Custom SMTP vs Gravity PDF

Add Mail SMTP settings for WordPress Looking to modify the SMTP on your WordPress site? Our Custom SMTP solution offers you this possibility, allowing you to easily change your WordPress SMTP settings, ensuring your emails consistently land in the recipient’s inbox. Custom SMTP solves your email deliverability problems by reconfiguring WordPress to use a proper SMTP provider when sending emails. What’s more, our intuitive settings page and comprehensive documentation will guide you through the process, making the task of modifying your SMTP settings easier than ever. Custom SMTP is a free tool, packed with all the essential features you need to send your WordPress emails with absolute confidence! Built for modern WordPress: WordPress 7.0 ready, PHPMailer 7.0.2 compatible, stateless / cloud-ready (Docker, Kubernetes), and fully translated in English and French. Amazon SES API — keyless sending with IAM roles Running WordPress on AWS (ECS Fargate, EC2, App Runner)? Custom SMTP can send through the Amazon SES API authenticated entirely by your container or instance IAM role — with no access keys, no secret keys, and no SMTP credentials stored anywhere. The plugin relies on the AWS default credential chain (the ECS task role / EC2 instance role), so your secrets never live in the database or the settings page. This is the cleanest, most secure way to send from a containerized, 12-factor WordPress: Zero stored secrets — authentication comes from the IAM role attached to the task/instance, not from keys pasted into wp-admin. Full message fidelity — HTML, attachments, CC/BCC, Reply-To and custom headers are preserved (the message is sent as raw MIME); BCC recipients stay hidden. SES Configuration Sets — optional, for bounce/complaint tracking and CloudWatch metrics. Environment-driven — region, sender address and configuration set can be injected as environment variables / PHP constants (SES_REGION / AWS_REGION, SES_FROM_EMAIL, SES_CONFIG_SET), so the same image ships across environments without touching the database. No extra dependency required — works whether or not the AWS SDK for PHP is present; when it isn’t, a built-in, dependency-free signed API client is used. One-click test — send a test email and get back the SES MessageId. Config-as-code & Multisite (immutable deployments) For immutable Docker images, DISALLOW_FILE_MODS setups and large networks, every setting can be forced from the environment — no database writes at deploy time: Any setting via a constant or env variable — define CUSTOM_SMTP_ (e.g. CUSTOM_SMTP_MAILER_TYPE=ses_api, CUSTOM_SMTP_HOST, CUSTOM_SMTP_LOG_RETENTION) and it overrides the saved value everywhere. The Amazon SES shortcuts (SES_REGION / AWS_REGION, SES_FROM_EMAIL, SES_CONFIG_SET) keep working too. Activate a mailer network-wide with one variable — set CUSTOM_SMTP_MAILER_TYPE=ses_api in the container and every site uses Amazon SES, with zero per-site configuration and no custom option_* filter. Multisite network settings — on a network, settings are read from the network-wide option (get_site_option) beneath any per-site option, so one configuration can apply to the whole network. Visible in wp-admin — any field supplied by the environment is shown read-only with a “from VARIABLE” badge, so admins see exactly what the platform controls. Built-in Email Logging Never wonder if your emails were sent again. Custom SMTP automatically logs every email sent from your WordPress site – including WooCommerce order notifications, contact form submissions, and password resets. Preview email content directly in wp-admin, debug delivery issues with detailed error messages, and export logs for compliance. Configuration Options You can set the following options: From Name & Email – Specify the sender name and email address for all outgoing emails SMTP Host – Your email provider’s server (e.g., smtp.gmail.com) SMTP Port – Common ports: 587 (TLS), 465 (SSL), 25 (None) Encryption – Choose between None, SSL, or TLS Authentication – Enable/disable SMTP authentication for relay servers Username & Password – Your SMTP credentials (password stored encrypted) Provider Presets – One-click configuration for Gmail, Outlook, iCloud, SendGrid, AWS SES, and more Amazon SES API (IAM role) – Send through the Amazon SES API with no stored credentials, authenticated by your AWS task/instance role Key Features SMTP Configuration * Configure any SMTP server (Gmail, Outlook, SendGrid, Mailgun, AWS SES, etc.) * Support for SSL/TLS encryption * Optional SMTP authentication for relay servers * Test connection without sending emails * Send test emails to verify configuration Amazon SES API (keyless, IAM role) * Send via the Amazon SESv2 API authenticated by your AWS IAM role — no access keys or SMTP credentials stored * Ideal for AWS ECS/Fargate, EC2 and other containerized, stateless deployments * Preserves HTML, attachments, CC/BCC, Reply-To and custom headers (raw MIME) * Optional SES Configuration Set for bounce/complaint/CloudWatch tracking * Region, sender and configuration set configurable via environment variables or constants * Works with or without the AWS SDK for PHP (built-in signed API client fallback) * “Send Test Email” returns the SES MessageId Email Logging & Debugging * Zero configuration – Logging works out of the box * Track all emails sent from WordPress, WooCommerce, Contact Form 7, and any plugin * View delivery status (sent/failed) with detailed error messages * Debug wp_mail errors easily – See exactly why emails fail * Resend failed emails – Re-send a failed message straight from the logs after fixing your configuration * Store email headers for advanced troubleshooting * Search by recipient, subject, or status * Filter by date range (Today, 7 days, 30 days) * Export logs to CSV for reporting and compliance Email Preview & Content * Preview email body directly from wp-admin – No need to send test emails * View HTML source code of any logged email * Outlook-style sidebar for quick preview * Download any email as HTML file for archiving * Optional content storage (disabled by default for privacy) Deliverability * Cooperates with the automatic Envelope-From / Return-Path behavior introduced in WordPress 6.9 — improves SPF, DKIM and DMARC alignment on strict hosts (AWS SES, Postmark, etc.) * PHPMailer 7.0.2 compatible (the version bundled in WordPress 7.0) * UTF-8 and emoji handled end-to-end in subjects, bodies, and headers Privacy & GDPR-friendly * SMTP password encrypted at rest (AES-256-CBC) * Configurable log retention with automatic purge (30 days by default) * Email content storage can be disabled in one click from the settings * Email preview rendered in a sandboxed iframe — no JavaScript execution from logged emails * All data stays in your WordPress database — no third-party calls Security * SMTP password encrypted in database (AES-256-CBC) * All admin actions protected with nonces * Capability checks on all operations Stateless & Cloud-Ready * Fully compatible with stateless WordPress hosting (containers, Kubernetes, AWS ECS/Fargate, etc.) * Works with Bedrock, Trellis, and other modern WordPress stacks * Zero filesystem writes – all data stored in the database * No shared storage (EFS/NFS) required between instances * Safe to run on read-only filesystems AI & Workflow Integration (WordPress 6.9+) * custom-smtp/connection-health — read the current SMTP state (configured, host/port/encryption/auth, log retention) from any tool * custom-smtp/send-test-email — trigger a test email through your configured SMTP server * Compatible with MCP-enabled AI assistants, automation tools (n8n, Make), dashboards, and other plugins via the WordPress Abilities API * Protected by capability checks (manage_options) — same security boundary as the wp-admin interface

Gravity PDF is the ultimate third-party PDF automation tool for generating digital PDFs using the popular form-builder plugin Gravity Forms. Highly Customizable PDFs Out of the box you get four highly-customizable PDF designs. Within minutes, you can personalize the look and feel by adding your company logo, header, footer, paper size / orientation, font, color and size. If the free designs don’t suit, select from our range of templates in the Template Shop, go bespoke and have a template build by our team, or build your own using HTML/CSS/PHP. Send as Email Attachment Gravity PDF can automatically email the PDF to both the admin and the user as soon as the form is completed. You can combine this feature with a Gravity Forms payment add-on to sell personalized reports, gift certificates, or generate PDF invoices. Privacy, Security, and GDPR Gravity PDF generates PDFs on your web server, and no third-party service receives your sensitive Gravity Forms entry data. Robust security protects your documents, and the plugin is GDPR-compliant for our European friends. Digital document