Popular WordPress plugin that fixes email delivery issues gets major UI update after acquisition
Post SMTP, a free and widely used plugin that fixes common email delivery problems on WordPress, launched a new version of its software with an improved user interface on the heels of WPExperts acquiring it in March 2022.
Many WordPress sites have issues sending system and form-based email messages, and the delivery problems are persistent across many hosting providers. Some hosting services have safeguards that filter outgoing messages that might be spam, while others block sending SMTP messages entirely.
WordPress administrators frequently install an email delivery plugin to fix persistent email delivery issues. The most popular plugin, which is also free, is Post SMTP. Coywolf’s WordPress sites all use Post SMTP in conjunction with SendGrid, which has resulted in 100% deliverability for system messages and form-based messages via Gravity Forms. In addition to SendGrid, Post SMTP supports email delivery APIs from Gmail, Mandrill (aka MailChimp), Mailgun, and Sendinblue.
The Post SMTP plugin performs well once configured, but the UI and UX have always been somewhat clunky and confusing. The lack of attention to the UI and UX was primarily due to the life circumstances of its creator. In February 2022, the sole developer posted a plea for donations to help continue the plugin’s development and keep it free. That blog post got the attention of WPExperts, an enterprise WordPress development agency, and a month later, they announced that they had acquired the plugin.
WPExperts didn’t waste any time in making the plugin better. In early June 2022, they released a new and improved design for setting up and managing the WordPress plugin and other new features. The new UI and UX were a welcome surprise to the more than three hundred thousand sites that rely on the plugin for email delivery. Unlike the old Post SMTP Setup Wizard, the latest version uses familiar design patterns and dramatically improves the setup experience.
WPExperts also made it easier to view and edit settings.
WPExperts is keeping the email delivery plugin free and is monetizing it with premium extensions. They currently offer these paid extensions:
- Email Logger: An advanced and fast email logger
- Amazon SES: An integration for Amazon SES API
- Office 365: API delivery with Office 365
The Post SMTP plugin can be downloaded and installed from the WordPress Plugin Directory, and additional details and resources are available on the Postman SMTP site.
Jon is the founder of Coywolf and the EIC and the primary author reporting for Coywolf News. He is an industry veteran with over 25 years of digital marketing and internet technologies experience. Follow @henshaw
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