Have you noticed an increase in spam emails after setting up WP Mail SMTP? This is a common observation that can be quite confusing, but there’s a simple explanation.
In this guide, we’ll clarify why this happens and show you how to manage spam effectively.
In This Article
Understanding WP Mail SMTP
WP Mail SMTP works to make sure that your website’s emails get to their intended recipients. It does this by guiding your WordPress emails through a reliable SMTP server, acting as a trusted delivery route for your emails.
Email Delivery Before WP Mail SMTP
Before you had WP Mail SMTP on your site, you might’ve had problems with email delivery. Emails, including those sent by spambots, often fail to get through due to server limitations or authentication issues.
This means that not only were important emails not reaching their destination, but spam was also being unintentionally blocked.
WP Mail SMTP and the Perception of Spam
After you install WP Mail SMTP and configure a mailer, it typically resolves your email delivery issues. However, this applies to all emails, including those from spambots.
This means that WP Mail SMTP isn’t causing more spam to appear. It simply ensures that all emails, regardless of whether they’re good or bad, are delivered properly.
Note: Installing WP Mail SMTP without configuring a mailer doesn’t improve email deliverability. You also need to set up one of the available mailers to fix email delivery issues on your site. For more information, please see our complete mailer guide.
Managing Spam at the Source
The key to effectively managing spam is to target it at its source – the forms on your site. Here are some ways to protect your website from spam:
Implementing CAPTCHA
CAPTCHAs verify that a user is a real person and not a bot. You can choose from many types of CAPTCHAs, ranging from simple text-based challenges to more complex puzzles.
Note: If you’re using WPForms as your contact form, you’ll be able to implement some of these spam protection techniques on your forms. For more details, refer to WPForms’ guide to spam prevention.
Using Anti-Spam Plugins
Akismet, one of the most popular anti-spam plugins, effectively filters out spam from your comments and form submissions.
For detailed instructions on setting up Akismet, check out our guide on filtering contact form spam with Akismet.
Updating Your Site Regularly
Sites that are not regularly updated can become vulnerable to security risks. By regularly updating your site with the latest bug fixes and security patches, you are reducing the risk of being targeted by spammers.
That’s it! Now you understand why spam may appear to increase after installing and configuring WP Mail SMTP and the steps to take to manage it.
Next, would you like to learn how to troubleshoot issues in WP Mail SMTP? Be sure to check out our guide on troubleshooting WP Mail SMTP for more details.