Choosing & Configuring an Email Provider
Super Speedy Emails sends through WordPress’s built-in mail system by default, and can also connect to a dedicated email provider for better deliverability and full open/click/bounce tracking. This page explains the choice, how the two modes differ, and how to set each one up.
Table of Contents
How sending works
At its core, Super Speedy Emails hands every message to WordPress’s wp_mail() function. What happens next depends on which provider you select under Settings → Sending:
- None (
wp_mail) — mail goes out however your WordPress site is already configured to send it (your host’s mail server, or an SMTP plugin you’ve installed). Sending works, but the plugin gets no feedback about what happened to each message. - A connected provider — the plugin adds tracking headers and registers a webhook so the provider can report back delivery, opens, clicks, bounces and spam complaints. Those reports flow into your email log and, where relevant, automatically update your suppression list.
The provider you pick doesn’t change how you write or send emails — campaigns, newsletters and support emails all work the same way. It only changes the delivery path and how much tracking you get back.
Which should you use?
None (wp_mail) | Mailgun (connected provider) | |
|---|---|---|
| Sending works | Yes | Yes |
| Delivery / open / click tracking | No | Yes |
| Automatic bounce & complaint suppression | No | Yes |
| Setup effort | None (or your existing SMTP plugin) | DNS + API key + webhook |
| Best for | Getting started, low volume, or you already run a trusted SMTP plugin | Real sending volume where deliverability and tracking matter |
If you’re just trying the plugin out, None is fine — everything sends. When you start sending to real lists and want to see what’s landing (and automatically stop emailing addresses that bounce or complain), connect a provider.
Option 1 — None (wp_mail)
Nothing to configure inside Super Speedy Emails beyond selecting None under Settings → Sending. Mail uses whatever your site already does.
Two things to keep in mind:
- Deliverability is only as good as your server’s mail setup. Shared hosts often send from a poor-reputation IP, so messages can land in spam. If you’re using None for real sending, pair it with a reputable SMTP plugin pointed at a transactional mail service.
- No tracking. Because the message just leaves via
wp_mail(), the plugin can’t tell you whether it was delivered, opened or bounced. The email log will show messages as sent, but won’t progress to delivered/opened/etc.
You can still use Test Modes (Log-only, Redirect) with None — see Test Modes.
Option 2 — Mailgun
Mailgun is the fully supported, end-to-end tested provider. It gives you delivery tracking, opens, clicks, and — importantly — automatic suppression when a message hard-bounces or gets marked as spam.
Setup has three parts: verify your domain in Mailgun (DNS), point WordPress’s mail at Mailgun, and register the webhook so events flow back. The full step-by-step is in its own article:
Once connected, head to Tracking & Reporting to see the events coming back, and Bounces, Complaints & Deliverability to understand how failed sends automatically protect your list.
More providers coming soon
Support for additional providers — including other popular transactional email services — is on the roadmap and will appear in the provider list as each one is released and fully tested. Until then, the supported choices are None (wp_mail) and Mailgun. If you already rely on a particular service, you can use it today through the None option together with that service’s SMTP plugin; you just won’t get the built-in tracking and auto-suppression that a natively connected provider adds.
Switching providers later
You can change the provider at any time under Settings → Sending — it only affects messages sent from that point on. If you switch to a connected provider, remember to register its webhook so events start flowing; if you switch away, the old webhook simply stops being used.
- Mailgun Setup — the full Mailgun walkthrough.
- Tracking & Reporting — reading delivery, open, click and bounce data.
- Bounces, Complaints & Deliverability — how failed sends auto-update your suppression list.
- Test Modes — rehearsing sends safely whichever provider you use.
