Transactional Email Service

Overview #

A Transactional Email Service is a specialized service designed to send automated, system-triggered emails from applications or websites. In the context of a WordPress website, this could involve emails related to account activities (like account creation, password reset), notifications (such as new comment, post publication), eCommerce transactions (order confirmations, shipping notifications), and more.

Key Features of a Transactional Email Service #

1. Automation: Transactional email services automate the process of sending emails in response to specific events or triggers. For example, when a customer places an order on a WordPress eCommerce site, an automatic email receipt can be sent.
2. High Deliverability: These services aim to provide high deliverability rates. This is crucial because transactional emails often contain important information that the user needs to see.
3. Scalability: As your WordPress site grows, the volume of transactional emails will also increase. A transactional email service should be able to scale with your site, handling any volume of emails without impacting performance.
4. Tracking and Analytics: Most transactional email services provide analytics so you can track how many emails were delivered, opened, clicked on, etc. This data can help you improve the effectiveness of your emails.

How Transactional Email Services Integrate with WordPress #

WordPress has a built-in function, wp_mail(), that it uses to send emails. However, this function often lacks the scalability and deliverability that larger WordPress sites require. This is where a transactional email service comes in.

There are several transactional email services compatible with WordPress, including but not limited to SendinBlue, Mailgun, SendGrid, Amazon SES, and Postmark. Integration usually involves installing a WordPress plugin provided by the service and configuring it with the API key or SMTP details provided when you sign up for the service. We recommend and use Postmark and we use them as part of our Managed Hosting service.

After configuration, the transactional email service takes over the job of sending emails from your WordPress site. All transactional emails, whether they’re triggered by a plugin (like a contact form or eCommerce plugin) or by WordPress itself (like password reset emails), are sent through the transactional email service.

Benefits of Using Transactional Email Services with WordPress #

1. Improved Deliverability: Transactional Email Services ensure that your emails land in the customer’s inbox and not their spam folder.
2. Enhanced Performance: Using a dedicated service takes the load off your server, improving the overall performance of your WordPress site.
3. Better Email Management: Transactional email services provide powerful tools for managing and customizing your emails. You can track deliverability, open rates, click-through rates, and bounce rates, which can be invaluable for improving your email communication.
4. Scalability: These services are designed to handle large volumes of email, making them a perfect fit for growing WordPress sites.

Summary #

In summary, all WordPress websites work better by integrating with a Transactional Email Service for efficiency, deliverability, and user engagement. Postmark is setup for you as part of our Managed Hosting service.