I’m having a problem with PHPMailer. It’s sending emails fine to most addresses from my Hostgator account using my domain’s SMTP settings. But for some reason, emails to Gmail addresses never show up. I’m not getting any error messages either.
What’s the deal here? Is Gmail blocking something? How can I fix this so Gmail users can get emails from my online forms?
Here’s a simplified version of what I’m using:
$mailer = new CustomMailer();
$mailer->setupSMTP('mail.mysite.com', 465, 'user123', 'pass456');
$mailer->setFrom('[email protected]', 'Sender Name');
$mailer->addRecipient('[email protected]', 'Gmail User');
$mailer->setSubject('Test Email');
$mailer->setBody('This is a test message.');
$mailer->send();
Any ideas on what I’m missing or what Gmail might be blocking? Thanks for any help!
Have you considered checking your IP reputation? Gmail might be blocking emails from your server’s IP if it’s been flagged for spam in the past. You can use tools like MXToolbox to check your IP’s status.
Also, ensure you’re not hitting Gmail’s sending limits. They have strict quotas for bulk emails. If you’re sending a high volume, you might need to implement rate limiting or use a dedicated email service provider.
Another thing to check is your email content. Gmail’s filters are sophisticated and might flag certain words or phrases as spam. Try sending a plain text email with minimal formatting to see if that gets through.
Lastly, implement proper error handling in your code. PHPMailer might be failing silently. Add some logging to catch any exceptions or errors that aren’t being displayed.
I’ve dealt with similar Gmail delivery issues before. One thing that helped was setting up DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) authentication. It’s a bit technical, but basically it adds a digital signature to your emails that proves they’re really from your domain.
To set it up, you’ll need to generate DKIM keys and add them to your DNS records. Then configure PHPMailer to use DKIM signing. It took me a while to get it right, but it made a big difference in deliverability.
Also, make sure your ‘from’ address matches your sending domain exactly. Gmail is picky about that. And definitely use TLS encryption (port 465 or 587) if you aren’t already.
If you’re still having trouble after that, you might want to look into email verification services. They can help identify potential deliverability issues before you send.
check ur spf and dkim records. gmail’s pretty strict bout authentication. make sure ur domain’s properly set up in hostgator’s dns. also, try sending to a non-gmail addy first to confirm it works. if all else fails, use a transactional email service like sendgrid or mailgun - they handle deliverability better.