Sending emails is an important aspect of running an online store. Therefore, if you find yourself dealing with WooCommerce not sending emails, it can be quite a frustrating experience. In addition, it can hurt your customer service and reputation.
The good news is that this is a relatively common problem with a typically simple solution. In most cases, you’ll need to check your settings and install the right tools to get your e-commerce emails back in working order.
In this post, we’ll discuss some of the reasons why your emails may not be sent as they should. Then we’ll walk you through how to fix WooCommerce not sending emails in three simple steps. Let’s jump in!
Why Your WooCommerce Emails May Not Be Sending
Email plays a pivotal role in running a successful online business. You rely on it to communicate with your customers and keep them updated on their purchases. It’s also a crucial tool in marketing and driving sales.
Therefore, the last thing you want to deal with is your WooCommerce emails not sending successfully. There are a few different reasons why WooCommerce emails may not be sent.
One of the problems may be attributed to your settings. Your WooCommerce email or order settings may be configured in a way that is interfering with the email delivery process.
Another possibility is that WordPress is using PHP to send emails, but your hosting servers are not correctly configured for this. Perhaps your emails are being delivered, only they’re being routed to the spam folder.
Finally, the most likely culprit to your WooCommerce emails not sending is that you’re not using a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) service. This is the most effective and reliable way to send your WooCommerce emails, so we’ll walk you through how to do that in this post.
How to Fix WooCommerce Not Sending Emails (In 3 Steps)
Now that we understand more about the potential causes, it’s time to get into the solutions. Below is how to fix WooCommerce not sending emails in three quick steps.
Step 1: Check your WooCommerce email and order settings
Before we get into the more technical aspects of this issue, let’s start with the most straightforward solution: your WooCommerce settings. If just one of your settings is off, it can mess with your emails and cause them not to be sent.
To start, let’s confirm that your email feature is activated. You can browse to WooCommerce > Settings from your dashboard, then select Emails:
Here, there will be a list of all your notification emails. Click on the Manage button to the right:
Next, ensure the email is enabled and that the recipient’s email address is correct. Repeat this process for each type of email on the list.
Once you’re finished, you can check your order settings. First, navigate to WooCommerce > Orders from your dashboard to check the status of a recent order. Note that you’ll need to create a test if you don’t have any yet:
If the Status says “Pending”, it explains why an email wasn’t sent. WooCommerce only sends order confirmation emails once the payments are complete. If the order is still pending, it may mean the customer abandoned their cart or needs to complete a bank transfer or other type of manual payment.
Step 2: Install a plugin such as WP Mail SMTP and connect to Mailgun
If all of your WooCommerce settings seem correct, the next step is to install an SMTP plugin. As we mentioned earlier, SMTP is a service that ensures your emails will be reliably sent to your customers.
However, WordPress doesn’t use the standard protocol by default. This is why you need to install a third-party plugin such as WP Mail SMTP:
This powerful, freemium WordPress tool can be an effective way to fix WooCommerce not sending emails. To get started, first install and activate it on your website. There is a premium version available. However, you don’t need that version for this tutorial.
Once it’s activated on your site, you can follow the setup wizard prompts. During the setup process, you’ll be asked to select an SMTP service to use:
We recommend using Mailgun. It’s a transactional email API Service for developers that lets you send up to 200 emails per day (for free).
When you’re done, click on the Save and Continue button. Then you’ll be asked to configure your mailer settings. These steps will depend on which service you choose:
You’ll also need to select a From Email address. For this, it’s important to use the same email you used when signing up for the SMTP service. Continue filling out the setup wizard forms and prompts until you reach the end.
Step 3: Send a test email
Once you’re done setting up your SMTP plugin and service, the only step left is to send a test email to ensure everything is working correctly. To do this, you can navigate to WP Mail SMTP > Tools and click on the Email Test tab:
By default, the plugin uses the admin email address. However, you can change this to send the test email to whichever email address you want to use. Next, select Send Email.
At this point, if you see a “Success!” message, it means everything was properly configured and set up. However, you can verify that it is by checking your inbox for the test email. That’s it!
Conclusion
Emails are a big part of running a successful online business. After all, they’re how your customers can confirm their purchases, get their receipts, and track their order statuses. Therefore, WooCommerce not sending emails is not a situation you want to find yourself dealing with.
As we discussed in this post, you can fix WooCommerce not sending emails by following three simple steps:
- Check your WooCommerce email and order settings.
- Install WP Mail SMTP and connect to the Mailgun service.
- Send a test email to ensure everything is working correctly.
Do you have any questions about fixing the WooCommerce not sending emails issue? Let us know in the comments section below!
