Are you interested in establishing email logs for your WordPress or WooCommerce website? Email logs play a crucial role in monitoring the emails sent by your website, enabling efficient troubleshooting of any potential issues. In this comprehensive guide, we will walk you through the process of easily setting up email logs for both WordPress and WooCommerce, allowing you to conveniently view email activity directly from your WordPress admin area.
### Why Set Up Email Logs in WordPress or WooCommerce?
Whether you’re managing a small business website or an online store utilizing WordPress or WooCommerce, your website automatically generates and dispatches various email notifications to users. These emails range from password reset notifications and new user alerts to order confirmations and customer receipts. Ensuring the prompt and reliable delivery of these emails is essential for maintaining the optimal functionality of your website and providing users with an excellent experience.
To guarantee that these critical emails reach users’ inboxes without being lost or marked as spam, it is advisable to utilize a reliable SMTP service provider. For detailed information on resolving WordPress’s email sending issues, refer to our guide.
Moreover, maintaining a record of the emails sent and their recipients proves beneficial in numerous situations, such as:
1. Ensuring timely delivery of email notifications.
2. Monitoring emails generated by a contact form plugin.
3. Verifying the functionality of plugin-sent emails.
4. Tracking user activity through email logs.
5. Monitoring user engagement on membership websites or online course platforms.
6. Maintaining an email log for WooCommerce orders, receipts, and customer notifications.
Now, let’s delve into the step-by-step process of setting up email logs for your WordPress or WooCommerce website.
### Setting Up Email Logs in WordPress & WooCommerce
For this tutorial, we will be utilizing the WP Mail SMTP plugin, a versatile tool that allows you to send WordPress emails using various SMTP service providers such as Gmail, Outlook, SendGrid, Amazon SES, and more.
#### Step 1: Install and Set Up WP Mail SMTP
Begin by installing and activating the WP Mail SMTP plugin. Follow our detailed tutorial on installing WordPress plugins for step-by-step guidance.
Once activated, navigate to WP Mail SMTP » Settings to configure the plugin. Enter your license key (available in your WP Mail SMTP account), then click ‘Verify.’ In the Mailer section, choose your preferred method for sending WordPress emails. Select a reliable provider like SendLayer, SMTP.com, Gmail, Outlook, Brevo (formerly Sendinblue), Mailgun, SendGrid, or Amazon SES, and follow the provided instructions for setup.
Avoid using the default PHP mailer, as it may lead to email deliverability issues. For optimal results, choose a provider optimized for email deliverability.
#### Step 2: Enable the Email Log Feature
Now that your mailer settings are configured, switch to the ‘Email Log’ tab in the WP Mail SMTP settings. Check the ‘Enable log’ box to save general and troubleshooting information about each email message, including date, time, subject, status, sender, recipient addresses, and attachments. While the plugin offers an option for complete WordPress email logs, it is advisable to avoid storing all email contents in your database for security reasons.
Save your settings after enabling the email log feature.
#### Step 3: Testing WP Mail SMTP Setup
To ensure the functionality of the WP Mail SMTP plugin, navigate to WP Mail SMTP » Settings and go to the ‘Email Test’ tab. Enter your email address and click ‘Send Email.’ The plugin will send a test email and display the delivery status on the screen.
#### Step 4: Viewing Email Logs in WordPress
Access your WordPress email logs directly from the WP Mail SMTP » Email Log page in the admin area. The log provides a list of entries since email logging was enabled. Hover over an entry and click ‘View’ to see detailed information.
Utilize the search feature to find entries based on email address, subject, header, or content. To delete entries, use the ‘Delete’ link. For in-depth analysis or reporting, export logs to spreadsheet software or email marketing services. Additionally, easily resend failed emails.
WP Mail SMTP Pro subscribers enjoy an additional feature for visualizing email deliverability. This feature presents a chart displaying the number of emails sent, opened, and clicked each day, making it especially useful for WooCommerce users. Weekly email performance summaries are emailed to subscribers, providing valuable insights.
In conclusion, this tutorial has guided you through the process of setting up email logs for your WordPress or WooCommerce website using the WP Mail SMTP plugin. For further insights, explore our guide on monitoring user activity in WordPress with security audit logs or our curated collection of essential plugins to enhance your site. If you found this tutorial helpful, subscribe to our YouTube Channel for more WordPress video tutorials, and stay connected with us on Twitter and Facebook for regular updates.