Question

How can i fix NGINX Wordpress not sending emails?

Hello, i just installed wordpress on VPS following your tutorials and now i don’t know how to configure it to be able to send emails from wordpress. I tested it with Check Email plugin and nothing. Do i need a separate email service? can i somehow activate something in the nginx server or with any php function? I’m newbie in the VPS world and need your help please.


Submit an answer


This textbox defaults to using Markdown to format your answer.

You can type !ref in this text area to quickly search our full set of tutorials, documentation & marketplace offerings and insert the link!

Sign In or Sign Up to Answer

These answers are provided by our Community. If you find them useful, show some love by clicking the heart. If you run into issues leave a comment, or add your own answer to help others.

Accepted Answer

Hi @hcmendez,

WordPress cannot send emails by itself. It has to rely on an email server to do the job. You can set up an SMTP email server or use a third-party service. Generally, you will install a WordPress plugin and configure it with SMTP information. After that, WordPress can start sending emails.

However, setting up your own email server is not a good idea. Because most likely, your email will go straight to the recipient’s junk/spam box. Please use a reputable third party service that supports SMTP. An internet search gives me some services like Sendinblue, Mailjet, SendGrid, etc. (you can search for more results by yourself). These services all offer a free plan with some limitations, but they support SMTP and include WordPress plugins. Refer to the following plugin pages for how to integrate them into your website: Sendinblue, Mailjet, SendGrid.

If you want to set up an email server yourself, follow the tutorial How To Install and Configure Postfix as a Send-Only SMTP Server on Ubuntu 20.04. Once you have an SMTP server, install an SMTP plugin for WordPress such as WP Mail SMTP and configure it with the SMTP information.

Try DigitalOcean for free

Click below to sign up and get $200 of credit to try our products over 60 days!

Sign up

Become a contributor for community

Get paid to write technical tutorials and select a tech-focused charity to receive a matching donation.

DigitalOcean Documentation

Full documentation for every DigitalOcean product.

Resources for startups and SMBs

The Wave has everything you need to know about building a business, from raising funding to marketing your product.

Get our newsletter

Stay up to date by signing up for DigitalOcean’s Infrastructure as a Newsletter.

New accounts only. By submitting your email you agree to our Privacy Policy

The developer cloud

Scale up as you grow — whether you're running one virtual machine or ten thousand.

Get started for free

Sign up and get $200 in credit for your first 60 days with DigitalOcean.*

*This promotional offer applies to new accounts only.