Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) Configuration
When you send a large number of emails or auto responder emails on a daily basis, it is possible that some of them will end up in the spam folder. This is because your email provider evaluates all incoming emails to determine whether they should be delivered, routed to spam, or blocked entirely. To resolve the email delivery issues, Zoho Forms gives you with the option to use your own SMTP server to send emails faster and more reliably. Depending on the SMTP Service provider you choose, you can also inspect the logs for failed or undelivered emails.
Some of the SMTP service providers include Gmail or G Suite, Mailgun, SendGrid, and Sendinblue.
For the SMTP server to be able to connect to your email provider, you must configure the following settings in your Zoho Forms account:
- Login to your Zoho Forms account as the Super Admin.
- On the forms listing page, in the left pane under Setup, click Control Panel.
- Click Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) Configuration under Notification Settings and click Add Server.
- In the pop-up, enter your Display Name and Server Name.
The Display Name is for your reference to identify a server if you are creating multiple server configurations.
The Server Name is the address of your host's SMTP server. - Select the SMTP Port. Ensure that the required port is open from your web host. If not, contact your host provider to open it for you.
- Enter your SMTP User Name and Password. For example, richard@zylker.com.
- Select the Connection Type for encryption. SSL and TLS are the most commonly used encryptions.
- Click Create.
Once the server is created, you can enable/disable it at any point of time using the toggle.
You can also edit and update the server configuration. You can view the server's usage by clicking the
icon to see the list of users and forms that use the server to send emails.
Once the required servers are created, they can be used by the org users in the desired forms to send email notifications. To do this,
- In your form builder, navigate to Settings > General > SMTP.
- Choose whether you want to enable/disable Custom SMTP.
- If you choose to enable Custom SMTP Server, you can select the required server from the list of enabled SMTP servers.
Some email service providers impose limits on the number of SMTP requests that can be sent in a day. For example, if your service provider has a limit of 500 SMTP requests per day, requests sent beyond this limit will be blocked, and your email notifications will not be delivered via SMTP server but will be continued to be sent via Zoho Forms server. Please check with your service provider to see if they have any such restrictions.
Email notifications will continue to be sent via the Zoho Forms server by default if:
- You are not subscribed to our Premium or Zoho One plan
- SMTP server is disabled
- Email delivery fails via SMTP server
- The From address is notifications@zohoforms.com
Note:
- The option to send email via your own SMTP servers is available only in our Premium and Zoho One plans.
- The Super Admin can create a maximum of 5 SMTP servers.
- If email delivery fails via SMTP server and the configured From address uses a public or unverified domain, the from address will change to notifications@zohoforms.com.
- To delete a server that is being used to send emails by a form, you must remove or select another SMTP server in the form Settings.
- If the selected SMTP server fails to deliver email notifications for 3 times consecutively in 24 hours, the server will be disabled, and the emails will be sent via Zoho Forms server. (For example, if the first, second,and third emails sent from 2:00 PM on Monday to 2:00 PM on Tuesday fail consecutively, the SMTP server will be disabled). The Super Admin will be notified about it via email.