Email setup

Pro sends emails for freshness reminders, provider check-ins, and submissions. It uses WordPress’s built-in email, which many web hosts send without the authentication that inboxes expect, so messages often land in spam or never arrive.

The fix: send through an email service

1. Install an SMTP plugin, such as WP Mail SMTP or FluentSMTP.
2. Connect it to an email delivery service. Good options include SendGrid, Postmark, Brevo, Amazon SES, or your organization’s Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 account.
3. Follow the plugin’s steps to verify your domain. This adds a few DNS records that prove the emails really come from you.
4. Send a test email from the SMTP plugin.

Once that works, every email from WordPress, including Open Door Directory’s, goes through the service.

Use an address at your own domain, like directory@yourorganization.org, as the sender. Emails “from” a Gmail or Yahoo address sent by your website are very likely to be marked as spam.