. Then reply to that email.
If both sending and receiving work correctly, your email setup is functioning as expected. But you are not done yet; you still have two more steps: attaching the email to your WordPress site and testing it.
Step 7: Set the WordPress Admin Email Address
Now it’s time to connect the email address with WordPress. It’s pretty simple. Here’s how you can do it:
- Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard.
- Go to Settings → General.
- Find the Administration Email Address field.
- Enter your newly created domain email address.
Save the changes. WordPress will send a confirmation email to that address. Open the inbox and confirm it.
Step 8: Test WordPress Emails
Now that the account has been connected, it’s time to test whether WordPress emails are working correctly.
You can test it by doing the following:
- Resetting a user password
- Submitting a contact form
- Posting a comment and checking notifications
If these emails arrive in your inbox without issues, your WordPress email setup is complete. If not, then redo steps 7 and 8.
Final Thoughts
Setting up web email for WordPress without any plugin is not only possible, but it’s also often the cleaner solution. By using your hosting’s native email system and configuring WordPress correctly, you reduce overhead while keeping full control of your site’s communication.
Once configured, WordPress emails work quietly in the background, exactly how they should.
