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  2. Plesk: Control Panel
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  4. WordPress Plugins

WordPress: Setup SMTP (FluentSMTP or WP Mail SMTP)

If you want your WordPress website to send emails reliably (for example for contact forms, orders, or notifications), it’s best to use an SMTP plugin instead of the default PHP mail function. There are many different SMTP plugins, but we recommend FluentSMTP (has logging) or WP Mail SMTP (integrates well with WP Forms or AI Website Builder). Below you’ll find step-by-step instructions for both plugins with the correct Cloud86 settings.

For illustration purposes, we use the domain cloud86example.com always replace it with your own domain in question. The domain is whatever is behind the @ sign in the mail address (@cloud86example.com) or entered in the url bar in the browser (after https://www. or https://).

Option 1: Install and Configure FluentSMTP

  1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard (WordPress: Login and Dashboard).
  2. Go to Plugins > Add New, and search for FluentSMTP
  3. Then click Install and Activate.
  4. Open FluentSMTP via the WordPress menu.
  5. Choose Other SMTP as the mailer provider.
    • SMTP Host: enter the mail server, in our example cloud86example.com, replace it with your own domain, or in case of an external website with the Plesk server address (see: How to use the Cloud86 mail server with an external website).
    • SMTP Port: for SSL (Port 465), for TLS (587)
    • Encryption: SSL or TLS (depending on the chosen port)
    • Authentication: Enabled
    • Username: your Cloud86 email address
    • Password: the password for your email account
  6. Click Save Settings.
  7. Send a test email to confirm everything works.

For more information see the FLuentSMTP documentation for:

Option 2: Install and Configure Post SMTP

  1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard (WordPress: Login and Dashboard).
  2. Go to Plugins > Add New, and search for Post SMTP
  3. Then click Install and Activate.
  4. Open Post SMTP via the WordPress menu (first time press skip).
  5. Choose Other SMTP as the mailer provider.
    • Enter the From email and Name.
    • Toggle the two buttons:
      • Check this to prevent changes on the From Email field by other Plugins and Themes
      • Check this to prevent changes on the From Name field by other Plugins and Themes
    • Host Name: enter the mail server, in our example cloud86example.com, replace it with your own domain, or in case of an external website with the Plesk server address (see: How to use the Cloud86 mail server with an external website).
    • Port: for SSL (Port 465), for TLS (587).
    • Username: your sender email address.
    • Password: the password of your sender email address.
  6. Click Save and Continue.
  7. Send a test email to confirm everything works.

Option 3: Install and Configure WP Mail SMTP

  1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard (WordPress: Login and Dashboard).
  2. Go to Plugins > Add New, and search for WP Mail SMTP
  3. Then click Install and Activate.
  4. Open WP Mail SMTP from the WordPress menu.
  5. Under Mailer, select Other SMTP.
    • SMTP Host: enter the mail server, in our example cloud86example.com, replace it with your own domain, or in case of an external website with the Plesk server address (see: How to use the Cloud86 mail server with an external website).
    • SMTP Port: 465 (SSL) or 587 (TLS)
    • Encryption: SSL or TLS (depending on the port)
    • Authentication: Enabled
    • SMTP Username: your sender email address.
    • SMTP Password: the password of your sender email address.
  6. Click Save Settings.
  7. Send a test email from the plugin to verify the setup.

For more information see the WP Mail SMTP documentation for:

  • Setup email provider: Other SMTP (see default Cloud86 settings above)
  • Email send logs: Email logs (requires WP Mail Pro License, not provided by Cloud86).

Tips & Troubleshooting

  • Always check that you’re using the correct login details (same as for Cloud86 webmail, Inloggen op webmail (RoundCube)).
  • If SSL (465) doesn’t work, try TLS (587).
  • Make sure your email address and domain are correctly configured in your Cloud86 hosting package.
  • You can also check our Cloud86 email guides for additional help, E-mail: Beginnershandleiding.

If you need some help, you can always reach our support desk by email support@cloud86.io and on weekdays from 9:00 to 16:00 (CET) you can also reach us by phone and via the chat in My Cloud86.