If your website’s email isn’t working, you are not alone. Many website owners experience issues where contact forms don’t send emails, confirmation messages go to spam, or emails aren’t delivered at all. These problems can disrupt business operations, causing missed customer inquiries, failed transactions, and a loss of trust from clients.
Understanding why your website’s email isn’t working is the first step toward fixing it. Common causes include authentication failures, web host restrictions, incorrect email settings, or blacklisted IP addresses. Fortunately, these issues can be resolved with the right troubleshooting methods. In this guide, we will walk you through the most common email problems and their solutions.
Table of Contents
Common Website’s Email Issues And How To Resolve Them
1. Your Emails Are Going to Spam:
One of the most frustrating issues is when your website sends emails, but they end up in the recipient’s spam folder. This is often caused by poor email authentication, spam-like content, or a low sender reputation.
Solution:
• Set Up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC Records
• SPF (Sender Policy Framework) ensures that only designated servers can send emails on your behalf.
• DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) adds an encrypted signature to your emails, verifying their authenticity.
• DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) enforces SPF and DKIM policies, preventing spoofing.
How To Avoid Spam Triggers:
• Use a professional email address associated with your domain (e.g. [email protected]).
• Avoid spammy words, excessive capitalization, or too many exclamation points in your subject lines.
• Use a Reputable SMTP Server: Instead of relying on your host’s built-in mail server, use a dedicated SMTP provider such as SendGrid, Amazon SES, or Google Workspace. These services have higher deliverability rates.
Note: If your emails continue to go to spam, consider warming up your email domain by gradually increasing the number of emails sent over time. Also, encourage recipients to whitelist your email address to prevent future issues.
2. Your Contact Form Emails Aren’t Arriving:
Your website’s contact form is a crucial communication channel, but if messages aren’t being delivered, you could be missing valuable leads and customer inquiries. This issue is often due to misconfigured form settings, server restrictions, or incorrect email routing.
Solution:
• Check the “From” Email Address: Many hosting providers block emails sent from generic addresses (e.g. [email protected]). Instead, use an address associated with your domain (e.g. [email protected]).
• Use an SMTP Plugin for WordPress (If Applicable): If your website runs on WordPress, the default PHP mail function may be unreliable. Install an SMTP plugin like WP Mail SMTP and configure it with Gmail SMTP, Mailgun, or SendGrid.
• Test Different Email Recipients: Some email providers, like Yahoo or Outlook, have strict filtering systems that reject form submissions.
• Try using a different email address (e.g. a Gmail or business email) to see if messages are delivered.
• Enable Email Logging: Use plugins or server logs to track whether emails are being generated but not sent. This can help diagnose whether the issue is with your website or email provider.
Note: If contact form emails still aren’t arriving, consider switching to a transactional email service such as Postmark or Amazon SES for more reliable delivery.
3. Your Web Host Blocks Email Sending:
Many shared hosting providers impose strict email-sending limits to prevent spam abuse. If your website sends too many emails in a short period, it might be automatically blocked.
Solution:
• Check Your Hosting Provider’s Email Sending Limits: Some hosts restrict the number of outgoing emails per hour or day.
Contact your host’s support team to confirm their limitations and request an increase if necessary.
• Use an External SMTP Provider: Instead of relying on your host’s email service, use Google Workspace, Mailgun, or SendGrid for sending transactional emails.
Switching to a dedicated SMTP service not only improves deliverability but also ensures your emails don’t get flagged as spam due to shared hosting restrictions.
• Upgrade to a VPS or Dedicated Server: If your website relies heavily on email communication, consider upgrading to a VPS or dedicated hosting plan that offers better email handling capabilities.
4. Your Email Authentication is Incomplete:
Many email failures occur due to missing or incorrect email authentication records in your domain’s DNS settings. Without proper authentication, email providers may reject or filter your messages.
When you make use of proper authentication, your emails are more likely to be trusted and delivered to the recipient’s inbox rather than being flagged as spam.
Solution:
•Verify Your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC Records: Use an SPF record to specify which mail servers can send emails on behalf of your domain.
• Enable DKIM to add a digital signature to your outgoing emails.
• Configure a DMARC policy to monitor and enforce authentication rules.
• Use Online Tools to Check Email Authentication: Websites like MXToolbox and Google Postmaster Tools can help you diagnose authentication issues and verify that your email setup is correct.
Conclusion
Email issues can severely impact your website’s functionality, causing missed messages, lost sales, and frustrated customers. Most email problems stem from spam filtering, misconfigured DNS settings, or hosting restrictions, but they can be fixed with the right strategies.
To ensure your website’s emails function properly, focus on email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), use a dedicated SMTP provider, and check your hosting email limits. If problems persist, consider using a transactional email service like SendGrid or Postmark for more reliable delivery.
