Ever sent an email from your WordPress site only to find out it landed in someone’s spam folder? It’s more than just annoying—it can hurt your business. Whether you’re sending order confirmations, important notifications, or newsletters, ending up in spam means missed opportunities and frustrated clients.

Now, you’ve probably seen websites asking people to whitelist an email address to avoid this issue. Maybe you’ve even added that suggestion yourself. But, be honest—when was the last time you actually whitelisted an email? Exactly. Relying on your customers to do that isn’t the best strategy.

Thankfully, there are more reliable ways to ensure your emails consistently land where they belong—in your customers’ inboxes.

Approximate reading time: 5 minutes

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Why Are WordPress Emails Going to Spam?

There are a few common reasons why emails sent from WordPress websites often end up in the spam folder:

• Shared Hosting Issues: Many WordPress sites run on shared hosting, meaning multiple websites are hosted on the same server. If one site on that server has been flagged for sending spam, it can damage the reputation of the shared IP address. As a result, emails from other sites—including yours—can get flagged as spam.
• Lack of Email Authentication: Without proper email authentication protocols like SPF (Sender Policy Framework), DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), and DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance), your emails might look suspicious to email providers. These protocols help prove that your emails are legitimate and sent from an authorised server.
• Email Spoofing: Many WordPress websites use a process called email spoofing, where the “from” email address doesn’t match the domain that’s actually sending the email. This is common when using third-party services to send emails on behalf of your website (e.g., a contact form plugin). Without proper authentication, email providers might flag this as suspicious activity, even when it’s legitimate.
• Content Triggers Spam Filters: The content of your emails matters. Certain words, phrases, or even formatting can trigger spam filters. Overly promotional language, excessive use of images, or suspicious links can all cause your email to be flagged as spam.
• Poor Sending Practices: Sending too many emails in a short period, using a no-reply address, or having a large number of invalid recipients can also raise red flags for email providers, pushing your emails straight to the junk folder.

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How to Prevent Your WordPress Emails from Going to Spam

To ensure your emails consistently reach inboxes instead of junk folders, there are several key steps you can take to improve email deliverability:

• Use a Professional Email SMTP Provider
  SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) helps route emails more reliably through authenticated servers, reducing the chances of being flagged as spam. We recommend using services like Brevo (formerly Sendinblue), which offers up to 300 transactional emails per day for free. Alternatives such as SendGrid and Mailgun also provide excellent options for secure and efficient email delivery. Configuring your WordPress site to use an SMTP provider ensures that emails are sent securely and are less likely to be marked as spam.
• Set Up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC
  These email authentication protocols verify that your emails are coming from a trusted source, which helps prevent them from being flagged as spam. Here’s a quick breakdown:
  • SPF ensures that only authorised servers can send emails on behalf of your domain.
  • DKIM adds a digital signature to your emails, verifying that they haven’t been tampered with during transit.
  • DMARC ties SPF and DKIM together, providing instructions on what to do if an email fails authentication.
  By setting these up, you help email providers recognise your emails as legitimate.
• Optimise Your Email Content
  The content of your email can also trigger spam filters. Here’s how to avoid that:
  • Avoid overly promotional language: Phrases like “Free,” “Click here,” or “Act now” are red flags for spam filters.
  • Balance images and text: Emails that are image-heavy with little text often get flagged. Keep a healthy balance between visuals and content.
  • Use clean, well-structured HTML: Make sure your emails are well-coded with clean HTML. Poorly formatted emails or excessive use of special characters can raise spam flags.

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Recommended WordPress Plugins for Email Deliverability

To improve email deliverability from your WordPress site, here are a few key plugins that ensure your emails bypass spam filters and land in inboxes:

• Gravity Forms SMTP
  Kyle & Irving provides clients with Gravity Forms SMTP, which works with all transactional emails sent from your WordPress site—not just form submissions. This makes it an ideal solution for ensuring that important emails such as contact form responses, order confirmations, and notification emails are reliably delivered.
• WP Mail SMTP
  Another popular SMTP plugin, WP Mail SMTP helps route emails through authenticated SMTP providers like Gmail, Brevo, Mailgun, and SendGrid, rather than relying on WordPress’s default PHP mail function. This boosts deliverability by ensuring emails are sent securely and trusted by inbox providers.
• Post SMTP
  Post SMTP is a solid alternative, offering authenticated email delivery while providing detailed logs. These logs help track the status of sent emails, allowing you to troubleshoot any issues with deliverability.
• FluentSMTP
  For a free option, FluentSMTP offers seamless integration with services like Brevo and is designed for reliable email delivery. Its email log feature makes it easy to monitor and troubleshoot email-sending issues directly from your WordPress dashboard.

These plugins ensure that your emails are sent through authenticated, secure channels, improving the likelihood of reaching inboxes instead of being flagged as spam.

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Conclusion

Ensuring that your WordPress emails don’t end up in spam or junk folders is essential for maintaining smooth communication with your clients or customers. By using the right tools and following best practices, you can drastically improve your email deliverability and ensure your emails reach their intended destinations.

Regularly updating your email systems, setting up proper authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, and using reliable SMTP providers like Brevo or Mailgun can make all the difference. Additionally, plugins like Gravity Forms SMTP, WP Mail SMTP, and FluentSMTP ensure your WordPress site communicates effectively.

Get your emails set up so that they make your recipients’ email clients “an offer they can’t refuse”—and no horse’s heads will be required. By taking these steps, you’ll avoid the frustration of missing important emails and maintain a professional and reliable presence in your clients’ inboxes.