How to set up WordPress SMTP using Amazon SES

Sign up for a free account on Amazon Web Services.

Note that you will be asked to provide your card details even though you are signing up for the AWS Free Tier. But you won’t be charged unless you exceed your allocated limit.

Amazon will try to determine your region automatically after you have created your account. If it’s not able to determine your region properly or if your region is unsupported, you can choose the region nearest to you manually.

Now, you need to create a new user account (IAM User) by going to the AWS IAM User page and signing in with your AWS account. This is the first step to creating the Amazon SES access keys that you’ll be needing later.

Once you have signed in with your AWS account, set up a new user by clicking on the Add user button. Although you can enter anything in the User name field (under Set user details section), you should enter something meaningful that will help you associate it with your site later.

Now, scroll down to the Select AWS access type section and check the Programmatic access box next to Access type. Click on the Next: Permissions button to move on to the next step.

Now, select Attach existing policies directly from the top row and search for ‘AmazonSESFullAccess’ (without quotes) from the search bar. It should return the AmazonSESFullAccess policy as a result. Verify that this policy is checked (tick is present). Only then will the policy be applied to your user created in the previous step.

Once it’s done, click on the Next: tags button. You can safely skip the next page and click on the Next: Review button.

Go through all the data displayed on the next page and click on the Create user button if everything is good. A success message will now be displayed along with your Access Key ID and Secret Access Key.

VERY IMPORTANT: Make sure you copy them to a secure location because once you close this page, it cannot be viewed again.

By default, Amazon SES will be in Sandbox mode. That is, you cannot send emails to anyone whose address isn’t verified with Amazon SES. To move your account from Sandbox to Production Mode, you need to submit a request to AWS by filling this form.

To submit the request, choose the Service limit increase as the case under Create case section.

Now, fill the Case Classification form. Note that this step is very important as it is what helps Amazon understand why you need full access to SES.

Once you have filled the Case classification form, provide Amazon with an accurate description of your use case by filling the Case description form. Be sure to tell them more about your website/business and why you need to send emails, i.e., how you will be using Amazon SES (for sending newsletters, transactional emails, etc). Once you have explained everything in detail, hit the Submit button.

You’ll receive a couple of emails confirming that a new case has been created.

Note: AWS will usually get back to you within 24 hours. But, we can start configuring WordPress with Amazon SES mailer using WP Mail SMTP Pro in the meantime.

Install and activate the WP Mail SMTP Pro plugin on your website by downloading the latest copy of the plugin from your WP Mail SMTP account and uploading it to your website manually.

Now, go to WP Mail SMTP –> Settings page and enter the From Email and From Name. It is recommended that you use a domain-specific email address (like hello@example.com) for better email deliverability.

Scroll down to the Mailer section and select Amazon SES as your mailer. Remember that you need WP Mail SMTP Pro to use Amazon SES and Microsoft Outlook. All the other mailers are available for free.

You can now find a new Amazon SES section being displayed on the screen. Copy and paste the Access Key ID and Secret Access Key which you created earlier (in Step 6) into the respective fields. The Closest Region field will automatically be chosen based on your server’s location. You can also manually change it if it’s incorrect. Now, save your changes by clicking on the Save Settings button.

A new Verified Emails section will be displayed to you. You should add all the email addresses which you intend to use as the ‘From Email’ on your site. You will have to verify each email address that you add on the screen by clicking on the corresponding verification links you receive in your email inbox. After you have added all the emails, refresh the page.

You have now configured Amazon SES as your WordPress SMTP. To make sure that your SMTP settings are working properly, you can send yourself a test email by navigating to the Email Test tab (scroll all the way to the top), entering your current email address in the Send To field, and hitting the Send Email button.