Categories

How to Implement PHPMailer Directly in Your WordPress Theme

Donate with

82uymVXLkvVbB4c4JpTd1tYm1yj1cKPKR2wqmw3XF8YXKTmY7JrTriP4pVwp2EJYBnCFdXhLq4zfFA6ic7VAWCFX5wfQbCC

Copy Monero Donation Address

Donate with

Donate BAT now

Verified BAT publisher

How to Implement PHPMailer Directly in Your WordPress Theme: A Step-by-Step Guide

In this post, we'll walk you through incorporating PHPMailer into your WordPress theme using the built-in PHPMailer class from the wp-includes directory. This method allows you to send emails directly from your theme without needing additional plugins, giving you more control over the email configuration.

Why Use PHPMailer Inside a WordPress Theme?

WordPress has a built-in email function, but sometimes it lacks the flexibility or reliability you might need. Incorporating PHPMailer directly allows you to have more granular control over your email settings, such as adding SMTP support or setting custom headers. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to do it:

Code Implementation

Below is the code you need to incorporate PHPMailer into your WordPress theme:

use PHPMailer\PHPMailer\PHPMailer;
use PHPMailer\PHPMailer\Exception;

require_once(ABSPATH . trailingslashit(WPINC) . 'PHPMailer/PHPMailer.php');
require_once(ABSPATH . trailingslashit(WPINC) . 'PHPMailer/SMTP.php');
require_once(ABSPATH . trailingslashit(WPINC) . 'PHPMailer/Exception.php');

$mail = new PHPMailer();

Explanation of the Code

• use PHPMailer\PHPMailer\PHPMailer; – This imports the PHPMailer class for handling emails.
• use PHPMailer\PHPMailer\Exception; – This imports the Exception class to manage errors gracefully.
• require_once(ABSPATH . trailingslashit(WPINC) . 'PHPMailer/PHPMailer.php'); – This includes the core PHPMailer class from the wp-includes directory.
• require_once(ABSPATH . trailingslashit(WPINC) . 'PHPMailer/SMTP.php'); – This adds SMTP functionality for sending emails through an external server.
• require_once(ABSPATH . trailingslashit(WPINC) . 'PHPMailer/Exception.php'); – This ensures the Exception class is available for error handling.
• $mail = new PHPMailer(); – This initializes a new PHPMailer instance to send your custom email.
• ABSPATH – Constant which holds the directory path to your wordpress directory.
• trailingslashit(WPINC) – WPINC is a constant which holds the value wp-includes. The PHPMailer library is located there.

Once the PHPMailer instance is created, you can configure it for SMTP or any other email transport options as needed.

Conclusion

Integrating PHPMailer directly into your WordPress theme offers more flexibility and control compared to relying on default WordPress email functions. However, it does come with some manual configuration overhead. For developers looking for a streamlined, plugin-free approach to sending emails in WordPress, this method is a powerful solution.

Keep in mind that this method is suitable for those with coding experience, as it requires manually handling the email logic. For those looking for an easier solution, plugins like WP Mail SMTP may be more convenient, albeit less customizable.