Email

Introduction
Email Address Settings
CPanel Registered Email IDs
Branded Email with SMTP
Diagnose Email Issues with Email Log plugin
Spark Post Deliver
Support for Email Issues
FAQ

Introduction

GeoDirectory provides many options for communicating with Email, and most are in the form of ‘Transactional” emails that provide account or listing update information. Whether you are new to websites or a practice veteran, here in this doc we provide an overview of common issues and solutions for email related problems.

Settings

There are at least 2 (two) place where you can set the email address used on your site. We will cover those here.

WordPress settings

The WordPress settings for email are in
WordPress – Settings – General – Email Address

The WordPress Email Address is used for emails that are sent by WordPress.

GeoDirectory Settings

The GeoDirectory settings for email are in
GeoDirectory – Settings – General – Email

The GeoDirectory Email Address is used for emails that are sent by WordPress.

wp_mail function

GeoDirectory core and addons use the

wp_mail()

function. This is the “WordPress Way”, the way that plugin authors ‘should’ create email related functions.

By using this function, any email sent by GeoDirectory is sent in exactly the same way as any other email from your site. The only real difference is that the email address of the sender may be different, depending on your Settings.

So, that means that diagnosing issues related to GeoDirectory email delivery is or can be exactly the same as any other email issue related to your site. If you have a different email address set for GeoDirectory, you can change that address to the same one used for your site and there will be no difference between the emails at all.

CPanel Registered Mail IDs

If your host uses CPanel, you may be required to first register an non-SMTP email address used in your site’s email address settings. Here is the text of the error that many of our members have seen:

Follow instructions on your CPanel to register your email addresses. Failure to do so will most likely result in your emails being blocked by the host.

Branded Email with SMTP

It is becoming more and more common to use an SMTP Email plugin o facilitate sending site emails through a 3rd party email service. An example is G Suite, which is a common provider for branded email (Gmail). For SMTP Email, you would sign up with Gmail/GSuite for an account, and then configure an SMTP Email plugin to communicate with that account to send the emails from your site.

This is a great solution for a number of reasons:

1. Free. Well, in most cases, anyways. You will need to check with your email provider for specific details, but, in most cases, using an email account to send Email is covered under the terms and conditions.
2. The webhost is removed from the equation, so it becomes simpler to diagnose future errors, and the seding of email is not reliant on the policy of the host.
3. Email sent by a host is often sent with a mask such that there is another email address involved, and the email itself often says “Sent on behalf of”. Emails that are constructed like this are often not as well trusted as those being sent through a GSuite account. A more trusted email means less chance of the email going to the spam folder.

We do not recommend or provide support for any particular SMTP email plugin, but you can read more about it here.

Diagnosis of Email Issues with the Email Log Plugin

The first step for diagnosis of an email delivery failure is to find out if the email was created on the site. If the email was created, but did not arrive, then there is a problem that is most likely host-related. If the email was not created, there is a chance that we can help if the email was supposed to be created by GeoDirectory.

To provide clarity, we recommend the Email Log plugin, from w.org.

Add the plugin to your site and activate it. Then, proceed to complete the series of steps necessary to create the email that was not delivered. You might need to add a listing, or claim a listing, for example, to prompt the creation of the email.

Once you have done that, then check the email log. If the email is listed as having been created, but was not delivered, then contact your host about your site’s emails being blocked.

If the email was not created, and it is a GeoDirectory email, then make a visit to the support forum and tell us how to recreate the issue on your site so we can help you get it sorted.

3rd Party Delivery

If SMTP email doesn’t work for you, or you are looking for advanced features, then you can try a 3rd Party service for delivery. There are many of them that are available. We use Spark post. Their pricing changes regularly, but they usually have a free tier for low volume users.

https://www.sparkpost.com/
https://wordpress.org/plugins/sparkpost/

Support for Email Related Issues

If you have confirmed with the Email Log plugin that a GeoDirectory email is not being created, then by all means visit our support forum and create a topic so we can help you.

If you need help with setup of your CPanel, SMTP Email, or 3rd party email delivery, you can contact an expert here: http://geodirectoryexperts.com

Frequently Asked Questions

The email notifications from my site are going to the SPAM folder. What can I do?

This is a common problem, and there are a couple things you can do about it that are relatively easy.

1. Use an email address that matches your domain. Using a gmail or other webmail address alerts email processing programs that your email address is not verified because it does not match the domain of the links used in the email.
2. Make sure you use a branded email address for the WP email settings and also the GD settings.
3. Try using SMTP email as linked above.

If the issue persists, you may need to use a branded email address and a third party delivery service.

GeoDirectory is not sending email. What do I do?

Install the Email Log plugin, and see if the email is being created. If it is being created, and is not being sent, contact your host.

GeoDirectory is not sending user activation emails, why not?

GeoDirectory does not have a user activation feature or send user activation emails for general user registration. We recommend you try UsersWP if you are looking for a fast and lightweight plugin for managing users. There is a Claim validation email that is sent to users who have already registered and who use the Claim Listing Addon functionality to claim a listing. That email can be found in the Claims notifications tab.

How can I add styles to the emails?

You can use inline html and styles. The following is an example of how to add margin and padding to an email.

<div style="margin:10px;padding:10px"><p>Dear [#client_name#],</p> ………. <p>[#site_name#]</p></div>