How to Set Up WordPress Email Logs

Want to set up email logging on your WordPress site?

With email logging enabled, you can keep records of every email that’s sent out from your website.

In this post, we’ll show you exactly how to set up and view WordPress email logs using the WP Mail SMTP plugin.

How to Set Up WordPress Email Logs

So you’re wondering how to see what emails your WordPress site sends out? Follow these steps to set up email logging in WordPress:

Step 1. Install the WP Mail SMTP Plugin

WP Mail SMTP is the best email logging plugin for WordPress.

First, install and activate the WP Mail SMTP plugin on your WordPress site. You’ll need the Pro version.

Next, launch the Setup Wizard to configure the plugin. This will walk you through connecting your site to a 3rd party mailer.

In order to get the most out of your email logs, make sure you choose a transactional mailer like SendLayer. This will let WP Mail SMTP log more detailed information about the delivery status of your emails.

You may prefer to let the WP Mail SMTP team do the work of setting this all up for you. In that case, be sure to check out the White Glove Setup option when purchasing your license.

Once the WP Mail SMTP plugin is set up, head to your WordPress dashboard.

Step 2. Enable WordPress Email Logs

From your WordPress dashboard, go to WP Mail SMTP » Settings. Then, click on the Email Log tab.

From the Email Log page, you’ll spot an option called Enable Log. This will keep a record of every email sent out from your website moving forward.

With this Enable Log option, details for each WordPress email record will include:

• Email Status (lets you know if it was sent successfully)
• Date and Time Sent
• Subject Line
• Recipient Email Address(es) (including CC and BCC)
• From Email
• Number of Attachments (in case you’ve set up your forms to accept multiple attachments)
• Mailer Option Used
• Additional Technical Details (such as content-type, MIME, etc.)

Go ahead and click the box next to Enable Log. Once you select this, more options will appear underneath.

These options are:

• Log Email Content — Turning on this setting will store the content of all the emails sent from your site. Consider carefully if you really need this option on, because all email content will be stored as plain text (not encrypted) in your site’s database, which is a security risk.
• Save Attachments — If you enable this option, all email attachments will be saved in your WordPress site’s Uploads folder. Sites that send a lot of large attachments might have disk space issues if this setting is on.
• Open Email Tracking — With this option on, you’ll be able to see if users have opened your emails.
• Click Link Tracking — This option lets you see if users have clicked on any links in your emails.
• Webhooks Status — This setting is only available for certain WP Mail SMTP mailers. By default, it should be set to Subscribed. This lets the plugin update your email logs with delivery statuses.
• Log Retention Period — You can use this dropdown to determine how long logs should be saved on your site before they’re deleted forever.

It’s completely up to you if you want to enable these settings. They’re all optional and aren’t required to enable email logs.

Next, click on the Save Settings button to enable WordPress email logging.

Step 3. View WordPress Email Logs

To view your WordPress email logs, click on WP Mail SMTP » Email Log on the left side of WordPress admin menu. The newest emails will be shown at the top of the list.

If you want to see more details about a particular email, just click on the Subject. This will open a page for that individual email log. It includes details such as the email’s status, which mailer it was sent from, open and click tracking, and more.

Here you can also export or print the log, and resend the email if you need to.

Great job! You’ve officially enabled and viewed your WordPress email logs.

Benefits of Email Logging

Once you turn on email logging, your WordPress database will keep track of all the emails your site sends out. This could be helpful if you:

• Are Sending Form Notifications — Form notifications send you email alerts when someone fills out a form. This is great for automatically routing emails to the correct team member and staying on top of incoming leads. Now your emails are logged, you’ll have a record of exactly which notifications were sent.
• Want To See Who Got an Email — You can stay organized by checking your email logs to see which visitors or team members received certain emails.
• Need More Details About Emails — This will help you see things like when an email was sent. You can view your email logs to uncover tons of details including the date and time the email was sent.
• Make Sure Emails Are Delivered — You can use email logging to verify an email was delivered successfully. If a visitor reaches out to you and says they didn’t receive an email they expected, you can verify the status in the log. This is helpful in many cases, including if you turn on User Activation when you create a user registration form.

Next, Create an Email Newsletter

And there you have it! You now know how to set up WordPress email logs using the WP Mail SMTP plugin.

Be sure to check out our post on how to create an email newsletter if you’re interested in boosting your online growth through your email list.

Also, if you need to change your WordPress email address, see this guide on changing your WordPress admin email address.

So what are you waiting for? Get started with WP Mail SMTP now and manage your email logs while fixing your WordPress email delivery problems once and for all.

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