management with WordPress and Gravity Forms just became simple with Gravity PDF! Free Feature Unlimited Use, No Restrictions – There are zero hard limits to the number of PDFs you can configure across all your forms or generate on your entries. Gravity PDF does NOT stamp documents with our logo, limit the number of PDFs you can create per month, or purposefully restrict essential functionality to force you to upgrade to a paid plan. Privacy and Security – your form data is never sent to a third party to generate the PDFs and the documents are generated directly on your web server. Strong access control policies are put in place to prevent unauthenticated access to your PDFs. Multilingual – a multitude of languages from across the globe can be displayed in PDFs, include complex scripts like Hebrew, Arabic, Thai, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean. Additional Fonts – match your branding and enhance the overall look and feel of PDFs by install your own fonts. Columns – use Drag and Drop columns in Gravity Forms and PDFs will automatically mimic that layout. Shortcode and Merge Tags – You can generate a link or URL to PDFs using both shortcodes and merge tags so your users can download the PDF right after form submission. Export Entries – include the direct link to any PDF(s) when exporting your form entries Webhooks Add-on – send the direct PDF link with Webhook requests when using Gravity Forms Webhooks add-on. Gravity Flow – create complex workflows using Gravity Flow and automatically email Gravity PDF-generated documents at any step in the workflow. GravityView – add links to PDFs when building a members area using GravityView + Advanced Filtering add-on. Background Processing – generating PDFs on form submission can be time consuming. Offload it to a background process will ensure form submissions are processed faster. Design PDFs – developers can build their own PDF templates using HTML, CSS, and PHP with the help of our developer documentation. Documentation and Support – there is extensive documentation covering every feature of Gravity PDF that you can comb through, plus we provide free general support to all users. Unlock More Functionality Pay for additional PDF designs and functionality from our online store. New Designs – get access to 9 additional universal designs, 6 certificates, 6 invoices, and 3 letter styles Additional customizations – watermark PDFs with your own logo or text, control fields that should be displayed per PDF, add field descriptions, display all checkbox or radio field options, add notes, show field values instead of labels, and hide the product table On-screen Preview – allow users to preview the PDF before form submission (and optionally payment) so they can see what the end result will be. This is a great feature for capturing e-signatures, selling PDF reports / certificates / gift cards, or providing an on-screen proof before the PDF is sent to the printers (perfect for business cards). Bulk Download – search, filter, and select entries and then zip up all your PDFs and download all together in a convenient zip file Smart Loading Indicator – improve the UX for your users when generating complex PDFs that take time to create. GravityView – turn GravityView into a drag-and-drop PDF builder for your Single Entry View Layouts. GFChart – create PDF reports that display pie, bar, or column charts with aggregate Gravity Forms data using GFChart. 30-Day Refund Guarantee – Purchase with confidence knowing when you buy a product from our store that you can get a refund within 30 days, for any reason. Hire the Experts Need a tailor-made solution for Gravity PDF that solves complex business problems? Our team of experienced developers have helped thousands of businesses like yours to accomplish these goals. We can even fill existing PDFs like government forms, without sending your sensitive entry data to a third-party server! Find out more. Documentation & Support We have extensive documentation on using Gravity PDF, and our friendly support team provides FREE basic support via GravityPDF.com. Contribute All development for Gravity PDF is handled via GitHub. Opening new issues or submitting a pull request is welcome. Keep up to date with Gravity PDF by subscribing to the newsletter, following us on Twitter/X, subscribing to our YouTube channel, and liking us on Facebook. If you enjoy using the software we’d love it if you could give us a review!