Skip to main content
Transactional emails are the confirmation emails, order receipts, password reset links, booking confirmations and notification emails that your website sends automatically in response to user actions. When these don’t arrive — because they’re caught by spam filters, rejected by the recipient’s mail server, or simply not configured correctly — it damages customer trust and creates support overhead. The root cause of most transactional email deliverability problems is the same: WordPress sending email via PHP’s built-in mail() function, which has no authentication, no DKIM signing, and no reputation behind it. Receiving mail servers treat these emails with justified suspicion. The fix is to route transactional email through a dedicated sending service with proper authentication and a maintained sender reputation.

​
How We Set It Up

  • SMTP configuration — We configure WordPress (via WP Mail SMTP or similar) to route all outgoing email through a dedicated SMTP relay rather than the server’s mail() function
  • Sending service selection — For most sites we use Resend or Postmark, both of which provide excellent deliverability, proper DKIM/SPF/DMARC signing, and detailed delivery logs; for high-volume senders we evaluate Sendgrid or Amazon SES
  • DNS authentication records — SPF, DKIM and DMARC records are configured on your domain’s DNS to authenticate outgoing email and instruct receiving servers to trust it
  • Email template review — WooCommerce and booking plugin email templates are reviewed for spam trigger patterns and updated where needed
  • Delivery testing — All transactional email types are tested end-to-end, including spam filter testing via Mail Tester and inbox placement verification

​
Sending Services We Work With

  • Resend — Modern developer-first email API; excellent deliverability; clean React Email templates supported; recommended for new setups
  • Postmark — Industry standard for transactional email; very strong deliverability; detailed bounce and spam complaint tracking
  • SendGrid — Good option for higher-volume senders; marketing and transactional in one platform if needed
  • Amazon SES — Lowest cost at scale; requires more setup effort but appropriate for high-volume applications with in-house technical management

​
Monitoring

Once configured, we set up delivery monitoring: bounce rate tracking, spam complaint rates, and alerts if sending volume drops unexpectedly (which can indicate a configuration failure). Transactional email is included in our standard support plan monthly reviews.